Jim neighbors gay
JIM NABORS (1930–2017), best established for his TV role as Gomer Pyle, was one of my first heroes in life, even before I understood why. Gay men of my generation—most of us in our 50s—often talk about when it was we first knew about our sexual identity. For many of us, it was our response to actors we saw on TV. James Conrad in The Savage, Wild, Wild West strutting through frontier towns shirtless, his chest gleaming in the Southern California sun. Whichever Brady Bunch was closest to our age. Will, the boy astronaut on Lost In Space. The late David Cassidy, Scott Baio, Leif Garrett, the dashing blond character Iliya Kuryakin (played by David McCallum) on The Man From Uncle.
Nabors, who died last week, played the bumbling and ever-flummoxed—but disconcertingly handsome—filling station attendant on The Andy Griffith Show when I was a very juvenile boy, and he became even better known in later years on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C, which aired when I was a kid of ten or so.
It seems that every person remembers with eerie precision certain seemingly sundry moments in our life that don’t seem to warrant such long-lasting attention in our memories, yet they prevail. I can
Jim Nabors
(1930-2017)
Who Was Jim Nabors?
Actor and singer Jim Nabors was born in Sylacauga, Alabama, in 1930. Plagued by poor health, which prevented him from playing sports in school, Nabors took to the stage. Nabors gained national recognition playing the lovable gas attendant, Gomer Pyle, first on The Andy Griffith Show, and later on the CBS spinoff Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. A versatile performer, Nabors recorded more than 30 albums. He died on November 30, 2017, at age 87.
Early Life
The youngest of three children, James Thurston Nabors was born on June 12, 1930, in Sylacauga, Alabama. His childhood was framed by a rural Alabama life, much of which he later drew from to create his signature character, Gomer Pyle.
The Nabors family never had much money, and as a child young, Nabors suffered from severe asthma. Prevented from playing academy sports on account of his respiratory issues, Nabors turned to performance arts. He joined the glee club in high institution as well as the choir, and took to the clarinet.
At the University of Alabama, where he earned a degree in business administration, Nabors continued to perform. It was there that he first started acting, his debu
The world resounded with a predictable Gol-ol-olllll-leeeee! at yesterday's news that Jim Nabors had gay-married his long-term partner, Stan Cadwallader.
Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle in both 1960s-era television series The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off, Gomer Pyle, USMC (pre-Don't Ask Don't Say, we guess), announced the two had been wed in Seattle last month, following Washington voters' approval of male lover marriage in 2012.
"I'm 82 and he's in his 60s and so we've been together for 38 years and I'm not ashamed of people knowing; it's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't inform anybody" Nabors eventually told AP. "I'm very happy that I've had a partner of 38 years and I feel very blessed. And, what can I tell you, I'm just very happy."
Yep, he's gay.
Nabors's sexual orientation was long an unseal secret in the LGBT community and among his straight(ish) friends like Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews. And if he wasn't queer , his character, surely Gomer Pyle was. After all, prefer that other irresistible Southern television diva, Honey Boo-Boo, says, "Everybody's got a little gay in 'em!"
Face it. Mayberry, Gomer's famed fictitious hometown, has a lot of queer in it. A
Jim Nabors remained closeted for over 5 decades as he became a domesticated name on TV. LGBTQ historian Matt Baume takes a deep dive into the actor and singer’s Hollywood career (and scandals).
Over his 55-year career, Jim Nabors cultivated a wholesome, folksy persona, from playing Gomer Pyle on multiple sitcoms to appearing as himself on variety shows to singing every year at the originate of the Indianapolis 500.
But behind the scenes, Jim Nabors harbored a secret that would own scandalized the country and ruined his career if it was ever establish out — and in fact, it nearly did when rumors spread about his relationship with another closeted actor.
One of the big scandals that impacted Nabors’s career was an untrue rumor that he and Rock Hudson were secret lovers. Both were secretly gay, and were friends – not lovers. But the tabloid tales forced the two men to nearly close their friendship. Just one little tidbit from Matt: In 1971, CBS had a whole slate of rural/country-themed TV shows. Scared of looking behind the times, all of them – including The Jim Nabors Hour, Petticoat Junction, The Andy Griffith Exhibition, Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres &
Stan Cadwallader, Jim Nabors’ Husband: 5 Speedy Facts You Demand to Know
Jim Nabors, who portrayed “Gomer Pyle” in The Andy Griffith Show, has died at the age of 87. His personal assistant confirmed the news to USA Today, saying that he died November 30 at his home in Hawaii.
Throughout his long career in the business industry, Nabors appeared in various TV shows and movies and recorded dozens of albums. He’s best known as Gomer, a Marine in the CBS comedy which ran for five seasons during the 1960s.
Nabors was gay and married his longtime partner Stan Cadwallader in 2013.
Here’s what you need to know about the couple:
1. Nabors Met Cadwallader in Hawaii, Where He Worked as a Firefighter
Jim Nabors waves to the crowd during the Indianapolis 500 parade on May 24, 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Nabors said that he met Cadwallader in 1975. Cadwallader worked for years as a firefighter in Honolulu. Eventually, he started working with Nabors as a business associate, and they entered a romantic relationship, though it was largely kept from the public eye. Nabors said he was always open about his sexuality, even when he worked full-time in Ho