How may of us here in the Berkshires remember when you were growing up and seeing this man on TV and thinking he was one of the funniest adults you ever saw? and who didn't go around saying golly with a southern twang? Jim Nabors had his own way with comedy that made him very special.

JIM NABORS died at his home in Hawaii yesterday, at the age of 87.  There's no word on a cause of death. He was best known as auto mechanic Gomer Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show".  His character enlisted in the Marines for the spin-off "Gomer Pyle: USMC".

Gomer's catch phrase was "Shazam!"  He also said 'Gosh' and 'Golly' A LOT


bigmarkward9999 / Via YouTube

He joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in its third season, and was originally only supposed to appear in one episode.  But he was so popular that he stayed on as a regular character and then got his own show.  It lasted five seasons.

Nabors didn't do many movies, but he was in a few, including "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas""Stroker Ace", and as a character named Homer Lyle in "Cannonball Run 2".

He also sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the Indianapolis 500 over Memorial Day Weekend.  He sang it almost every year from 1972 to 2014.

Jim was gay, and in 2013 he married his partner of 38 YEARS in Seattle. while Jim was closeted early in his career, it was an open secret later on, because he didn't bother keeping it under wraps.

 

 

 

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