Barney Fife Statue Destroyed
A half-finished clay statue of character Deputy Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show was destoyed per request of Tom Hellbrand, the commissioner and primary manager of the effort. After Knotts died in February of this year, Hellebrand kicked off the project and had wanted the statue to stand in the town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, which was the real-life inspiration for the fictional small town of Mayberry on the show. Mount Airy is the hometown of the show's lead actor, Andy Griffith, and a likeness of Griffith's character, Sheriff Andy Taylor, already stands in the burb.
The Fife project hit a snag when agreement could not be reached among Griffith, Knott's widow and CBS as to where the statue should reside and if it should depict the character of Fife or the real-life actor Knotts. Hellebrand had to take out a mortgage on his home to return donations to the project, and further financial hardship came from Statues.com's refusal to return a $9,000 deposit. CBS has stated that it will reimburse Hellebrand for any financial expenses, once it has confirmation that the statue has been destroyed.
The Fife project hit a snag when agreement could not be reached among Griffith, Knott's widow and CBS as to where the statue should reside and if it should depict the character of Fife or the real-life actor Knotts. Hellebrand had to take out a mortgage on his home to return donations to the project, and further financial hardship came from Statues.com's refusal to return a $9,000 deposit. CBS has stated that it will reimburse Hellebrand for any financial expenses, once it has confirmation that the statue has been destroyed.