Don Knotts was married to a total of three women at various times in his life before his death, and they include Kathryn Metz, Loralee Czuchna, and Frances Yarborough. After divorcing from his first wife, Kathryn, the comedian married Loralee Czuchna in a relationship that lasted nine years before wedding his third and last wife, Frances Yarborough.
Out of all the women that graced the comedian’s life, Kathryn Metz is the only one who shares children with him. Both Loralee and Frances didn’t have any kids throughout their time together. Don’s marriage with Frances endured till he breathed his last in 2006 and according to reports, he made adequate provisions for her in his last will and testaments.
Don Knotts Married Three Times Before His Death
Don Knotts was a renowned American comedian and actor who won millions of hearts during his active days in the industry. He entertained others through his rich life and at the same time, he enjoyed a lively romantic history. Knotts was married three times, though his last union with Frances Yarborough was arguably the most popular.
The Three’s Company star has been described as a “ladies’ man who fancied himself to be on the same level as Frank Sinatra and the ladies just loved his personality
Kathryn Metz is the Name of Don Knotts’ First Wife
- Date of Birth: 1932
- Age: 92 years old
- Married for: 17 years
Don Knotts had his first marriage experience with Kathryn Metz. Born in 1932, Kath who hails from Wheeling in West Virginia is said to be the daughter of a clergy in the Baptist Church. She has been described as a woman of substance raised with sufficient domestic practicality to be a good wife as well as an exemplary mother.
Kathryn Metz died in 2018 when she couldn’t recover from the complications of an open-heart surgery she underwent.
How Did Kathryn Metz and Knotts Meet
If what we could sieve from old reports is anything to go by, then, Kathryn Metz was Don’s high school sweetheart. The duo’s romance survived throughout their days in school and they ended up dating for two years before tying the knot.
Important to note that Knotts was just an ordinary man when he met and fell in love with Kath. Their relationship was a normal one, completely devoid of the kind of publicity that follows celebrities.
Kath and Don Got Married in 1947
Knotts was barely 22 when he and Kath decided to take their relationship to another level. They tied the nuptials at the Baptist church where Kath’s father was the minister.
Perhaps because Don wasn’t well known in the 1940s, his wedding to Kath didn’t attract enough publicity, thus there are no details about the type of ceremony they had.
The couple went on to spend the ensuing 17 years as man and wife before they decided to call it quits on their relationship in 1964.
Metz and Don share Two Children
Don Knotts’ 17-year-long relationship with Kath produced two children – a boy and a girl.
They were already seven years into their marriage when they welcomed their only daughter, Karen Knotts, who was born in 1954. According to reports, Don got custody of Karen after his split from Kath and went on to raise her as a single father; this may be why he and his daughter remained close till his death.
Karen followed in the footsteps of her dad by becoming an actress, writer, and standup comedian. She takes the credit for writing Roger and Betsy – a Merce Awards nominated play in which she also starred in.
Kath and Knotts’ only son goes by the name Thomas Knotts, and from what is obvious, he didn’t follow a career path in the entertainment industry, thus, nothing is known about him.
Don Knotts’s Second Wife is Loralee Czunchna
- Date of Birth: mid 1940s
- Married for: Nine years
Loralee Czunchna is the name of Don Knotts’ wife number two. Born sometime in the mid-1940s, she is the daughter of Roman Munroe Czunchna (father) and Iva Miller of Flint (mother).
A University of Southern California alum, Loralee has one sister named Phyllis Czunchna, and several half-siblings.
Lora only gained public attention after she became Mrs. Knotts but absolutely nothing is known about her professional life. However, there are online sources claiming that the striking blond is an American actress, though none has ever mentioned her movie credits.
Loralee and Knotts met on a Blind Date
A blind date was responsible for bringing Knotts and his second wife, Loralee, together. Knotts was divorced for almost seven years before the chance occurrence.
On their first meeting, it was glaring that the couple had a generational age difference, but that did not stop them from starting a relationship. Don and Lora eventually dated for three years before Don popped the big question, though the details of their engagement are not known.
Lora Became Don Knotts’ Wife in 1974
The renowned five-time Emmy award-winning comedian and actor, Don Knotts, exchanged wedding vows for the second time in 1974. By this time, he was already making waves in the world of entertainment, and he and Loralee choose a scenic spot in Hawaii for their wedding reception.
Throughout the period that they lived together as man and wife, Whispers about Knotts’ deteriorating mental health were making the rounds. That was when the actor’s diagnosis of macular degeneration was given and it led him into some weird behaviors. Before long, a panic attack set in and Don was living his life like someone with a wish list that must be fulfilled.
Talking to Closer Weekly, Don’s daughter, Karen, weighed in on her dad’s struggles with mental ill-health. She said he was experiencing serious mood swings, as he was fighting depression and she had to help out, or thought she did. Karen said her help didn’t do much, as Don would still have an unending loop of thought and would always end up spiraling downward.” Losing his vision was the one that really make him panic excessively.
Don Knotts’ preoccupation with his health issues eventually created strain in his relationship with Loralee, and when it got to a point that she can no longer handle it, their union began to crack. Needless to say, they drew apart and it ended in a divorce in 1983 after nine years of togetherness.
Their Marriage didn’t Produce any Children
Even though they lived together for nine long years, Lora and Don’s union didn’t produce any children. However, she acted as a stepmom to the comedian’s children while their relationship lasted.
