Editing Don Knotts (section)

== Early life ==
Knotts was born in [[Morgantown, West Virginia]], the youngest of four sons of farmer William Jesse Knotts and his wife Elsie Luzetta Knotts (née Moore), who were married in [[Spraggs, Pennsylvania]]. His English paternal ancestors emigrated to America in the 17th century, originally settling in [[Queen Anne's County, Maryland]]. His brothers were named Willis, William and Ralph (who was called "Sid").{{r|vise}}

Knotts's mother was 40 years old at his birth. His father, who had [[schizophrenia]] and battled alcoholism, sometimes terrorized him with a knife, causing him to turn inwards at an early age. His father died of [[pneumonia]] when Knotts was 13. He and his brothers were subsequently raised by their mother, who ran a [[boarding house]] in Morgantown. She died in 1969 at age 84. Her son William preceded her in death in 1941 at age 31. They are buried in the family plot at Beverly Hills Memorial Park in Morgantown.<ref name=vise>{{cite book |last = de Visé |first = Daniel |date = 2015 |title = Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show |pages = 3–7 |location = New York |publisher = Simon & Schuster |isbn = 978-1-4767-4773-6 }}</ref>

Knotts graduated from [[Morgantown High School]]. After enlisting in the [[United States Army]] and serving in [[World War II]],<ref name=drill>{{cite web |url = http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/knotts.asp |title = Don Knotts—Marine Drill Instructor? |publisher = [[Snopes.com]] |date = September 24, 2015 |access-date = August 30, 2016 }}</ref> he earned a [[bachelor's degree]] in education with a minor in [[speech therapy|speech]] from [[West Virginia University]] in Morgantown, graduating in 1948.<ref name="WVU Alumni">{{cite web |url = https://alumni.wvu.edu/awards/academy/don_knotts |title = Academy of Distinguished Alumni |publisher = West Virginia University |access-date = February 12, 2014 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140222060936/https://alumni.wvu.edu/awards/academy/don_knotts |archive-date = February 22, 2014 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> He was a member of [[Phi Sigma Kappa]] fraternity at WVU.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity |url=https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/phi-sigma-kappa-fraternity/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=University of Tennessee Knoxville |language=en-US}}</ref>