Jim Nabors, Gomer Pyle on ‘Andy Griffith Show,’ dies at 87

By

Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones pins the lance corporal insignia on the lapel of actor Jim Nabors during a spoof promotion ceremony on Aug. 9, 2001, at Camp Smith in Honolulu. The light-hearted ceremony promoted Nabors’ fictional television sitcom character, Gomer Pyle, after 37 years as a PFC. (Ronen Zilberman/AP)

Jim Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle on TV’s “The Andy Griffith Show,” has died at 87.

Nabors died peacefully at his home in Hawaii on Thursday with his husband, Stan Cadwallader, at his side. He was 87.

Cadwallader says Nabors’ health had been declining for the past year. His immune system also was suppressed after he underwent a liver transplant about 20 years ago.

Nabors became an instant success when he joined “The Andy Griffith Show” in the early 1960s.

The character of Gomer Pyle, the unworldly, lovable gas pumper who would exclaim “Gollllll-ly!” proved so popular that in 1964 CBS starred him in “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”

Nabors’ operatic voice also made him a favorite in Las Vegas and other showplaces.