The chicken plucker…

Imagine, if you had to do it. Jesse was a chicken plucker. That’s right.

He stood on a line in a chicken factory and spent his days pulling the feathers off dead chickens so the rest of us wouldn’t have to. It wasn’t much of a job. But at the time, Jesse didn’t think he was much of a person.

His father was a brute of a man. His dad was actually thought to be mentally ill and treated Jesse rough all of his life. Jesse’s older brother wasn’t much better. He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up. Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in West Virginia. Life was anything but easy.

And he thought life didn’t hold much hope for him. That’s why he was standing in this chicken line, doing a job that darn few people wanted. In addition to all the rough treatment at home, it seems that Jesse was always sick. Sometimes it was real physical illness, but way too often it was all in his head. He was a small child, skinny and meek,  that sure didn’t help the situation any.

When he started to school, he was the object of every Bully on the playground. He was a hypochondriac of the first order. For Jesse, tomorrow was not always  something he Looked forward to. But, he had dreams. He wanted to be a ventriloquist. He found books on ventriloquism. He practiced with sock puppets and saved his hard earned dollars until he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.

When he got old enough, he joined the military. And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corps. That was when his world changed, he gained confidence, he found that he had a talent for making people laugh, and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes.

Yes, little Jesse had found himself, you know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn’t overcome it. Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars, and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy’s given in a single category.

Who was Jesse???

Don Knotts

Recognize him???

How about now???

don-knotts

The wonderful, gifted, talented, and nervous comedian who brought us Barney Fife Was

Jesse Donald Knotts.

NOW YOU KNOW, “THE REST OF THE STORY”

There is a street named for him and his statue in Morgantown, West Virginia, his place of birth.

Jesse Donald “Don” Knotts (July 21, 1924 – February 24, 2006)

h/t JP

Comments

The chicken plucker… — 14 Comments

  1. Who would have thought that Jessie/Don was a cotton pickin’, finger lickin’, chicken plucker? (say that ten times – fast)

  2. One of my all-time favorite characters. A sad man IRL but one who came to life in front of a camera.

  3. I would have never thought that about him. I think they should make a movie about his life.
    A chicken plucker..wow!

  4. It gives me hope that even a chicken plucker can rise above his up bringing. Wonder how many great stories are out there that we never hear?

  5. I thought you were writing more fiction.
    Good story!

  6. I met him when I was a kid. I grew up next to Mickey Carrol who was one of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz. Literally right next door. I was maybe 8 or 9 years old and was out riding my bike when Mickey hollered out to me, “Mark, come meet my friend Don.” And it was Don Knotts. I watched Mayberry RFD so I knew Barney Fife, but this didn’t look like Barney Fife, he stood up straight no trace of the slouch, his voice was slightly deeper and less hesitant like on the show. Being a kid I told Mickey and Mr. Knotts I didn’t believe he was Barney Fife. Before my eyes he slouched and the voice went up in pitch and standing in front of me was Barney Fife. Mickey started laughing, saying my mouth was going to catch flies. Mr. Knotts laughed and straightened up and his voice went back to how it was and it was like seeing two different people. Later that week, I grabbed Mickey’s paper to take up to his door like I normally did, Mickey met me at the door and gave me a picture saying Don had sent it to him for me. Yes, I used to have an autographed picture of Don Knotts. It was a split picture with Mr. Knotts as Barney fife on the left and as he normally appeared on the right. He had signed it “To Mark for showing me I am good at my craft Don” I being a dumb kid tacked it to my wall in my bedroom and after about a year I forgot about it. I don’t know what happened to it, but I wish I still had it.