'''James "Jim" Thurston Nabors''' (born June 12, 1930 in Sylacauga, Alabama) is an American actor, singer, and comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of the good-hearted but naïve ''Gomer Pyle'' on two highly successful 1960s sitcoms, ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and its spinoff ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''. Given his goofy demeanor and voice on both ''Andy Griffith'' and ''Gomer Pyle'', it was surprising to many when he revealed a strong baritone singing voice and turned it into a successful recording career.

Nabors was also a popular guest on variety shows in the 1960s and 1970s, most notably ''The Carol Burnett Show'' and ''The Muppet Show''. Carol Burnett considered Nabors her lucky charm, and he was always the first guest on every new season of her show. Burnett and Nabors have long been close friends. Comedienne Minnie Pearl looked on Nabors as a surrogate son and he often vacationed with her and her husband.

Actor Burt Reynolds used Nabors in a number of his movies during the 1980s.

Twenty-nine times since 1972, he has sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" during pre-race ceremonies for the Indianapolis 500.

Nabors received a liver transplant in 1994 after years of health problems. He performs sporadically, prefering to operate his macadamia nut plantation in Hawaii.

Nabors graduated from the University of Alabama. In 2001, Private First Class Gomer Pyle received an honorary promotion to Lance Corporal from the Commandant of the Marine Corps James L. Jones.

A reference to Jim Nabors was made in The Simpsons when Lisa was going into the spelling bee. Marge was warming Lisa up and told her: "Remember: I before E except after C." To which Lisa responded "Except as an "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh". Marge then said "What about 'Jim Nabors is way cool?'" Lisa responded "When will that ever come up?" Marge said "It's on my apron"

External link

*Official site

Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!