RIP Gomer PyleJim Nabors, the comic actor best known for his years playing Gomer Pyle, one of TV's most lovable goofs, has died at the age of 87. Nabors' husband, Stan Cadwallader, confirmed to The Associated Press that the actor and singer died at home in Honolulu.
"Everybody knows he was a wonderful man. And that's all we can say about him," Cadwallader told the news service. "He's going to be dearly missed."
Virtually since the moment Nabors joined the cast of The Andy Griffith Show in the early 1960s, the actor and his classic character became indelibly entwined. A sweet-natured klutz with a stable of catchphrases — "Gollllll-ly" and "shazam!" best-remembered among them — Nabors' gas station attendant quickly became a favorite with viewers.
And not long after joining the show, Nabors parlayed that performance into another hit comedy, a 1964 spinoff in which Pyle bumbles his way into the Marine Corps. Called Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. — and weekly featuring the friction between Pyle and his no-nonsense drill sergeant — the show lasted five seasons, most of which were spent as one of television's most popular programs.
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