Ron Howard Discovers ‘Andy Griffith’ Co-Star Don Knotts Was Real-Life Cousin
On The Andy Griffith Show, young Opie Taylor is Deputy Barney Fife’s first cousin once removed. That’s because Opie’s pa, Sheriff Andy Taylor, was Barney’s cousin — probably? While the show mentioned Andy and Barney being cousins in its early seasons, later episodes suggested the two men weren’t related at all. But come on, it’s Mayberry. Everybody’s related to everybody somehow.
Life is now imitating art, according to Ron Howard, who played Opie when he was a child actor. He posted an Instagram throwback photo this week from the set of his 1990s movie Ransom, with Howard posing alongside his old castmates Andy Griffith and Don Knotts. The feel-good reunion pic came with Howard’s oh-by-the-way revelation: “It was recently confirmed that Don and I were actually distant cousins!”
Is Howard going to appear on one of those reality shows where they reveal that celebrities are related to Genghis Khan or Lady Godiva? Howard didn’t say where the confirmation came from, but apparently, it’s not entirely new news.
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EntertainmentNOW tracked down some earlier reporting of the Knotts/Howard connection, including an Andy Griffith Show Facts and Trivia YouTube account that reported the claim last year. “They may not have gone to any family reunions together,” according to the video, but “Howard and Knotts traced their lineage to Lucinda Knotts.” Apparently, the two actors had no idea they were related when filming the show.
For what it’s worth, Knotts’ bio on the Hollywood Walk of Fame website also lists Howard as his sixth cousin. Lock it down — they’re blood. L’il Ronnie was a fan as well as a relative. “I will always remember the transformation that would begin as mild-mannered Don rehearsed his scene, tweaked the dialogue, refined the timing — and then took off and soared as cameras rolled,” Howard remembered after Knotts passed away. “The only question: Could Andy keep from falling out of his chair laughing in the middle of the take?”
Knotts and Howard aren’t the weirdest celebrity cousins ever. They’re just the latest entry in the list of Unlikely Hollywood Cousins, a motley crew that includes:
- Lance Bass and Britney Spears (sixth cousins once removed)
- RuPaul and Sen. Cory Booker (“distant” cousins)
- Melissa McCarthy and Jenny McCarthy (straight-up cousins)
- Brandy and Snoop Dogg (weird that they recorded a love song, right?)
- Glenn Close and Brooke Shields (second cousins once removed)
Austin Butler and Ashley Tisdale are also related — 10th cousins, once removed. But come on. At that point of distance, aren’t we all related to Don Knotts?
