Jesse Donald Knotts has all the elements of a Splay Temperament Type — a Grand Trine in Fire, no oppositions and a charming personality. Asteroid Hebe partile Pluto shows how he imbued his characters, Barney Fife in the Andy Griffith Show with his fake bravado and child-like wonderment that was as hilarious as it was embarrassing.
Asteroid Photographia (HS pioneers going west for a new frontier) conjunct his ascendant is surprising; Knotts was not a handsome man and the black moon Lilith nearby suggests this bothered him, but his plastic features took on a form and function of their own (Saturn at 27 Libra keyword Enchantment) that made him one of the most popular comedians of all time.
His ascendant 14 Gemini gets the Hyperion Climbers above the timber line, where his physical comedy (Terpsichore in Virgo) is enjoyable if not surprising like this scene from The Incredible Mr. Limpet (asteroid Poseidon conjunct his Moon in Aries in the eleventh) where his dreams and exasperation take a very unexpected turn.
Lilith in the first house shows how his original vocation of ventriloquism with his sock puppets and eventually a dummy named Danny did not pan out, Charlie Bergen had that sewn up. But his Mars in Pisces at the midheaven showed him a better outlet during his Army recruitment days in the Stars & Gripes variety show.
Except for the Line of Vitality, Don lacks any Jones angles. This gives him buoyancy and makes him an independent actor in life, and not worry about critic’s opinions.
Don had two children with his first wife, his college sweetheart, Kathryn Metz in their hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia. His eldest a daughter, Karen, continues the comedic line while son Tom became an electrical engineer. That marriage ended as his career became more prominent as followed by two more. Next was Loralee Czuchna and the third and final marriage to Frances Yarborough.
Born in Cancer, Don died from lung Cancer appropriately enough in Pisces, the sign of two fish swimming, on February 24, 2006 in Los Angeles. Thankfully we have reruns.
Notes: This chart was updated on August 19, 2026. Don’s natal chart had previously been missing.
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