Sur-prise, sur-prise!

November 30, 2017 11:54 AM

RIP Jim Nabors, 87. LA Times obit. Forever known as Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith show, he had an amazing singing voice, putting out several albums, including The Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Record Album and Kiss Me Goodbye, which yours truly remembers being advertised extensively on afternoon television. He also sang Back Home Again in Indiana at the start of the Indianapolis 500 almost every year from 1972 to 2014. Oh, and he also appears on the first (broadcast) episode of the Muppet Show. In 2013, at age 82 he married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader.
posted by Melismata (64 comments total)

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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 11:59 AM on November 30, 2017

The chords to "Back Home Again In Indiana" were the basis for the bebop standard "Donna Lee". So now you have three degrees of separation between Gomer Pyle and Jaco Pastorius.
posted by thelonius at 12:02 PM on November 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

He didn't put out "several albums," he put out a ton of albums, and my mom had nearly all of them. Nabors was a huge part of the soundtrack of my childhood. I still enjoy this one quite a bit.
posted by JanetLand at 12:03 PM on November 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

Jim Nabors was a significant part of my childhood. Lots of memories of eating my after-school snack and watching Gomer Pyle. It was easy cheeseburger television.

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posted by Fizz at 12:04 PM on November 30, 2017

And mine. My dad loved Gomer Pyle, USMC
posted by infini at 12:07 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

And that reference to it being easy cheeseburger television is not a complaint. It's just how I categorize television shows that are easy to watch, kind of predictable and filling. For a kid, it was just what I wanted.
posted by Fizz at 12:08 PM on November 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

Aww, no.

He was on an episode of the Love Boat which I watched maybe a month back, and I was happily surprised to learn that he was still around and gay-married! So nice to discover.

So long, Jim. If you run into my Dad, please excuse him if he does his imitation of your "Because I talk like this and siiiiiiiing like thiiiiiiiiiiiis."
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2017 [12 favorites]

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Gooooolllleeee
87. What a legacy!
posted by DigDoug at 12:15 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Shazam.
posted by middleclasstool at 12:18 PM on November 30, 2017 [8 favorites]

He was way cool.
posted by panama joe at 12:20 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

Loved watching him on TV growing up; despite being such a goofball as Gomer Pyle he really seemed like a class act.

Is there anyone from the main cast of the Andy Griffith show still around besides Opie and Thelma Lou?

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posted by TedW at 12:22 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by Atom Eyes at 12:23 PM on November 30, 2017

Love, love that Muppet Show episode. (It was third produced, first broadcast.) In addition to the awesome performances above, Capt. Renaut's quote is seen here (where we also learn about Miss Piggy's birthplace for the first time). Also in the episode, we meet Scooter. For. The. First. Time. Jim fit in to the Muppets universe perfectly, and probably had a hand in launching its success.
posted by Melismata at 12:24 PM on November 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

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posted by Bob Regular at 12:28 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by tdismukes at 12:28 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by Joey Michaels at 12:33 PM on November 30, 2017

I loved how Rock Hudson, sex symbol, chose goofy ol' Gomer, aka Jim, as his life partner. I also thought it was beautiful how Jim stood by Rock when the media turned Rock into a pariah because of early reactions to AIDS. What a classy guy.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 12:39 PM on November 30, 2017 [15 favorites]

(Complete story of the Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors saga)
posted by Melismata at 12:43 PM on November 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

My parents had his Christmas album; it would be on regular rotation this time of year.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:44 PM on November 30, 2017

Married and retired for many years on a farm in Maui. Lived to 87. That's fine.
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posted by Bee'sWing at 12:44 PM on November 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

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posted by bz at 12:46 PM on November 30, 2017

"I smell gas."

I'm sure Sylacauga, AL (not far from where my dad's side of the family is from) mourns their famous son.
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:48 PM on November 30, 2017

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And thanks for including The Muppet Show in the post. Usually I'm the one who has to add that to obit threads.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:00 PM on November 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

He done good.
posted by vibrotronica at 1:00 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

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posted by mikelieman at 1:17 PM on November 30, 2017

. from this Hoosier

♪♫♬ "...the gleaming candlelight, still shining bright, through the Sycamores, for meeeee." ♪♫♬
posted by leotrotsky at 1:19 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

I don't recall the episodes of Andy or Gomer when he sang, as I wasn't into either program as a child. I knew they were on because my family loved them, and I'd hear Nabors' "yokel" accent from the next room over. Hearing his singing voice as an adult when all I'd known was that accent, well, that was a jolt, to say the least, but a good one.

Godspeed, and at ease, sir.

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posted by droplet at 1:19 PM on November 30, 2017

Some like Jim Nabors, some Bobby Vinton. I like 'em all.
posted by Kwine at 1:23 PM on November 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

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posted by Sphinx at 1:31 PM on November 30, 2017

Nabors had a specific gentle naivete that made him impossible not to love. Ambivalent about George Lindsay (Goober), who was originally slated to play the TV role, my family adored Gomer and never missed an episode of his Andy Griffith spin-off show. That the man possessed real pipes was the cherry on top. When I reflect on Nabors’ Gomer I envision wide, innocent eyes and just the biggest, sweetest, most natural smile ever.

So glad for his long and happy life and marriage. That we should all be thus blessed!

