Take a return trip to Mayberry with actor Jim Nabors and his ever-so-popular character Gomer Pyle

You’ve gotta love those eccentric characters surrounding Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, whether you’re talking about Hal Smith as Otis the Drunk, Howard McNear as  Floyd the Barber, Don Knotts as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife or Jim Nabors as mechanic Gomer Pyle. And while all of them were beloved and Knotts would leave the show to enjoy success on the big screen, Jim Nabors would bring his character into his own successful spinoff, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Jim Nabors was born James Thurston Nabors on June 12, 1930 in Sylacauga, Alabama to a police officer and a housewife, and had two older sisters. Although there isn’t a lot known about his childhood, his passion for singing was always there as was the good-natured quality that was second nature, which played no small role in his overall appeal to television viewers.

That being said, there is much more to discover about one of Mayberry’s most popular citizens.

1. Singing was always a part of his life

Whether it was in the church choir or high school glee club, Jim Nabors was always singing, but it was never a situation where he would be performing solo. The closest he came was while attending the University of Alabama, singing at the fraternity house.

Denny Reese, author of Gomer Says Hey! Inside the Manic and Much-Loved Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., offers, “While in college, besides a love of dancing, another bug hit when Jim fell head over hills with entertaining others. Along with college buddy Jimmy Pursell, Nabors would visit Phoenix City, aka Sin City, known for its raunchy nightclubs and strip joints. Soon the none-too-shy Alabama boy found himself center stage. He developed an act that he would perform for the rest of his life. It was a combination of a dumb country boy dumbfounded by life and circumstances, offset by his singing operatics. The double-sided act was different enough to attract many fans. Jim somehow found a way to make this work.”

2. His first job…

Jim’s first real job brought him to New York City, where he earned $55 a day working as a typist for the United Nations. “It wasn’t much salary,” he told the Press and Sun Bulletin, “but the work was interesting.”

3. Then he was a film cutter

Moving from New York to Chattanooga, Tennessee, he started working at an NBC affiliate TV station as a film cutter, feeling a need to somehow get a little closer to show business. As he explained it to San Mateo, California’s The Times, what he did was “mostly insert commercials into late, late movies, but I was sort of in show business, which was just fine.”

4. Jim Nabors was drawn to Hollywood

The appeal of show business, and struggling with asthma in Tennessee, combined to lead Jim Nabors to Hollywood, where his experience at the NBC affilirate led him to become an assistant film editor at NBC there. Simultaneously, he began performing as a singer and comic at a few establishments, including The Horn, a tavern in Santa Monica. The audience — which would become a common theme — was caught by surprise by his high-pitched comedic voice and the baritone he revealed himself to be as a singer.

In his book Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show, author Daniel de Vise writes, “[Jim] would talk in an exaggerated Alabama drawl, then rear back and unleash an aria from Pagliacci in a shimmering tenor. Then he would stop, mid-aria, and revert to his molasses drawl: ‘Waal, you see, there was this clown fella, and everyone thawt he was a really happy fella with that painted smile and awel, but he warn’t happy a bit, cause…’ Jim was caricaturing his own provincial heritage, invoking an ensemble of unflattering stereotypes drawn up by Northeasterners and urbanites. He was doing with Pagliacci what Andy Griffith had done with Hamlet.”

That act didn’t always go over well, it should be noted. In a 1963 interview, Jim Nabors remembered a performance where one guy heckled him from the audience to the point where he was on the verge of tears. Said Jim, “I didn’t have any smart-aleck things to say, so I stood there feeling read bad. Then some of the crowd got riled up at that man and told him to get out. Then they clapped for me and I started singing again. So everything worked out.”

5. Andy Griffith was a major influence

What had originally brought Andy Griffith fame was his stage persona of a Southerner offering up a unique take on something very American in a routine titled “What it was, was football.” Explains pop culture historian Geoffrey Mark, “He approached it as if a Southerner doesn’t know what football is. Back then it was funny. And at one point he would sing. So that’s what Jim Nabors was doing: the hick act after which he would open his mouth and sing with that gorgeous voice of his.”

