Jim Nabors

At 87 years old, Jim Nabors has this physical status:

James Thurston Nabors (June 12, 1930–November 30, 2017), an American actor, singer, and comedian. Nabors was born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, but later moved to southern California due to an asthmatic disorder.

While working in a Santa Monica nightclub, Andy Griffith discovered him, and Gomer Pyle joined The Andy Griffith Show later in life.

The character was well-received, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show Gomer Pyle, Washington, D.C., by the artist.

He was best known for his role as Gomer Pyle in the 1960s and 1970s, but he also appeared on television shows that showcased his rich baritone singing voice in the 1960s and 1970s, including frequent appearances on the Carol Burnett Show and two specials of his own in 1969 and 1974.

He signed a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1965 and has since released numerous albums and singles, the majority of which were romantic ballads.

In the 1970s, he appeared on Ranwood Records. Prior to the Indianapolis 500, Nabors was also known for singing "Back Home Again in Indiana," which was held every year over the Memorial Day weekend.

From 1972 to 2014, he performed the unofficial Indiana anthem almost every year, except for occasional absences due to sickness or scheduling conflicts.

Personal life

In the 1960s, Nabors first started holidaying in Hawaii, and in 1976, the Nabors moved from Bel Air, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. He owned a macadamia plantation on Maui for 25 years before selling it to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, a conservationist group, although he maintained farming rights to the property and owned a second home on the property.

During the 1990s, Nabors owned a house and spent some summers in Whitefish, Montana.

On January 15, 2013, Nabors married Stan Cadwallader, a 38-year-old man, at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington, a month after same-sex marriage became legal in Washington. They met in the 1970s, when Cadwallader was a fireman in Honolulu, and they began dating in 1975. Although Nabors' homosexuality was not well known before, it was still not completely unknown. For example, Nabors carried Cadwallader, his then-partner, along to his Indy 500 appearance in 1978.

Nabors reportedly married actor Rock Hudson in the early 1970s, shortly before Nabors' acquaintance with Cadwallader began. Not only was same-sex marriage not legal in the United States at the time, but the two closest gay actors were, according to each other, not more than casual acquaintances. The tale, according to Hudson, began with a group of "middle-aged homosexuals" who live in Huntington Beach, who gave out joke invitations for their annual get-together. One year, the organization welcomed its members to attend "the wedding of Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors," in which Hudson will be dubbed "Rock Pyle" in honor of Nabors' most popular character, Gomer Pyle. The rumors spread, and as a result, the two made sure they were never seen in public together.

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Early life and career

On June 12, 1930, Nabors, a police officer, and Mavis Pearl (née Newman), and Mavis Pearl (née Newman). Freddie and Annie Ruth, both older sisters, were his older sister. He performed for his high school and church. He began to act in skits at the University of Alabama later in life. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity while in Alabama. After graduating, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he started as a typewriter for the United Nations; after a year, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he began working as a film cutter at NBC affiliate WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV), and was also a substitute co-host on the show Holiday for Housewives.

Nabors travelled to Los Angeles and resumed his film cutting duties, this time for NBC. He appeared and performed in cabaret theater at The Horn in Santa Monica. His appearance portrayed him as a character similar to Gomer Pyle's later life. He sang and sang in his baritone voice and occasionally sang in his higher-pitched comedic voice. Bill Dana attended Nabors' appearance at the club and invited him to appear on The Steve Allen Show. Nabors stayed on to the show, but it was soon cancelled.

Career

On the Today in Dixie show on WJBF in Augusta, Georgia, Nabors made his television debut as "Jimmy Nabors" on the Today in Dixie show. He was active in the choir at Grace United Methodist Church in North Augusta.

On The Andy Griffith Show ("The Bank Job"), Andy Griffith discovered Nabors at The Horn and recruited him to play Gomer Pyle, a dissatisfied gas station attendant. Nabors' character was based on his appearance at The Horn, and it became so popular that he was made a regular on the show and then moved to Gomer Pyle, U.M.C., where his character joined the Marines. Nabors' bungling, naive character opposite Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter was placed on the show (Frank Sutton).

Despite the emergence of the Vietnam War, Gomer Pyle remained popular, with the show avoiding war-related topics in favour of the character's rural roots and the friendship between Pyle and Carter. Nabors resigned from Gomer Pyle, Washington, D.C. "Reach for another rung on the ladder, either up or down," the entrepreneur said after five seasons because he wanted to change to something else.

On February 24, 1964, "The Song Festers" episode of The Andy Griffith Show, and on April 8, 1964, Nabors first demonstrated his fine singing voice, resulting in numerous successful recordings and live performances. The majority of the songs were romantic ballads, though he performed pop, gospel, and country songs as well.

