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Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

 
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Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. title screen. Jim Nabors said that it was difficult for him to watch the opening sequence of the show, because many of the Marines he is seen marching with were killed in Vietnam.[1][2]
Genre Military comedy
Rural comedy
Created by Aaron Ruben
Starring Jim Nabors
Frank Sutton
Ronnie Schell
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 150
Production
Running time 30 minutes (with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Original run September 25, 1964 – May 2, 1969
Chronology
Related shows The Andy Griffith Show

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.[fn 1] is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS-TV from September 25, 1964 to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy Griffith Show on May 19, 1964. The show ran for 5 seasons and a total of 150 episodes. In 2006, CBS Home Entertainment began releasing the series on DVD. The final season was released in November 2008.

The series was created by Aaron Ruben, who also produced the show with Sheldon Leonard and Ronald Jacobs. Filmed at and set in California (originally set in North Carolina), it stars Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, a naive but good-natured gas-station attendant from the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, who enlists in the United States Marine Corps.[3] Frank Sutton plays Gomer's worldly-wise and irritable Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter, and Ronnie Schell plays Gomer's friend Duke Slater. Because the series never discussed the Vietnam War (despite its military theme) and instead focused on the relationship between Gomer and Sergeant Carter, the show retained high ratings throughout its run. Despite the positive reception, CBS canceled the show (and other rural-themed programs) because of a perception that such programs did not appeal to their target demographic, high-income urban audiences.[4]

Contents

History

See also: The Andy Griffith Show

Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, writers for The Andy Griffith Show, are credited with creating the character of Gomer Pyle. The character was based on an "incompetent" gas station attendant whom Greenbaum met and named after Gomer Cool (a writer) and Denver Pyle (an actor on The Andy Griffith Show).[5] Jim Nabors was cast to play Gomer; he had been performing for a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, when Andy Griffith discovered him.[6][7] Though originally intended to appear only in one episode, Gomer proved popular, and after one year on the show, Nabors was given his own spin-off produced by Aaron Ruben. The pilot episode of Gomer Pyle was filmed in 1963 as part of The Andy Griffith Show, but was not aired until 1964, as the finale of The Andy Griffith Show's fourth season.[8]

I had recently driven into a gas station with motor trouble. The attendant could think of no cure except to add more gas to the tank. We decided to write such an incompetent into the script.
—Everett Greenbaum on the creation of the character Gomer Pyle[5]

The 1960s saw a return to "the more mundane sensibilities of comedy", due to viewers' wishes for television programming to be a "cultural antidepressant". Thus, fantasy and rural-oriented comedies gained popularity and dominated the Nielsen ratings.[9][10] Like other comedies at the time, Gomer Pyle was a "deep escapis[t]" show; it avoided political commentary and offered viewers a distraction from the social changes of the 1960s.[11][12] Despite being a military-themed show and airing during the peak of the Vietnam conflict, the show never discussed the war.[4][13] Instead, the show focused on "Gomer's innocent simplicity [and] Sergeant Carter's frustration and later concern for Gomer's well-being". This, compounded with the popularity of rural comedies in the 1960s, made the show popular.[4] Frank Sutton, who played Carter, also ascribed the show's popularity to its concentration on its two main characters, the plots being built around their respective personalities.[14] The program remained in the Top Ten of the ratings throughout its run—in the top three for all but its third season when CBS moved it from Fridays to Wednesdays.[15][16] However, CBS programming chief Fred Silverman eventually felt that rural-oriented programs appealed only to a demographic "too old and too poor" to buy the products advertised in the network's commercials. Such programs were "purged" in favor of "hip, urban programming"; Gomer Pyle was canceled after five seasons.[4][17][18][19][fn 2]

After the cancellation of Gomer Pyle, Jim Nabors hosted his own variety show, The Jim Nabors Hour, from 1969 to 1971. As well as showcasing Nabors' singing (he had previously revealed his rich baritone voice), the show included comedy sketches that featured Nabors's Gomer Pyle co-stars Frank Sutton and Ronnie Schell.[23] Though told that he should not leave Gomer Pyle, Nabors felt that the show would still be exciting and noted that every character he portrayed in his sketches "turn[ed] out to be Gomer".[24]

Production

Camp Pendleton. The show was filmed there and at Desilu Studios.

