Jim Nabors—best known to many as the lovable television character Gomer Pyle—died Nov. 30 in Hawaii. He was 87.
Deadline noted that Nabors’ husband, Stan Cadwallader, confirmed the death to the Associated Press. Nabors reportedly had been in declining health following a liver transplant that took place two decades ago.
Nabors, born in 1930 in Alabama, debuted Pyle’s character in the early 1960s on The Andy Griffith Show. Pyle proved to be so popular that he was given his own show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., that ran during 1964-69.
Nabors was also known for his singing (employing a rich baritone). Besides recording albums, he also became a Indianapolis 500 tradition, with his rendition of “Back Home Again in Indiana” performed during the race’s opening ceremonies almost every year from 1972 through 2014.
The Deadline item is at deadline.com/2017/11/jim-nabors-dies-gomer-pyle-obituary-1202217487/.