James Thurston "Jim" Nabors (born June 12, 1930) is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California due to his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and consequently joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing Gomer Pyle, a dim-witted gas station attendant. The character proved popular, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Though best known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, Nabors became a popular guest on variety shows in the 1960s and 1970s (including two specials of his own in 1969 and 1974) after revealing a rich baritone voice. He subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of them containing romantic ballads.
Biography
Early life and career
Nabors was born to Mavis and Fred Nabors in Sylacauga, Alabama, where he sang for his high school and church. He attended the University of Alabama, where he began acting in skits. After graduating, he moved to New York, where he worked as a typist for the United Nations;[1][2] after a year, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he got his first job in the television industry as a film cutter. Due to his asthma, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a film cutter for NBC. He moonlighted at a Santa Monica tavern, The Horn, singing and acting in cabaret theater.[3][4] His act featured him as a character similar to the Gomer Pyle character he would later portray: he would sing in a baritone and sometimes his higher-pitched voices and speak in a higher-pitched voice.[5] At the club, comedian Bill Dana saw Nabors's act and invited him to appear on The Steve Allen Show. Nabors signed on to the show, but it was soon canceled.[6]
Breakthrough and popularity
It was at The Horn where Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith and was hired to play a one-shot role of Gomer Pyle, an "addlebrained" gas station attendant, on The Andy Griffith Show.[7] Nabors's character (based on his act at The Horn) became so popular that he was made a regular on the show and was later given his own show, the spin-off Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., in which his character joined the United States Marine Corps. The show, which placed Nabors's "bumbling" and "naive" character opposite Sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton), also proved popular. Despite its airing during the Vietnam War, a time of "profound disillusionment with war and the military", Gomer Pyle remained popular because it avoided war-related themes and instead focused on the show's rural roots and the relationship between Pyle and Sgt. Carter.[8][9][10] Eventually, however, CBS decided that rural comedies were not well-received by their target demographic and canceled the show after five seasons.[8]
Nabors revealed his rich baritone voice on a 1964 episode of The Danny Kaye Show and subsequently capitalized on it with numerous successful records and live performances.[11][12] Most of the songs were romantic ballads, though he also sang pop, gospel, and country songs.[13][14][15][16] He also hosted his own variety show, The Jim Nabors Hour (1969–1971), which also featured his Gomer Pyle co-stars Ronnie Schell and Frank Sutton.[17] Despite poor critical reception, the show proved popular.[18][19] After the cancellation of The Jim Nabors Hour, Nabors embarked on a nation-wide roadshow.[20]
Later career
"Locked into" his role as Gomer Pyle, Nabors's subsequent roles were mostly comedic.[13] In the 1970s, he appeared in the children's television programs Krofft Supershow and Buford and the Galloping Ghost. He also appeared in every season premiere of The Carol Burnett Show because Burnett considered him a "good-luck charm".[21] However, on a 1973 episode of The Rookies, he played his first "serious" role, a man called on to be an assassin after the death of his sister.[22][23] From 1977 to 1978, Nabors hosted another variety show, The Jim Nabors Show. Though the show only lasted one season, Nabors was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Talk, Service or Variety Series.[24] Nabors eventually grew tired of the "prime-time TV grind" and abandoned television jobs for nightclub and concert gigs and a role in a touring production of Man of La Mancha.[16] However, Sid and Marty Krofft persuaded Nabors to star in the television show The Lost Saucer, a show about two bumbling androids, Fi (Ruth Buzzi) and Fum (Nabors), who travel through time with two children. Nabors, whose character was described as a "Gomer Pyle in outer space", sang in a few of the episodes.[25]
