Knottsferatu reminds us it's only

17 days until Halloween.

At the beginning of his career as a comedian, Don 

Knotts was a ventriloquist.  When he eventually grew 

"tired of playing straight man for a hunk of wood ... he 

tossed the dummy overboard off a ship in the South Pacific. 

He swore that he could hear the dummy calling for help as 

the ship sailed on, leaving him bobbing helplessly 

in the waves." (Wikipedia)

Not since Don Knotts portrayed Abner Audubon Peacock in

 The Love God? has the world seen such warmth and affection 

in a public figure.