Jim Nabors Couldn’t Stop Laughing When Filming THIS Iconic Scene from ‘The Andy Griffith Show’
“Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!”
Referenced in 1989’s The ‘Burbs, it’s safe to say this line from a 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show has cemented itself in pop culture history. “Citizen’s Arrest” was voted one of the top 10 fan-favorite episodes, and it’s not difficult to see why. Any time that Jim Nabors’ Gomer Pyle interacted with Don Knotts’ neurotic deputy Barney Fife, it produced comedy gold.
Even Nabors himself agreed!
“You had a line in that show that just broke me up,” Nabors told Knotts in the reunion special. “All the townspeople have gathered up, and I’ll never forget Don’s line.”
While die-hard TAGS fans can probably guess the line without prompting, I’ll fill in the blanks for more casual viewers: “Oh, nutsy here came running after me screaming ‘citizen’s arrest, citizen’s arrest.” Knotts impersonates Gomer Pyle’s nasally voice, an artistic choice that had Nabors in stitches. In fact, the director had to shoot the two actors separately because Nabors couldn’t contain his composure!
If you want to revisit this moment, then be sure to check out the full episode! We guarantee that, like Jim Nabors, you won’t be able to contain your laughter!
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Originally published February 19, 2024
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