Details de Vise, “One Sunday in fall 1962, a mutual friend brought ‘this strange looking man’ to Andy Griffith’s Toluca Lake home and dropped him off, intent that the two should meet. ‘I gave him a bathing suit and let him get in the pool, and I took him for a drive in the car,’ Andy recalled. Two weeks later, the friend escorted Andy to the Horn to see Jim perform. ‘I didn’t want to go,’ Andy recalled. ‘But the man got up and was electrifying.’ Afterward, Andy caught up with Jim on the sidewalk outside. ‘I don’t know what you do,’ Andy told him, ‘but it’s magic, whatever it is.’ Andy pledged, ‘If a part ever comes up on our show, I’ll give you a call.’ Jim thought to himself, ‘Sure.’ Two weeks later, the telephone rang.”

Jim Nabors was hired as Mayberry gas station attendant/mechanic Gomer Pyle.

6. Introducing Gomer Pyle

“Sitcoms must change situations or add characters otherwise you’re writing the same story over and over again,” adds Geoffrey Mark. “So they wrote Gomer Pyle in. It’s one of those things where they tried it once and the audience loved it and his coworkers loved it. Everybody who worked with him was, like, ‘Wow, he’s really good.’ The exception was Frances Bavier [who played Aunt Bee]. She just saw him as a threat; somebody else would take screen time away from her.” Though, ironically, the two would become fast friends.

For his part, Jim Nabors was delighted to portray the character, telling Allan Newsome during an interview for his Two Chairs, No Waiting Andy Griffith Show podcast. “I had the good fortune, if you’re gonna play a character, to play as nice a guy as he was. People always ask me if I would like to be identified differently and I tell them, ‘Absolutely not!’ I really enjoyed it and still do. I haven’t necessarily made my career totally on Gomer, because I’ve used so much music in my career, but I’ve been very blessed in that I’ve had a diverse career. I had a situation comedy, a concert career and a variety show. It’s all been really wonderful, because in show business you’re always kind of looking for your next job. It’s a very insecure business. Fortunately, I was never without a job in 40 years. And it’s been one of my favorite things I’ve ever done, because I didn’t have to carry the show. And yet it was a learning experience for me. I couldn’t wait to go to work every day, because I knew I was gonna laugh, enjoy myself and have a good time.”

7. Jim Nabors was only in 23 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show

There are certain actors who make such an impression on the audience that they come away from a series thinking said actor was a regular on the show, but that’s hardly the case. One example is Paul Lynde, who appeared in just 11 episodes of Bewitched as Uncle Arthur. Another is Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, portraying the character in only 23 episodes spread across seasons three and four of The Andy Griffith Show.

“The appeal of the character of Gomer was his innocence,” muses Allan Newsome. “It was an innocent behavior. His outlook on life was kind of a rosy one. He always saw the best in people, never assumed anybody was a bad person. And I think there’s something attractive about that, to see somebody that is genuine and really believes what he lives.”

8. He was a fast learner

The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle was the first acting experience that Jim Nabors had, but he revealed himself to be a quick study. As de Vise writes, “Andy and Don were stunned, first at Jim’s talent and then at his swift rise. Each of them had spent long years honing his craft, while Jim had arrived at the Griffith Show seemingly fresh off the bus from Alabama. Yet, the chemistry among the three transplanted Southerners was immediate.”

As Jim Nabors told Newsome, “Andy was secure enough as a performer that he could let each one of us go with whatevr we could do. Of course, it was hard for me not to laugh when I’d do a scene with Don Knotts sometimes, because he was so hysterical. He used to break me up when I was supposed to be standing there looking kind of dumb, but I’d always be grinning. The director would be sayin’, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that!’”

9. A spin-off seemed inevitable

The connection that Jim Nabors made with the television audience was profound, and Andy Griffith felt there could be a better use for his talents than as a recurring character on his show. Notes de de Vise, “Andy had previously pestered Aaron Ruben, producer of the Griffith Show, to find a star vehicle for his ascendant costar. Now, Andy marched into Aaron’s office, sat down, put his feet up on Aaron’s desk and announced, ‘I ain’t leavin’ until we come up with something for Jim.’ Aaron told Andy, ‘Well, Jim — Gomer — is such an easygoing, peace-loving, sweet guy, I’d like to see him thrust into a situation where he comes up against everything diametrically opposite to his character. Something almost violent. Something that’s just like … the Marines.’”

10. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. aired on CBS from 1964 to 1969 for a total of 150 episodes, 3o of them in black and white and the balance in color. The show saw one of Mayberry’s two mechanics (the other being Goober) enter the Marines, where he would be trained by — and constantly squaring off innocently against — Frank Sutton’s Sergeant Carter.

“What they came up with was the idea of putting him in the military right at the time the United States was starting to get involved with Vietnam,” suggests Geoffrey Mark. “So our military was a topic of discussion, but it was not yet controversial. They got to surround Nabors’ slightly effeminate Gomer with a lot of testosterone-filled costars to balance it out. They were very lucky that Frank Sutton was brilliantly cast as Sergeant Carter.”

Says Reese, “His character on The Andy Griffith Show didn’t have much in the way of dimension, but in his own show, it just expanded him. And playing against Frank Sutton was the perfect chemistry. To me, it’s one of the great series of the 1960s and very much overlooked. It was so popular at the time, so it’s a little surprising that it’s kind of almost forgotten.”

11. The show had a limited premise

The original idea behind the series is that Sergeant Carter was in command of a boot camp that Gomer was sent to, which was great. But for five years? “In five years, Gomer somehow never left boot camp,” laughs Mark. “It was stuck in its premise and they started to completely redo storylines over again. They also kept a large hook into The Andy Griffith Show. Frances Bavier and Ron Howard appeared on the show, and there were episodes where Gomer went back to Mayberry. They always made sure the connection was there.”

The series was nonetheless a huge success.

12. Jim Nabors voluntarily ended Gomer Pyle

After five seasons, Jim Nabors was ready to leave Gomer Pyle behind as he wanted to get more fully involved with singing and take advantage of offers to perform in Las Vegas. Additionally, in 1969 he began starring in The Jim Nabors Hour on CBS, a variety show that co-starred Frank Sutton and Ronnie Schell from Gomer Pyle and would feature comedy sketches and guest singers.

At the time, he explained, “Most everybody told me not to leave Gomer, but I tell them the new show will be exciting. I love to sing and I thought a variety show of my own would be more rewarding to me personally. As to the money, I didn’t know, but as it turned out, doing the variety show has meant more money for me.”

However, in 1971 CBS went through its “rural purge,” getting rid of a number of shows that appealed to midwestern viewers with a desire to embrace urban audiences with edgier content. The Jim Nabors Show was out with the likes of The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, The Ed Sullivan Show and others.

13. He continued to work steadily

The only other regular series gig Jim Nabors had after that was the Saturday morning live action television series The Lost Saucer, co-starring Laugh-In‘s Ruth Buzzi. But he worked constantly, making a wide variety of guest appearances on episodic and variety shows, starring in a touring production of Man of La Mancha, enjoying an extensive singing career that included clubs, Harrah’s, albums and so on.

14. Jim Nabors in the 1990s

In 1991, Jim Nabors was awarded his own star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, though three years later he nearly lost his life as a result of liver failure from hepatitis B. Through the efforts of close friend Carol Burnett, he was able to get a transplant from the University of California, transforming what seemed to be a death sentence into an additional 23 years of life.

As he told Allan Newsome, “I can’t encourage people enough to be organ donors. It saved my life, gave me a few more years. I’ve been totally blessed by the good Lord that I could be here. It got down to the wire. I didn’t have very long … a week maybe.”

15. There was love in his life … and not just from his fans

Jim was in a relationship with Stan Cadwallader for 38 years at the time they were married in 2013, the two of them having moved to Hawaii in 1976 where they ran a successful macadamia plantation on Maui. Says Geoffrey Mark, “He was happy in his life, happy not having to worry about what people were saying about him. And he found his personal serenity there. Good for him and good for him going public before others did.”

16. The legacy of Jim Nabors — and Gomer Pyle — lives on

Jim Nabors died on November 30, 2017 at the age of 87, the memory of him and the character of Gomer Pyle enduring to this day. When he appeared on Allan Newsome’s podcast, he was asked his feelings regarding all of the love and good wishes expressed by his fans from around the world when he was ill, which signaled to him just how beloved he actually was.

“I thank them very much for their love, their kindness and their compassion to help me out during my time of need,” he responded. “It was truly a blessed time for me. I found out a lot of things about myself. Found out a lot of things about life. Most people go through life never facing up to their mortality, but once you have to do it, it’s a cleansing effect.”