One of my fondest memories from my teen years is of Don Knotts. He was in a play, "The Mind With The Dirty Man", that was presented at the Celebrity Theater, where I worked. It also featured Rue McClanahan, Randy Mantooth, some blond soap star whose name escapes me, and Don Knotts' daughter, Karen. It was an amusing play, that had Knotts delivering the line, "I'm an a$$ man! You knew it all along, God, but now I'm telling the world. I'm an a$$ man!" Funny to hear those words from Barney Fife.
We had the opportunity to meet and greet with the cast during their run, and he was utterly and completely charming - just as you would expect him to be. He was also quite the generous performer, constantly praising the rest of the cast. A real gentleman who will be missed.
BTW: Not sure what year it was, but Mantooth was married to some witch named Rose at the time (she was SO incredibly rude to everyone who worked at the theater) so it was after '78. Since I left Phoenix in '87 it was prior to that.
UPDATE: I remembered the blond - Shelly Taylor Morgan - I knew it would come to me.
UPDATE: Also passing, to make it not just 3, but 3 D's - Dennis Weaver & Darren McGavin