Loralee Found Love Again After Knotts
After being married to a celebrity of Don Knotts’ caliber for nine years, the spotlight continued following Lora post-divorce. That was how fans got to know that she had a second chance at love.
This time around, she went to pitch her tent with Howard Murad, a Los Angeles-based dermatologist. A former General Medical Officer in the United States Army, Howard also works at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA where he functions as an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine. He takes the credit for launching Murad Inc.
The year of their nuptials is not known but they were joined on October 14th. It was a beautiful ceremony hosted in Beverly Hills, California, precisely at Beverly Hills Hotel.
The last time that we heard from Don Knott’s second wife, she was hale and hearty and living with her spouse in Marina del Rey, California.
Was Who Was Don Knotts Married To Before His Death?
- Name: Frances Yarborough
- Occupation: Executive secretary and occasional actress
- Married for: Four years
Don’s last wife is Frances Yarborough and they stayed together until he breathed his last.
Born sometime in the 1960s, Frances is the daughter of politician Donald Howard Yarborough and Charity O’Connell Yarborough. Her father was a Marine Corps veteran who served in China as a company commander during World War II.
Donald became a politician in 1962 when he ran for Governor. A lawyer with his own law firm, Donald was at the forefront of fights for the rights of immigrants of Mexican origin, he died in September 2009 from Parkinson’s disease.
While many sources have is that Frances is an American Executive Secretary, it is also known that she had a brief stint in acting. Her sole acting credit is said to be The Electric Chair, however, recent reports said she also played a role in one of her late husband’s plays
Describing Francis in his publication, Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show, Knots called his last wife “a kind-hearted and beautiful actress who had put down roots in Hollywood to build her improvisational comedy career.”
Frances and Don First Met During the Later Part of the 1980s
Knots and Yarborough already met a few years after he divorced his second wife in the late 1980s. Though there was no chemistry between them at that time, the comedian claimed they were kindred spirits in his publication, Andy and Don. Talking about their first meeting, Yarborough described it as an instant rapport.
At the time they met, Don was hitting his 60s while Frances was barely 20 and she was hired as a production assistant to work on Don’s syndication comedy, What a Country! scheduled to take off in 1987. It was after the show ended that the duo started developing feelings for each other (around 1987).
Talking about the early stage of their relationship, Frances said both Don Knotts and her were living what she described as “a goofy life”, the comedian loved talking and would ask to be told stories about Frances’ family as she also comes from a crazy household like him and loved to experience the nuances of people.
While helping the American comedian master his lines in the syndication comedy, Frances was also rendering another kind of help in a different direction. It happened that Knotts was a chain smoker and a heavy drinker then.
He largely led a nocturnal existence, eating too little and staying up too late. The comedian only found sleep with the help of pills and Frances was there to hold his hands during a very difficult time. According to Yarborough, Don suddenly started to wheeze and suddenly quit smoking and never smoked another stick till his demise.
After meeting Knotts, Frances said her initial reaction was to conclude that he was very vulnerable and it was her first time meeting someone that vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the age difference between the comedian and Frances was just too much. Being born in the 60s, she would have at least a 35 to 40 years age gap with Knotts who was born in 1924. That notwithstanding, their relationship still thrived.
Knotts Married Frances Yarborough in 2002
We do not know exactly when the relationship between Don Knotts and Yarborough turned romantic, but according to the records, they got married sometime in 2002. The details of their wedding ceremony were never made public thus, nothing can be said about the exact date, venue, and the type of ceremony they had.
Following their nuptials, Don who was already approaching his 80s went on to enjoy four years of matrimony with Frances. Though his failing health had him go in and out of hospitals for the majority of their time together, the couple still managed to hold it together until Don breathed his last.
Their Union Did not Produce Any Children
No one expects a man on his way to becoming an octogenarian to be procreating even with a young wife. Thus, Knotts and Yarborough lived together as man and wife for four years without having any kids. Also, at that stage in his life, Knotts’ children were all grown up and had already left home. It was just only Frances and the comedian throughout.
Yarborough’s Final Days With the Legendary American Comedian
During Don Knotts’ final days, he was living with his third wife in Los Angeles, precisely in the Century City neighborhood. It was a trying period for the couple as Don suffered from multiple ailments. In addition to battling cancer, he had macular degeneration – a serious degenerative eye disease and severe hypochondria.
At that point in their marriage, Frances really had to muster a lot of courage and restraint as Don begged her not to let anyone know that he was sick not to talk of the tabloids. The apparent reason behind this level of secrecy was that the comedian still wanted to be getting work and it is a known fact that no one would give a sick entertainer work.
As it happened, the couple kept Don’s condition secret, they didn’t even breathe a word of it to his two children, and the comedian’s colleague and best friend, Andy Griffith, was also kept in the dark.
When he had to finally go into intensive care after his organs started failing, the medical practitioners had to put the content of Don Knotts’ last will and testament into effect. According to reports, the entertainer stated he wouldn’t want anybody to keep him alive with artificial aid when his time comes. Thus, with the consent of his wife, they unplugged all the life support machines and the actor breathed his last on a Friday, February 24, 2006, at exactly 11:00 p.m; he was 81.
Despite his multiple divorces, Don Knotts loved Frances to the end and according to reports, he made adequate provisions for her in his will.
He was eventually interred at Westwood Memorial Park, in close proximity to the graves of late superstars such as Marilyn Monroe, Truman Capote, and Dean Martin. Frances paid tribute to the departed hero at his funeral; she described Knotts as a man who saw poignancy in people’s pain and pride” and turned that into endearing humor.
