vinyl LP album cover
album cover photo by Leigh Wiener
photo of album cover by Styrous®
James Thurston Nabors died today, November 30, 2017. He played a dopey character but he had a rich baritone voice from heaven (YouTube links below). He was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, and he later joined The Andy Griffith Show as Gomer Pyle.
vinyl LP album back cover
album cover photos by Leigh Wiener
photo of album cover by Styrous®
He was an American actor, singer, and comedian born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, but because of his asthma, he moved to southern California and worked as a film cutter for NBC. He was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub singing and acting in cabaret theater, and he later joined The Andy Griffith Show as Gomer Pyle. The character proved popular, and Nabors was given his own spin-off show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. The show, which placed Nabors' bungling, naive character opposite Sergeant Vince Carter (Frank Sutton), was also popular.
Jim Nabors - left, Frank Sutton - right
Nabors revealed his fantasatic voice first on the February 24, 1964, "The Song Festers" episode of The Andy Griffith Show and on April 8, 1964, on The Danny Kaye Show,
and subsequently capitalized on it with numerous successful recordings
and live performances. Most of the songs were romantic ballads, though
he sang pop, gospel, and country songs as well.
Although he was known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, he became a popular guest on variety shows which showcased his
voice in the 1960s and 1970s, including two specials of his own in 1969
and 1974. He subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of
them containing romantic ballads.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Because
he was typecast from his role as Gomer Pyle, Nabors found his
subsequent roles mostly comedic; The exception was in a 1973 episode of The Rookies, where he played his first "serious" role, a man called on to be an assassin
after the death of his sister. He abandoned television jobs for
nightclub and concert engagements and a role in a touring production of Man of La Mancha.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
In the 1980s, Nabors appeared in three feature-length films starring his friend Burt Reynolds, at the latter's request. 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. Though
the film was given mostly unfavorable reviews, Nabors garnered some
positive comments for his performance.
In 1983, he was cast as an auto mechanic in Stroker Ace,
starring Burt Reynolds as a race car driver who fights a fried-chicken
chain entrepreneur. The film was panned, and Nabors earned a Golden Raspberry Award for his performance. In Reynolds' 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. Like the two previous Reynolds films Nabors appeared in, Cannonball received mostly negative reviews.
vinyl LP album back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, at the Seattle, Washington Fairmont Olympic Hotel on January 15, 2013, a month after same-sex marriage became legal in Washington. A longstanding rumor maintains that Nabors "married" Rock Hudson in the early 1970s, shortly before Nabors began his relationship with Cadwallader.
According to Hudson, the story originated with a group of "middle-aged homosexuals who live in Huntington Beach", who sent out joke invitations for their annual get-together.
One year, the group invited its members to witness "the marriage of
Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors", at which Hudson would take the surname of
Nabors' most famous character, Gomer Pyle,
becoming "Rock Pyle" (personally, I think this is hysterical). The
rumor was spread by those who failed to get the joke, and because Nabors
was still closeted
at the time and Hudson never publicly admitted to being gay (despite
widespread suspicion that he was), the two never spoke to each other
again. ¡Que Lastima!
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous® 
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous® 
vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous® 
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Jim Nabors – Shazam! Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.
Genre: Pop, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Vocal
Year: 1965
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Hoo How, What Now? - 2:00
It Takes All Kinds To Make A World - 2:35
Hot Dog Heart - 1:53
Shazam! - 1:48
Heart Insurance - 1:46
Reincarnation - 1:50
Side 2:
If You Want Me To - 1:40
The Waltz Of Miss Sarah Green - 1:55
All Of This For Sally - 2:51
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd - 1:32
Old Blue - 2:54
Gomer Seys Hey! - 2:09
Notes:
360 Stereo, in white printing. 2nd pressing
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Label Code (2nd Pressing): 360 Stereo, in white printing
Genre: Pop, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Vocal
Year: 1965
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Hoo How, What Now? - 2:00
It Takes All Kinds To Make A World - 2:35
Hot Dog Heart - 1:53
Shazam! - 1:48
Heart Insurance - 1:46
Reincarnation - 1:50
Side 2:
If You Want Me To - 1:40
The Waltz Of Miss Sarah Green - 1:55
All Of This For Sally - 2:51
You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd - 1:32
Old Blue - 2:54
Gomer Seys Hey! - 2:09
Notes:
360 Stereo, in white printing. 2nd pressing
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Label Code (2nd Pressing): 360 Stereo, in white printing
Jim Nabors died at his Honolulu, Hawaii, home on November 30, 2017. The United States Marine Corps
released a statement on Nabors: "Semper Fi, Gomer Pyle. Rest in peace
Jim Nabors, one of the few to ever be named an Honorary Marine." He was 87 years old.
YouTube links:
Styrous® ~ Thursday, November 30, 2017