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posted by kinnakeet at 1:35 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

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posted by Chrysostom at 1:50 PM on November 30, 2017

I was originally introduced to Nabors/Pyle by the short 'surprise, surprise' vocal sample on Nobody Home from Pink Floyd's The Wall.
posted by Jellybean_Slybun at 1:54 PM on November 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

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posted by mystyk at 1:55 PM on November 30, 2017

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I knew he had been ill for quite awhile. Sad to hear.
It's been kind of weird not hearing that voice during the ceremonies before the 500.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:59 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Sad.
posted by MovableBookLady at 2:02 PM on November 30, 2017

Jim Nabors was openly gay? The last time I recall seeing him in anything must have been about 1970-something, when he was doing some very straightlaced God-fearing crooning on television. I imagined his audience as super-conservative. Did they drop him?
posted by pracowity at 2:18 PM on November 30, 2017

"An American treasure, part of Jim Nabors’ unique legacy will be this: At least 5 states- Alabama, North Carolina, Indiana, California & Hawaii- can claim his contributions as directly part of their defining culture." — @jakequery

Whenever I return home from out-of-state travels, I hear "Back Home Again in Indiana" in my mind, and always in Jim's voice.

(On preview, in response to pracowity: I believe he didn't publicly come out until he married Cadwallader in 2013.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:29 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

I had several of Jim Nabors' LPs growing up. Non-ironically.
posted by mikelieman at 2:36 PM on November 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

My college choir got to sing the doo-wops behind Nabors when he sang "How Great Thou Art" at the National Prayer Breakfast (for Ronald Reagan, alas). He had that hilariously huge, epic baritone voice and seemed like a nice guy.
posted by straight at 3:16 PM on November 30, 2017

I was never a huge fan, until I heard his incredibly groovy take on Go Tell It On the Mountain. Now one of my very favorite Christmas songs. RIP, Jim, and thanks for the good cheer!
posted by tinymojo at 3:18 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

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posted by robbyrobs at 3:22 PM on November 30, 2017

I don't recall the episodes of Andy or Gomer when he sang, as I wasn't into either program as a child.

Once in a while, Gomer Pyle broke character to do some heroic concert singing. The first time I saw it when I was young it was like a real WTF? moment.
posted by ovvl at 3:22 PM on November 30, 2017 [5 favorites]

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posted by jim in austin at 3:26 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by SonInLawOfSam at 3:56 PM on November 30, 2017

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He was a great talent and seemed like such a sweet guy.
posted by Cookiebastard at 4:04 PM on November 30, 2017 [1 favorite]

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posted by bjgeiger at 4:42 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by aesop at 4:47 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by karen in austin at 5:07 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by detachd at 5:25 PM on November 30, 2017

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posted by blob at 5:49 PM on November 30, 2017

"@AltonBrown: Believe it or not, #JimNabors used to babysit me when i was a kid in LA. A total gentleman and a class act."
posted by Guy Smiley at 5:59 PM on November 30, 2017 [9 favorites]

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posted by camyram at 6:18 PM on November 30, 2017

P Y L E !

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posted by jabo at 6:50 PM on November 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was surprised to get a little choked up when I heard the news. The Gomer Pyle USMC album is in regular rotation around my house because it has so many catchy tunes like "Hot Dog Heart" and "You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd". As soon as we drop the needle on the groove, my kid is dancing. It's really an infectious record that has a lot of charm along with the cheese.

I love his more serious stuff as well. I made a conceptual mixtape of 17 different versions of "Wichita Lineman" just to put his version on it. It's really wonderful though I won't go so far as a friend of mine who says it's the most powerful version of that song.
posted by kendrak at 8:13 PM on November 30, 2017 [3 favorites]

Awwww, Gomer.

The first time I heard him sing, my jaw hit the floor and kept going for a while. Such a gigantic voice on a sweet soul.
posted by MissySedai at 9:09 PM on November 30, 2017

Oh, man. I stand corrected on the Rock Hudson thing! I can't believe it. In my memory there's a photo of the two of them, I have no idea where I got that. Oh, well, I guess Rock Hudson with Jim Neighbors is like Madonna with Urkel. That's why I loved the idea of it so much.

Golleeee.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 11:59 PM on November 30, 2017

I think some of the criticism of him not coming out publicly until his marriage is deserved, just because he probably could have made an important impact as a beloved-by-middle-America celebrity who of course was gay with religious conservative people who had lots of preconceived notions about “those people” but still loved the celebrity Jim Nabors. But whatever, people have a right to whatever privacy they want.

What I loved about Nabors was how he created an iconic role in Gomer Pyle who showed it was ok to be an unapologetic sensitive simple introvert who only saw the good in people while being stuck in the the ultra-masculine top-down world of The US marine corps and you could succeed and get people to sympathize with the man just because he was nice and appealed to the softer more sensitive side of his viewers.

Gentleness and honesty. We need a lot more of it now more than ever.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:04 AM on December 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

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posted by bryon at 3:38 AM on December 1, 2017

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posted by filtergik at 4:08 AM on December 1, 2017

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posted by Halloween Jack at 4:52 AM on December 1, 2017

Among all the tributes to Mr. Nabors I came across this article about the time he spent in my hometown; I had no idea there was a connection there. Apparently when he wasn't working at the brand new TV station in town he sang at local weddings; I wonder if I know anyone whose wedding he sang at. They would probably be parents of people my age.
posted by TedW at 6:17 AM on December 1, 2017

I think some of the criticism of him not coming out publicly until his marriage is deserved, just because

being a big motorsports fan, I caught a different side of Jim Nabors. As noted, he always sang the big Back Home in Indiana song before the Indy 500. He was Apple Pie. And right at the point, a year or so back, that he finally retired, he also came out of the closet, said he was married.

I rate this as one of recent history's great cultural fuck you's!

And, from a motorsports end, nobody really had anything in terms of a negative response. All those rock solid mid-western church going god fearing Hoosier types. They just sort of shrugged and said, "Well, he was always a bit ... you know. But he was always one of us."
posted by philip-random at 11:29 PM on December 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

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posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:11 AM on December 2, 2017

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Glad he found happiness, as he gave me so much.
posted by Fibognocchi at 9:43 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]