The show was produced by creator Aaron Ruben, Andy Griffith Show producer Sheldon Leonard, and Ronald Jacobs; it was co-produced by Bruce Bayley Johnson and E. Duke Vincent.[25] Among the writers were Sam Bobrick, Harvey Miller, Aaron Ruben, Jack Elinson, and Bill Idelson; Andy Griffith Show writers Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell also wrote episodes. Coby Ruskin directed the bulk of the episodes; other directors included John Rich, Gary Nelson, Peter Baldwin, and Alan Rafkin. Ruth Burch was in charge of the casting, and John Finger directed the videography.[25] The theme song was composed by Earle Hagen, who also composed the themes for shows such as The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and That Girl.[26] The show was filmed at Camp Pendleton and Desilu Studios's RKO Forty Acres backlot, where The Andy Griffith Show was filmed.[17][27][28] Though Ruben preferred the use of a multiple-camera setup for comedy programs, Gomer Pyle used a single-camera setup because much of the shooting was conducted outdoors.[29] In his book And The Show Goes On, Sheldon Leonard explained that the armed forces offer levels of "cooperation" with filmmakers. Because the Marines felt that the show would be good for the branch's image, Gomer Pyle was given "total cooperation", meaning that the show was allowed unlimited access to military equipment.[17]

Nabors and Sutton were the only actors credited in every episode.[fn 3] Ronnie Schell (who played Duke Slater) left in the fourth season to star in Good Morning, World, though he returned in the fifth season. Roy Stuart, who played Corporal Chuck Boyle, made his debut in the second season and left in the fifth. Andy Griffith, Frances Bavier, Ron Howard and George Lindsey made guest appearances on the series reprising their respective roles from The Andy Griffith Show.[fn 4] Denver Pyle and Allan Melvin, who both had roles on The Andy Griffith Show, appeared in Gomer Pyle but did not reprise their original roles. Denver Pyle, who had played Briscoe Darling in six episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, played tomato farmer Titus Purcell in the Gomer Pyle episode "The Price of Tomatoes". Allan Melvin, who had played Clarence "Doc" Malloy and other antagonists on The Andy Griffith Show, played Sergeant Carter's rival, Sergeant Hacker, for four seasons.

Premise

Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors, right) and Sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton, left)
See also: List of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. episodes

The premise of Gomer Pyle is similar to and perhaps inspired by Andy Griffith's movie No Time for Sergeants, which was based on the Mac Hyman novel of the same name.[34][35][36] Like Leonard's other shows, Gomer Pyle was character-driven; the main characters were "accessible" and "engaging", and the supporting characters were often eccentric.[37] In the show's pilot episode, Gomer, a gas-station attendant from Mayberry, joins the Marines. Gomer's naivety immediately exasperates his drill instructor, Sergeant Carter (Frank Sutton). Originally situated in Camp Wilson in North Carolina, the setting was moved to the fictional Camp Henderson in California.[38] The show was a fish-out-of-water piece, which, like its contemporary The Beverly Hillbillies, featured rural characters in an urban setting.[39][40] Like other comedies of the 1960s, the show avoided political commentary (especially concerning the Vietnam War) and focused instead on the predicaments that ensued from Gomer's unintentional breaking of the rules or sticking his foot in his mouth.[41][42]

Among the themes explored were the honesty and "strong family values supposedly inherent in small town life"; according to author Gerard Jones, Gomer Pyle's basic message was "far simpler than any corporate suburban sitcoms with their lessons in compromise and role-following [...] It said merely that the oldest, most basic, least sophisticated sort of sweetness could redeem even the toughest modern types".[3][43] Author Elizabeth Hirschman noted that Gomer represented a "uniquely American archetype"—a "large, powerful man physically" with the "simple, honest nature of a child or animal". She also noted that, like stories with characters of such an archetype, Gomer's trusting nature was often taken advantage of, though in the end he "reaps happiness" because of his innocence.[44] In his book Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America, media and communications scholar James Wittebols said that Gomer Pyle illustrated how class differences "supposedly negated or diminished by military training" appeared in military hierarchy.[45]

