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James Thurston Nabors

Updated Mar 10, 2025
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James Thurston Nabors
A photo of James "Jim" Thurston Nabors, as Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show. His character was so popular that he went on to have his own show, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.

He was also a wonderful singer and, in addition to recording and appearing in specials on tv, he sang the song "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the Indy 500 almost every year from 1972 through 2014.

Nabors was able to legally marry his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, in 2013. He died from natural causes at home on November 30, 2017 - Cadwallader survives him.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Jim Nabors - or Gomer Pyle, as we still think of him over 50 years later - died today from natural causes, dying at the age of 87. RIP Gomer.
Photo of Lee Hughes Lee Hughes
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11/30/2017
Rest in Peace...
Photo of Glenda Maree Glenda Maree
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11/30/2017
R I P Jim Nabors
Photo of Mary Whalen Mary Whalen
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11/30/2017
Awww. ..
Photo of Darlene Eldredge Darlene Eldredge
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11/30/2017
Goooollly........💕😕
Photo of Veronica Lee Mcguire Veronica Lee Mcguire
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11/30/2017
R.I.P
Photo of Linda Irick Pennoyer Linda Irick Pennoyer
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11/30/2017
He had such a beautiful singing voice. RIP.
Photo of Brenda Mccreight Warren Brenda Mccreight Warren
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11/30/2017
Rest in peace
Photo of Carine Munro Carine Munro
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11/30/2017
RIP.. Ty for the wonderful show
Photo of Linda Woody Linda Woody
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11/30/2017
A shame. A good Actor.
Photo of Shirley K. Brown Shirley K. Brown
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11/30/2017
Sure hope he trusted Christ to save his soul🙏
Photo of Doris Krueger Buchmann Doris Krueger Buchmann
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11/30/2017
His soul is just fine ! Worry about yours now!
Photo of Janine Banthrum Janine Banthrum
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11/30/2017
Beautiful voice RIP
Photo of Frances Terry Miles Frances Terry Miles
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11/30/2017
Rest In Peace Jim Nabors...
Photo of Jason Beck Jason Beck
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11/30/2017
Another one I thought had already passed some time ago
Photo of Helen Norvell Helen Norvell
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11/30/2017
He was a great guy, that voice was amazing ! Loved watch him! RIP !
Photo of KellieAnne Smith Foreman KellieAnne Smith Foreman
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11/30/2017
Such a good singer
Photo of Cindy Doty Cindy Doty
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11/30/2017
He was a Great actor and an Awesome singer.
What a voice he had!
Photo of Kathy Dunnavant Kathy Dunnavant
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11/30/2017
Rip Jim.
Photo of Jean Payne Jean Payne
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11/30/2017
May he Rest In Peace.
Photo of Debby Sprouse Abad Debby Sprouse Abad
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11/30/2017
Loved him! Used to watch his show. He had a beautiful singing voice!
Photo of Josephine Lovering Josephine Lovering
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11/30/2017
He was great in this show 🙏🏻
Photo of Charlene McCabe Allemon Charlene McCabe Allemon
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11/30/2017
Rip. Wonderful actor!
Photo of Rose Gasak Rose Gasak
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11/30/2017
RIP, Jim
Photo of Paula Renner McCann Paula Renner McCann
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11/30/2017
I loved watching him. Godspeed sir.
Photo of Melanie Clark Melanie Clark
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11/30/2017
A wonderful actor singer ....Golly geez he was a nice guy!
Photo of Carolyne Jackson Carolyne Jackson
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11/30/2017
RIP Gomer
Photo of Alice Devers Alice Devers
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11/30/2017
He was a fantastic singer!!! Goodbye Jim! RIP
surprise, surprise, surprise... and not a good one either - RIP
Photo of Saundra Crenshaw Hayman Saundra Crenshaw Hayman
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11/30/2017
RIP Jim Nabors
Photo of Michael Mccombs Michael Mccombs
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11/30/2017
Grew up watching him and he was a real classic. May he Rest In Peace.
Photo of Kathy Kittelson Kathy Kittelson
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11/30/2017
Loved his character.
Photo of Terri Allen Terri Allen
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11/30/2017
Rest in peace.
Photo of Joan McCarty Joan McCarty
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11/30/2017
wonderfu; voice and dod gomer excellent
Photo of Kathy Kittelson Kathy Kittelson
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11/30/2017
Photo of Jann Davidson Jann Davidson
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11/30/2017
thanks for the memories
Photo of Tom Warner Tom Warner
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12/01/2017
A great singer! Saw him when he was with Bob Hope when I was in the Navy - Rota, Spain 1972. RIP
Photo of Pam Brooks Pam Brooks
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12/02/2017
Shazam..R.I.P. GOMER
Photo of Rachel Trenery-Sager Rachel Trenery-Sager
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12/04/2017
Funny Man Great singer,, Yep GOOOOOLLLY
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James "Jim" Thurston Nabors
Jim Nabors, a comic actor who found fame in the role of the amiable bumpkin Gomer Pyle in two hit television shows of the 1960s while pursuing a second career as a popular singer with a booming baritone voice, died on Thursday at his home in Honolulu. He was 87. His husband, Stan Cadwallader, confirmed the death. He said that Mr. Nabors’s health had been declining for a year and that his immune system had been suppressed since he underwent a liver transplant in 1994. At the time, Mr. Nabors announced that he had contracted hepatitis B in India several years earlier when he cut himself shaving with a contaminated straight razor, which he had bought there. Gomer Pyle, the character that so indelibly stamped Mr. Nabors’s career, originated in 1962 as a supporting role on “The Andy Griffith Show,” a bucolic CBS comedy that had been running since 1960. Gomer was a guileless, sweet-natured gas-station attendant in Mayberry, N.C., a sleepy fictional town where Mr. Griffith played the widower sheriff, Don Knotts his deputy, Ron Howard his son and Frances Bavier his matronly Aunt Bee. Mr. Nabors’s character, a village innocent who tended to make a mess of things, became a favorite, and his sheepish “gawwwleee” and wide-eyed “shazam!” became popular catchphrases.
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