In the 1980s, at the request of his friend Burt Reynolds, Nabors appeared in three feature-length films which starred Reynolds. In The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), about a sheriff (Reynolds) who falls in love with a brothel madam (Dolly Parton), Nabors played Deputy Fred, a character similar to Gomer Pyle.[26][27] Though the film was given mostly unfavorable reviews, Nabors garnered some praise for his performance.[28] However, not only was 1983's Stroker Ace (about a race car driver [Reynolds] who fights a fried-chicken chain entrepreneur) panned, Nabors earned a Golden Raspberry Award for his performance as the title character's mechanic.[29] In Reynold's "star-studded" Cannonball Run II (1984), about a cross-country car chase, Nabors made a cameo appearance alongside such celebrities as Dom DeLuise, Jackie Chan, Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Griffith Show co-stars Don Knotts and George Lindsey.[30] Like Reynolds's previous two films, Cannonball received mostly negative reviews.[31] In 1986, Nabors returned to television, reprising his role as Gomer Pyle in the television movie Return to Mayberry, in which the cast of The Andy Griffith Show reunited.[32] In 1986, Nabors starred 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.[33]
After moving to Hawaii from Bel Air, California in 1976, he launched a show, "The Jim Nabors Polynesian Extravaganza", at the Hilton Hawaiian Village; it ran for two years. Nabors eventually experienced "bright light burnout" and disappeared from the stage save for an occasional performance. In 1984, after a five-year hiatus, Nabors returned to performing, starring in the "Moulin Rouge" show at the Las Vegas Hilton and other shows in Reno and Las Vegas.[34] He made his theatrical debut as Harold Hill in The Music Man with Florence Henderson at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre.[35]
In 1994, Nabors suffered from a near-fatal case of hepatitis B. According to Nabors, he contracted the disease while traveling in India; he shaved with a straight razor and "whacked [his] face all up".[36] The disease caused liver failure, and Nabors was not given a hopeful prognosis; however, his friend Carol Burnett made an arrangement with the transplant division of UCLA and secured Nabors a transplant.[37] Nabors later became involved in the American Liver Foundation as a result of his experience.[38] Shortly after recovering from his liver transplant, Nabors embarked on another tour, with stops in Phoenix, St. Louis, and Washington.[39] From 1997 to 2006, Nabors starred in the Burton White-produced A Merry Christmas with Friends and Nabors, a live performance at the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The production, featuring local and national artists, ran for forty performances and was directed by Tom Hansen until his death in 2006. The final performance run was directed by John Rampage and dedicated to Hansen.[40] For over 30 years, he has sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" with the Purdue All-American Marching Band before each Indianapolis 500.[41][42]
Personal life
Nabors's successes have earned him accolades. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.[43] "Gomer Pyle" received an honorary promotion to Lance Corporal from the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones in 2001, and on September 25, 2007, he was promoted from Lance Corporal to Corporal by Lt. General John F. Goodman.[44][45] The Hawaii Pacific University awarded Nabors the Fellow of the Pacific Award for his "outstanding leadership, service, and dedication to the community".[41] In 2006, he was inducted into the Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame.[46] He received honors from the University of Alabama on September 2, 2006, before a football game against the University of Hawaii. On January 19, 2007, he, along with U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, was honored on January 19, 2007, at "A Night of American Heroes," a yearly dinner held in benefit of the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor.[47] U.S. Highway 280 in Talladega County, Alabama, was named "Jim Nabors Highway" in honor of the Sylacauga native.[41]
As he was "never without a job" for four decades, Nabors has never married: according to him, he was "really more married to his career".[37] Consequently, he has been the target of rumors alleging he is gay.[48][49] In the 1970s, a rumor began circulating that Nabors and then-closeted actor Rock Hudson were to marry. Though supposedly intended as a joke (with the punchline being that Hudson would then be known as "Rock Pyle"), the rumor was picked up by media and spread across the country.[50] Nabors was "horrified" by the rumor, as he felt that it hindered his ability to portray himself as something other than a comedic character.[51]
Nabors began vacationing in Hawaii in the 1960s, and in 1976, moved from Bel Air, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. For twenty-five years, he owned a macadamia nut plantation on Maui before selling it to the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, a conservationist organization (he still retains farming rights to the land and owns a second home on the property).[52]
Selected discography
Nabors has recorded twenty-eight albums and numerous singles; the albums listed have either been certified gold or platinum by the RIAA.
