If not for a minor quirk of fate, actor Jim Nabors might never have landed the role of Gomer Pyle, the character that established him as a lovable, one-of-a-kind TV star on The Andy Griffith Show in the 1960s.
Nabors just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It altered the course of his career and gave him a lucky break that he never forgot. And it brought Jim Nabors into our living rooms for many happy years of entertainment!
According to MeTV, Jim Nabors attended a social get-together at Andy Griffith’s home. The two actors did not know each other at that point. Nabors was there because he accompanied another invitee.
You know the antsy feeling you get when you are the host and the last guest at a party hangs around and way overstays their welcome? And you can’t ease them out the door fast enough? Well, that sounds exactly like what occurred at Griffith’s party that night.
According to MeTV via the Dayton Daily News, Griffith recalled, “[Nabors] was the last one to leave and I asked my wife why he was there in the first place. Then somebody talked me into going down to the club where he was appearing on one of those continuous entertainment for very little money deals.”
Griffith was absolutely bowled over by Jim Nabors. “I went crazy watching him and I asked my producer to give him a chance to audition for the role of the filling station operator,” Griffith remarked
Although casting was nearly complete, Griffith had his heart set on Nabors. “The part was just about set. But Jim got a chance and that was the beginning of Gomer Pyle.”
The character began on “The Andy Griffith Show” in 1962 and got his own sitcom, “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” in 1964, according to the New York Times. Gomer, who was kind and almost childlike, has passed into television lore and remains in viewers’ hearts decades after the show ended. Jim Nabors died in 2017 at 87, having left his mark on the medium in the nicest possible way.
