The star of The Andy Griffith Show, Three's Company, and The Incredible Mr. Limpet already has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Now he has a second, in a sidewalk in his birthplace of Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Don Knotts star was first unveiled in August 2005. Installation was delayed, however, when Knotts' failing health forced him to cancel a planned celebration in his honor. He died in February 2006, and the star was finally installed, without fanfare, outside The Metropolitan Theatre in late December 2006.

Plans are also afoot in Morgantown to honor Knotts with a statue, but one that will depict the man, not one of the characters that he portrayed. That distinction is important, as in 2006 the town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, tried to erect a Don-Knotts-as-Barney-Fife statue -- but was blocked by Knotts' widow, and the statue eventually had to be destroyed (Mount Airy already displays TVLand statues of Andy and Opie).

The Morgantown statue, designed by the same guy who designed the West Virginia state quarter, will reportedly depict Knotts as middle-aged, in plain clothes, seated and reading a script.

According to Monongalia County Commissioner John Pyles, Morgantown may also create a small park along the Monongahela River, parallel to Don Knotts Boulevard. It would have a display of Don Knotts' hats: from his freshman beanie at West Virginia University, to his Mayberry deputy's hat, to his cap on Three's Company.

[01/21/2007]