- 1966: Jim Nabors Sings Love Me With All Your Heart (Gold)
- 1968: Jim Nabors Sings The Lord's Prayer (Gold)
- 1980: The Heart Touching Magic Of Jim Nabors (Platinum)
- 1990: Jim Nabors Christmas Album (Gold)
Partial filmography
Notes
- ^ "Success Is a Warm Puppy". Time. Time Inc.. November 10, 1967. p. 1. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837550-1,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Nabors to call it quits on American Music Theatre stage". LancasterOnline. Archived from the original on November 9, 2008. http://webcitation.org/5cCGpSnZq. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ Brower, p. 140
- ^ "Jim Nabors History". JimNabors.com (official site). http://www.jimnabors.com/history.html. Retrieved November 10 2008.
- ^ 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 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Biography". Hollywood.com. Hollywood.com, LLC. http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Jim_Nabors/1445216#fullBio. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ Kelly, p.50
- ^ a b Olson, p.196
- ^ "Jim Nabors: Biography". Country Music Television. http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/nabors_jim/bio.jhtml. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Biography". Allmovie. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:51668~T1. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Scott, Vernon (June 10, 1970). "Jim Nabors Follows His Instincts to Fame". The Bryan Times: pp. 16. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UncJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=I0gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3145,4177445&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Wright, Fred (January 22, 1973). "Meet Jim (Gomer) Nabors". St. Petersburg Independent (Times Publishing Company): p. 12-A. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Sv4LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=81cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7495,2031702&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ a b Kelly, p.135
- ^ Harold, Chuck (June 17, 1971). "Jim Nabors Soars on Wings". St. Petersburg Independent (Times Publishing Company): p. 12-A. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5vULAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f1cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7264,4433053&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ Ober, Chick. "The Singing Jim Nabors". St. Petersburg Times (Times Publishing Company). http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fx0MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u1wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4638,3034698&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Jim Nabors". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:d9fixqe5ldfe. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ "Wednesday, September 24". Time. Time Inc.. September 26, 1969. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844903,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Scott, Vernon (October 9, 1969). "Television in Review". The Bryan Times (Deseret News Publishing Company): p. B7. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fEILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SlIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7098,598792&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ Du Brow, Rick (May 12, 1971). "Nabors to Plan Tour Show". The Deseret News. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L7MLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qVUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6887,2723171&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Has No Complaints". Rome News-Tribune (News Publishing Company): p. 5E. May 30, 1971. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tcoHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qTUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=886,4021792&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ Laurent, Lawrence (August 10, 1975). "Hanging on to Her Femininity Is Carol Burnett's Secret". St. Petersburg Independent. Washington Post Service (Times Publishing Company): p. 12-A. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0DIMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VF8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4892,1269071&dq=jim+nabors+carol+burnett. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Biography". Yahoo!. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800034746/bio. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ "Complete Television Programs for Monday". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Block Communications): pp. 31. November 19, 1973. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZuINAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_2wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7317,2581598&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ a b "Daytime Emmy Awards: 1978". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Daytime_Emmy_Awards/1978. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- ^ Erickson, p.141
- ^ Eder, Shirley (July 16, 1982). "Burt and Dolly Are Wonderful Together". St. Petersburg Times (Times Publishing Company): p. 4-A. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JO4LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J1kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5101,37194&dq=jim+nabors+whorehouse. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Anderson, George (July 26, 1982). "'Whorehouse' Loses in Translation". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Block Communications): pp. B2. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y0ENAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7173,5349681. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Hicks, Christopher (July 30–31, 1982). "Worst Little Musical in Texas". Deseret News. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Pf0OAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LoMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7466,8450164. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ a b Wilson, John (August 23, 2000). "1983 Raspberry Awards". Razzies.com. Golden Raspberry Awards. http://www.razzies.com/asp/content/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=23. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "'Cannonball' Sequel Is Simply Loaded With Stars". Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Holdings). June 30, 1984. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB297DAC7F5D4E2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-12-29. (Paid access required to view article.)