Characters

Main article: List of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. characters
Gomer's personality might best be summed up by the words "Aw, shucks."
—The Andy Griffith Show Book[46]

Gomer Pyle (played by Jim Nabors) is a good-natured and innocent private whose naivety constantly annoys his drill instructor, Sergeant Carter. Eventually, however, his "unquestioning love and trust of the world"[3] lead those in his platoon to befriend him. Gomer was created as a stereotype of a rural American; according to Time, he "wears a gee-whiz expression, spouts homilies out of a lopsided mouth and lopes around uncertainly like a plowboy stepping through a field of cow dung. He is a walking disaster area".[47] Though never promoted beyond private first class during the show's run, he was "promoted" to lance corporal in 2001 and again to corporal in 2007.[48][49][50]

Gomer: I'm gonna be a fighting fool, you'll see. Sergeant Carter: Well, you're halfway there.
—"The Feudin' Pyles"[51]

Vince Carter (played by Frank Sutton), a gunnery sergeant, is Gomer's irritable drill instructor who is constantly annoyed by Gomer's well-intentioned mistakes.[52] Due to the audience's demand for more family-oriented programming, he eventually revealed his softer side: he became a father figure to Gomer as well as his best friend.[4][38][3] Sutton noted about his character that he was created "out of whole cloth for the show" and was played "by ear".[14]

Duke Slater (played by Ronnie Schell) is Gomer's friend and platoon-mate. Schell left the show in the fourth season to star in the show Good Morning, World, but returned in the final season as the corporal of Gomer's platoon.

Chuck Boyle (played by Roy Stuart) is Gomer's corporal. He often serves as Carter's conscience and sticks up for Gomer when Sergeant Carter is annoyed over his mistakes. Stuart made his debut in the second season and left the show in the final season; Boyle was replaced by Duke Slater as corporal.

Lou-Ann Poovie (played by Elizabeth MacRae) is Gomer's girlfriend. She debuts in the third season as a singer for a nightclub, but leaves the job at Gomer's urging to return home to North Carolina and marry her beau. In a later episode in the same season, she returns to California and reveals that she called the wedding off. At the end of the episode, she reveals that she wants Gomer to be her boyfriend, to the dismay of Carter and Duke. After she loses her job at the nightclub, Gomer finds her a job as a salesclerk at a record shop.

Media

E. Kitzes Knox wrote a novel based on the series, also titled Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The book was published by Pyramid and was released in 1966.[53] Jim Nabors recorded Shazam!, the official soundtrack of the show, and released it on the Columbia Records label.[54]

In August 2005, TVShowsOnDVD.com announced that an "industry insider" had disclosed that a DVD of the show was being produced.[55] The website confirmed it one year later and announced that the first season would be released in December 2006.[56] Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Complete First Season was released on December 12, 2006 in Region 1.[57] The set included episode summaries narrated by Jim Nabors, audio commentary by Nabors and Ronnie Schell, and clips from The David Frost Show, The Lucy Show, and The Jim Nabors Hour. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Complete Second Season, released on June 26, 2007, was released only in Region 1; it did not contain any bonus features.[58] Likewise, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Complete Third Season (released on December 11, 2007) and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Complete Fourth Season (released on May 20, 2008) were released only in Region 1 and did not contain bonus features.[59][60] Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.: The Final Season was released on November 25, 2008 in Region 1 only.[61]

Footnotes

  1. ^ The show (and CBS) renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC.
  2. ^ In her book Prime-Time Television: A Concise History, author Barbara Moore suggests that another reason for the cancellation of the show was the worsening situation in Vietnam, which "polarized" American society and made military-centered sitcoms "no longer seem that funny".[20] Other sources say that Nabors quit because he wanted to star in a variety show.[21][22]
  3. ^ Though credited in every episode, Frank Sutton did not appear in the episodes "Arrivederci, Gomer", "Corporal Carol", "Gomer and the Queen of Burlesque", and "Love and Goulash".[30][31][32][33]
  4. ^ As Andy Taylor, Aunt Bee, Opie Taylor, and Goober Pyle, respectively