The dramatic vocal performance on Gomer Pyle, Washington, D.C., was elating. Pyle performed "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" in Washington, D.C., alongside the Marine Corps Band, on a U.S. Navy relief show titled "The Show Must Go On" on November 3, 1967. Pyle's tag line, "surprise, surprise, delight," is a clip from the show in which Pyle says, "Surprise, surprise, surprise." "Nobody Home" appears on Pink Floyd's album The Wall, as the song "Nobody Home" appears. He hosted The Jim Nabors Hour (1969–1971), which featured Gomer Pyle co-stars Ronnie Schell and Frank Sutton. Despite a poor critical reception, the performance was a hit and has been nominated for an Emmy Award. After the cancellation of The Jim Nabors Hour, Nabors embarked on a national roadshow.

Gomer Pyle, Nabors' typecasting found that his subsequent roles were mainly comedic. He appeared on the children's television show The Krofft Supershow in the 1970s. Burnett called him a "good-luck charm" in every season of The Carol Burnett Exhibition. She was so close that he became her daughter Jody's godfather.

In a 1973 episode of The Rookies, he appeared in his first dramatic role, a man who was proclaimed to be an assassin after his sister's death. Before Game One of the Major League Baseball World Series in 1973, Nabors performed "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Jim Nabors Show, which ran from 1977 to 1978, was hosted by Nabors. Despite the fact that the show lasted only one season, Nabors was nominated for the Best Host or Hostess in a Talk, Service, or Variety Series.

Nabors grew bored with the "prime-time TV grind" and moved to television productions for nightclub and festival appearances, as well as a participation in a touring version of Man of La Mancha. However, Sid and Marty Krofft wanted Nabors to appear in the Saturday-morning children's television show The Lost Saucer, about two bumbling androids, Fi (Ruth Buzzi) and Fum (Nabors), who travel through time with two children. In a few of the episodes, Nabors, who was described as a "Gomer Pyle in outer space," sang. On episode 6 of season 1 of The Muppet Show, Nabors appeared as a guest star.

Nabors appeared in three feature-length films starring his buddy Burt Reynolds in the 1980s, at the latter's request. In a tetany house in Texas (1982), Nabors played Deputy Fred, a sheriff who falls in love with a brothel madam (Dolly Parton). Despite the fact that the film received mainly critical feedback, Nabors received some praise for his role.

In 1983, Nabors played an auto mechanic in Stroker Ace, starring Burt Reynolds, a NASCAR race car racer with a tumultuous relationship with his team's chief, a fried-chicken fast-food chain entrepreneur. The film was panned, and Nabors received a Golden Raspberry Award for his efforts. Nabors appeared in Reynolds' stars-studded Cannonball Run II (1984), about a cross-country car chase, as Dom DeLuise, Jackie Chan, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Griffith co-stars Don Knotts and George Lindsey. Cannonball received mainly critical feedback after two previous Reynolds films Nabors appeared in.

Nabors returned to television in 1986, reprising his role as Gomer Pyle in the television show Return to Mayberry, in which the cast of The Andy Griffith Show reunited. Also in 1986, Nabors appeared in the half-hour comedy pilot Sylvan in Paradise as the title character, Sylvan Sprayberry, an accident-prone bell captain at a Hawaiian hotel. The series was not picked up by NBC.

After transferring to Hawaii with his partner Stan Cadwallader in 1976, he introduced The Jim Nabors Polynesian Extravaganza, which lasted for two years. Except for occasional appearances, Nabors eventually experienced "bright-light burnout" and vanished from the stage. Nabors returned to perform in 1984, after a five-year absence, appearing in the "Moulin Rouge" show at the Las Vegas Hilton and other Reno and Las Vegas shows. He appeared in The Music Man with Florence Henderson in 1982, his first performance appearance in the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, Florida.

Nabors died of a near-fatal case of hepatitis B in 1994. He contracted the disease while traveling in India, according to Nabors; he shaved with a straight razor and "whacked [his] face all up." Nabors was given a dim prognosis because of liver transplantation, but his colleague Carol Burnett contacted University of California, Los Angeles, and told Nabors the facts. As a result of his work with the American Liver Foundation, Nabors became involved with the American Liver Foundation later.

Nabors embarked on another tour, stopping in Phoenix, St. Louis, and Washington just short of recovering from his transplant. Nabors appeared in Burton White-produced A Merry Christmas with Friends and Nabors, a live performance at the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu from 1997 to 2006. The show, which featured local and national artists, lasted for 40 shows before Hansen's death in 2006. John Rampage directed the final performance, which was dedicated to Hansen.

Nabors performed "Back Home Again in Indiana" with the Purdue All-American Marching Band from 1972 to 2014 before each Indianapolis 500 race. Since health problems were restricting his ability to travel, Nabors revealed in March 2014 that the 2014 Indianapolis 500 would be his last appearance. Since his retirement from this service, "Back Home Again in Indiana" was now performed on a rotating basis (as it had been before Nabors became the regular performer), until a permanent replacement was named in Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer Jim Cornelison.

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