Goodbye, Gomer.
Jim Nabors, who created one of TV’s beloved comedic characters, Gomer Pyle, died Thursday in Hawaii at the age of 87, reports Hawaii News Now and the Associated Press.
The Alabama native had a long career that featured TV and movie roles, more than two dozen albums and numerous concert appearances, including long-running shows in Las Vegas and Hawaii, the latter of which became his home in the 1970s. He received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.
Nabors was best known for his role as the sweet, gentle Marine in the title role of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a CBS comedy that was a top-five hit during its five-season run in the 1960s. Gomer’s dust-ups with his hard-nosed superior, Sgt. Carter (Frank Sutton), were the heart of the show and the character’s trademark exclamations — “Well, Golllll-ly!” and “Shazam!”— became familiar to millions.
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