Notes

  1. ^ "Jim Nabors Trivia". HollywoodUpClose.com. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.. http://hollywood.premiere.com/tv_stars/celebrity-trivia-Jim+Nabors. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. 
  2. ^ Bumgardner, Ronda (February 7, 2009). "Ask SAM". Winston-Salem Journal (Tribune Company). http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/feb/07/ask-sam/community-askSAM/. Retrieved on 2009-02-18. 
  3. ^ a b c d Jones, p.172–173
  4. ^ a b c d e Olson, p.196
  5. ^ a b Kelly, p.115
  6. ^ Kelly, p.50
  7. ^ King, Susan (June 2, 2002). "Just Like Gomer, Jim Nabors Remains the Optimist". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company): pp. F-15. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jun/02/entertainment/ca-36464. Retrieved on 2008-12-06. 
  8. ^ "The Andy Griffith Show: Gomer Pyle USMC". Allmovie. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:235259. Retrieved on 7 December 2008. 
  9. ^ Roman, p.106
  10. ^ The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, p.418
  11. ^ Marc, p.128
  12. ^ Moore, Bensman, and Van Dyke p.128
  13. ^ Marc & Thompson, p.94
  14. ^ a b Lowry, Cynthia (July 29, 1965). "Gomer Pyle Show Scored Immediately". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press: p. 4. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e4IKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h0sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4812,1182940&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved on 2008-12-06. 
  15. ^ Farber & Bailey, p.401–402
  16. ^ Hyatt, p.96
  17. ^ a b c Leonard & Griffith, p.133
  18. ^ Erickson, p.141
  19. ^ Moore, Bensman, and Van Dyke p.127
  20. ^ Moore, Bensman, and Van Dyke p.134
  21. ^ "It's True, Gomer's in Final Season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Block Communications): p. 49. November 4, 1968. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=J0kNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aWwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5496,598661&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved on 27 January 2009. 
  22. ^ Scheuer, Steven (January 2, 1969). "Nabors Dropping 'Gomer Pyle' Role". St. Petersburg Times (Times Publishing Company): p. 13-B. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rv0LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lFcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2120,355419&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved on 27 January 2009. 
  23. ^ "Wednesday, September 24". Time. Time Inc.. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844903,00.html. Retrieved on 14 December 2008. 
  24. ^ Scott, Vernon (October 2, 1969). "In Hollywood". The Bryan Times: p. 16. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dkILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SlIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4167,166614&dq=the+jim+nabors+hour. Retrieved on 2008-12-13. 
  25. ^ a b "Gomer Pyle USMC". Hollywood.com. Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/tv/Gomer_Pyle_USMC/5198682. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. 
  26. ^ Winn, Steven (June 3, 2008). "Earle Hagen and the Passing of TV Theme Songs". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2008/06/03/DDQS111P7D.DTL. Retrieved on 2009-01-02. 
  27. ^ Kane, p.56
  28. ^ "A Behind the Scenes Look at The Andy Griffith Show And The REAL Mayberry". Radok News. Radok Corporation. http://www.radoknews.com/andy-griffith-show-part-2.html. Retrieved on 13 January 2009. 
  29. ^ Kelly, p.33
  30. ^ "Arrivederci, Gomer". Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. 1966-01-21. No. 19, season 2. 
  31. ^ "Corporal Carol". Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. 1967-09-22. No. 3, season 4. 
  32. ^ "Gomer and the Queen of Burlesque". Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. 1968-02-02. No. 21, season 4. 
  33. ^ "Love and Goulash". Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. 1968-03-29. No. 28, season 4. 
  34. ^ Inman, David. "Andy Griffith mix-up". The Courier-Journal. Gannett Company. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090106/FEATURES07/901060330. Retrieved on 27 January 2009. 
  35. ^ Hicks, Chris (December 11, 2006). "Lovable Gomer Pyle, Andy Griffith both on DVD". Deseret News (Deseret News Publishing Company). http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,650213628,00.html. Retrieved on 27 January 2009. 
