Don Knotts made the Emmy Award for Supporting Funny Guy his personal trophy during the 1960s, going five-for-five to cement The Andy Griffith Show’s Barney Fife as one of the greatest sitcom characters of all time. But it’s a distinction Knotts might not have appreciated — he and Andy Griffith hated sitcoms.

“Andy and I have a pet hate — situation comedy,” Knotts told The Oregonian, as reported by MeTV. “So we try to imitate real people and forget the plot as much as possible.”

How can two of the greatest sitcom stars hate situation comedy? Knotts explained — sort of. “What we try to do is make use of those conversational habits people have,” he said. “Like Barney telling a joke, hearing laughter and then telling the joke over again. You’ve seen people do that. It’s terrible, but some can’t help it after hearing the laughter — it...