A DREAM THAT CAME ALIVE

A Chicken Plucker Dreams His Dreams
By Victor M Adamus

Let me tell you a story about a dreamer named Jesse who was a chicken plucker in Morgantown, West Virginia.  As a chicken plucker you wait in line for the dead chickens to float down a conveyor belt and have 15 minutes to pull the feathers, a job most people would hate, and Jesse did too.  It wasn’t much of a job but it was better than staying home where most days Jesse’s younger life was getting beat by his father daily and once even threatened him with a knife.  His father was later diagnosed as a schizophrenia and succumbed to alcoholism.  He died when Jesse was 13 years old but his life with his father and brothers beating on him left many early scars. 

When he graduated from High School he immediately joined the U.S. Army.  Jesse’s dream of becoming a ventriloquist had progressed to the point where he no longer wanted to use a sock as a prop. He saved his money to buy a doll he named the “Hooch” Matador and used it to play to the troops in canteens.  A senior officer saw this remarkable talent and transferred him to the entertainment corps.  In a way, his dream had come true.  But his childhood hypochondriac symptoms persisted, even though his comedy routines gave him more confidence.

Making people laugh so hard they had tears in their eyes reinforced a feeling of success.  Jesse had finally found himself.  When he left the Army he headed to San Diego and worked the comedy clubs with a whole new routine which paid him enough money to own his own car and live in a nice community for the first time in his life.  He was also offered bit parts in TV and later worked the soap opera circuit.

His big break came when he won the role alongside of Andy Griffith in No Time for Sergeants.  He and Andy became lifelong friends for decades.

In 1960 when Griffith was offered the opportunity to headline in his own sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968), Jesse took the role of Barney Fife, the deputy—and originally cousin—of Sheriff Andy Taylor (portrayed by Griffith). Jesse’s portrayal of the deputy on the popular show would earn him five Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Comedy, winning each of the five seasons he played the character.[6]  Jesse had become a Millionaire!

So now you know the rest of the story:

"Jesse" Don Knotts