  36. ^ "Ira Levin, author of Rosemary's Baby, Stepford Wives, dies". CBC.ca (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). November 13, 2007. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2007/11/13/ira-levin.html?ref=rss. Retrieved on 27 January 2009. 
  37. ^ Jackson, Markoe, and Markoe p.334
  38. ^ a b Beck & Clark, p.88
  39. ^ Davis, Blythe, Winans, Scalese, and Winans p.8
  40. ^ Browne, p.331
  41. ^ Baseline Studio Systems. "Gomer Pyle USMC". The New York Times (online). The New York Times Company. http://tv.nytimes.com/show/155997/Gomer-Pyle-USMC/overview. Retrieved on 7 December 2008. 
  42. ^ "Gomer Pyle - USMC". CBS. http://www.cbstvd.com/shows.aspx?showID=35. Retrieved on 7 December 2008. 
  43. ^ Newcomb, p.113–115
  44. ^ Hirschman, pp. 73, 75
  45. ^ Wittebols, p.12
  46. ^ Beck & Clark, p.86
  47. ^ "Success Is a Warm Puppy". Time. Time Inc.. November 10, 1967. 1. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837550-1,00.html. Retrieved on 21 November 2008. 
  48. ^ "Pfc. Gomer Pyle Is Being Promoted". Associated Press. Honolulu: Yahoo!. August 8, 2001. Archived from the original on September 23, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20010923064607/http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20010808/099725767900.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-05. 
  49. ^ Harada, Wayne (September 11, 2007). "Jim Nabors to be named honorary corporal Sept. 25". The Honolulu Advertiser (Gannett Company). http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Sep/11/br/br0836725491.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-24. 
  50. ^ "Marines Promote Jim Nabors' Gomer Pyle". KITV.com (KITV). September 26, 2007. http://www.kitv.com/news/14211211/detail.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-24. 
  51. ^ "The Feudin' Pyles". Hy Kraft (writer) & Coby Ruskin (director). Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (CBS). 1965-01-22. No. 18, season 1. 
  52. ^ "Gomer Pyle, USMC Cast and Details". TV Guide. OpenGate Capital. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/gomer-pyle-usmc/cast/100185. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. 
  53. ^ "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Gomer-Pyle-U-S-M-C-Kitzes-Knox/dp/B000BKD4FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229390322&sr=1-1. Retrieved on 16 December 2008. 
  54. ^ "SHAZAM! Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Includes 'You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd'". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/SHAZAM-Gomer-U-S-M-C-Roller-Buffalo/dp/B0014HD9X8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1229390189&sr=8-1. Retrieved on 15 December 2008. 
  55. ^ Lambert, David (August 31, 2005). "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. DVD news: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! A Little Bird Tells Us That DVDs ARE In The Works!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gomer-Pyle-USMC/4029. Retrieved on 13 December 2008. 
  56. ^ Lacey, Gord (August 19, 2006). "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - Andy Griffith Spin-off coming this December". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gomer-Pyle-USMC/6312. Retrieved on 13 December 2008. 
  57. ^ Lacey, Gord (August 19, 2006). "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - Andy Griffith Spin-off coming this December". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gomer-Pyle-USMC/6312. Retrieved on 12 December 2008. 
  58. ^ "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete 2nd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Gomer-Pyle-USMC-Complete-2nd-Season/6576. Retrieved on 13 December 2008. 
  59. ^ "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete 3rd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Gomer-Pyle-USMC-Complete-3rd-Season/7132. Retrieved on 13 December 2008. 
  60. ^ "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - The Complete 4th Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Gomer-Pyle-USMC-4th-Season/7545. Retrieved on 13 December 2008. 
  61. ^ Lambert, David (July 28, 2008). "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - 'Gaaawly, Sarge! Is That All of It?' 'Yes, Pyle...This Is Your Final Season!'". TVShowsOnDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Gomer-Pyle-USMC-The-Final-Season/10182. Retrieved on 2008-12-12. 

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