James Thurston Nabors was an American actor, singer, and comedian, widely known for his signature character, Gomer Pyle. Nabors was discovered by Andy Griffith while working at a Santa Monica nightclub, and he later joined The Andy Griffith Show, where he played the good-natured, unsophisticated Gomer Pyle.
- Source of Wealth: TV, Film
- Age: 92 Years of 2023
- Birth Place: Sylacauga, AL
- Height: 6’ (1.83m)
- Marital Status: Married to Stan Cadwallader
- Full Name: James Thurston Nabors
- Nationality: American
- Date of Birth: June 12, 1930
- Occupation: Actor, Comedian
After graduation, Nabors moved to New York and worked as a typing clerk for the United Nations. A year after, he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. He got his first job in the TV industry as a film cutter. He then moved to Los Angeles because of his asthma. He worked as a film cutter for NBC. He also worked at a Santa Monica tavern, The Horn, as a singer and actor in a cabaret theatre. 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 speak in his higher-pitched comedic voice. While at the club, comedian Bill Dana saw his act. He invited him to appear on The Steve Allen Show. He was signed into the show and has appeared a number of times but it was canceled later on.
Jim Nabors’ silly singing “down-home” gimmick caught the attention of TV star Andy Griffith. He offered him the part of dim but lovable gas station attendant “Gomer Pyle” in his popular 60s sitcom. His success skyrocketed until his character would spin off into his own series. Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964) became a solid hit and it ran for five seasons earning Jim a solidified household name.
Jim became a frequent singing/comedy guest performer on all the top primetime and late-night shows on TV such as Sonny & Cher, The Tonight Show, The Dean Martin Show, The David Frost Show, and The Joey Bishop Show. He was the annual “good luck charm” opening guest on close friend Carol Burnett’s TV variety series. CBS entrusted him and in 1969, he got his own TV variety series The Jim Nabors Hour which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. After a decade, he returned to the format of hosting The Jim Nabors Show (1978). It may be short-lived but it earned him a day-time Emmy nomination.
Good friend Burt Reynolds was responsible for his theatre debut as Harold Hill in The Music Man at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre with Florence Henderson as his Marian the Librarian. Nabors also appeared in the Reynolds films The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and Stroker Ace (1983). He had limited appearances in the early 90s due to health issues. He preferred the quiet life that he had in Hawaii. On January 15, 2013, at the age of 82, he made a “coming out” news when he married his life partner for 38 years Stan Cadwallader, a Honolulu firefighter, in Seattle after Washington became a “same-sex” marriage state.