- ^ "Cannonball Run 2". Rotten Tomatoes. News Corp. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cannonball_run_2/. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ Vick, Karl (April 11, 1986). "Goll-ly, Andy's Back!". St. Petersburg Times (Times Publishing Company): pp. 2D. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wQYNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K2YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7048,2350643&dq=jim+nabors. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "Sylvan in Paradise". The New York Times. New York Times Company. http://tv.nytimes.com/show/62776/Sylvan-in-Paradise/overview. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ Macy, Robert (August 1, 1984). "Nabors Stages Reluctant Comeback". The Deseret News (Deseret News Publishing Company): p. 8 EV. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y-UOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9oIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7073,324816&dq=gomer+pyle. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Brings Flavor of Mayberry to Riverside". Mojave Daily Miner. October 16–October 22, 1990. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DH0LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OFMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6985,6919052. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ "Gomer Groaning". The Victoria Advocate (Victoria Advocate Publishing Co.): p. 5B. January 6, 1994. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GDAKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4UoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7016,882076&dq=gomer+pyle+usmc. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ a b "Jim Nabors in Paradise". American Profile. http://www.americanprofile.com/article/25102.html. Retrieved November 15 2008.
- ^ "Interview with Jim Nabors". KHNL. Raycom Media. March 20, 2007. http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=6249608. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Levenbrown, Cheryl (February 29, 1995). "People in the News". Accessmylibrary.com. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6328103_ITM?email=ghnose@danoz.com&library=Yolo%20County%20Library%20-%20Davis%20Branch. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ "2003 Tour Schedule". JimNabors.com (official site). http://www.jimnabors.com/tour.html. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ a b c "Hawaii Pacific University to honor Jim Nabors". The Honolulu Advertiser. Gannett Company. January 5, 2008. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/05/br/br8946120735.html. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ "'Back Home Again,' Jim Nabors intertwined in Indy 500 tradition". ESPN.com. Associated Press (ESPN). http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=auto&id=2882785. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Bowman, David (February 4, 1991). "Seen, Heard, Said -- People". The Seattle Times (The Seattle Times Company). http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910204&slug=1264456. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ Harada, Wayne (September 11, 2007). "Jim Nabors to be named honorary corporal September 25". The Honolulu Advertiser (Gannett Company). http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Sep/11/br/br0836725491.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ "Marines Promote Jim Nabors' Gomer Pyle". KITV.com (KITV). September 26, 2007. http://www.kitv.com/news/14211211/detail.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Honored in Home State". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. April 24, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/24/AR2006042400730.html. Retrieved November 12 2008.
- ^ "A night for heroes". Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Oahu Publications Inc. (subsidiary of Black Press)). December 12, 2006. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/12/12/features/dakine.html. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ "Jim Nabors". NNDB. Soylent Communications. http://www.nndb.com/people/336/000023267/. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Everett, p.191
- ^ Brioux, pp.61–62
- ^ "Jim Nabors and Rock Hudson Marriage". Snopes. http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/nabors.asp. Retrieved November 15 2008.
- ^ Tuohy, Matt (July 16, 2008). "Jim Nabors". Midweek. Hawaii: MidWeek Printing, Inc. (an Oahu Publications Company). http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/oldfriends_article/jim_nabors/. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ "Jim Nabors Awards". Allmovie. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:51668~T3. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ "Muppet Central Guides - The Muppet Show: Jim Nabors". http://www.muppetcentral.com/guides/episodes/tms/season1/6_nabors.shtml. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
Bibliography
- Brower, Neil (1998). Mayberry 101: Behind the Scenes of a TV Classic. John F. Blair. ISBN 0-8958-7218-8.
- Kelly, Richard (1985). The Andy Griffith Show. John F. Blair. ISBN 0-8958-7043-6.
- Olson, James Stuart (1990). Historical Dictionary of the 1960s. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-3132-9271-X.
- Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat (2001). The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8797-2821-3.
- Erickson, Hal (1998). Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993. McFarland & Company. p. 141. ISBN 9780786405183.
- Everett, Wendy (2000). The Seeing Century: Film, Vision and Identity. Rodopi Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 9789042014947. http://books.google.com/books?id=lWRW74ZMm1MC&pg=PA191&dq=Gomer+Pyle&as_brr=3&ei=FlZJScPtE5PYlQSn2sTRCQ. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- Brioux, Bill (2007). "Would You Believe...? Strange Stories from the '60s". Truth and Rumors: The Reality Behind TV's Most Famous Myths. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9780275992477. http://books.google.com/books?id=jouAn6aCMSEC&pg=PA61&dq=Gomer+Pyle&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=PllJSZaqI4PKkQS5-5jrDw#PPA62,M1. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
External links