Breakthrough and popularity in a publicity photo for
The Andy Griffith Show (1964) Nabors made his television debut as "Jimmy Nabors" on the
Today in Dixie show on
WJBF in
Augusta, Georgia. He was active in the choir at Grace United Methodist Church in
North Augusta.
Andy Griffith discovered Nabors at The Horn and hired him to play a one-shot role of Gomer Pyle, a dimwitted gas station attendant on
The Andy Griffith Show in the third-season episode "Man in a Hurry." Nabors' character was based on his act at The Horn, and it became so popular that he was made a regular on the show and was later given the spin-off show
Gomer Pyle – USMC, in which his character joined the Marines. The show placed Nabors' bungling, naive character opposite Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter (
Frank Sutton).
Gomer Pyle remained popular despite the concurrence of the
Vietnam War because the series avoided war-related themes and instead focused on the character's rural roots and the relationship between Pyle and Carter. Considering himself more an entertainer than actor, Nabors resigned from
Gomer Pyle – USMC after five seasons because he wanted to move on to something else, "reach for another rung on the ladder, either up or down."
Singing career Nabors first revealed his fine singing voice on the February 24, 1964, "The Song Festers" episode of
The Andy Griffith Show and on April 8, 1964, on
The Danny Kaye Show, and subsequently capitalized on it with numerous successful recordings and live performances. Most of the songs were romantic ballads, though he sang pop,
gospel, and
country songs as well. He hosted a variety show,
The Jim Nabors Hour (1969–1971), which featured his
Gomer Pyle co-stars
Ronnie Schell and Frank Sutton. Despite a poor critical reception, the show was popular and earned an Emmy nomination. After the cancellation of
The Jim Nabors Hour, Nabors embarked on a nationwide roadshow.
Later career Typecast from his role as Gomer Pyle, Nabors found his subsequent roles mostly comedic. In the 1970s, he appeared in the children's television program
The Krofft Supershow. He appeared in every
season premiere of
The Carol Burnett Show, because Burnett considered him a "good-luck charm". They were so close that he became the godfather to her daughter Jody. In a 1973 episode of
The Rookies, he played his first dramatic role, a man called on to be an
assassin after the death of his sister. Also in 1973, Nabors sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game One of the
Major League Baseball World Series. From 1977 to 1978, Nabors hosted another variety show,
The Jim Nabors Show. Though the show lasted only one season, Nabors was nominated for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Talk, Service or Variety Series. However,
Sid and Marty Krofft persuaded Nabors to star in the Saturday-morning children's television show
The Lost Saucer, about two bumbling
androids, Fi (
Ruth Buzzi) and Fum (Nabors), who travel through time with two children. Nabors, whose character was described as a "Gomer Pyle in outer space", sang in a few of the episodes. He also guest-starred on
The Muppet Show (season 1, episode 6). In the 1980s, Nabors appeared in three feature-length films starring his friend
Burt Reynolds, at the latter's request. In
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), about a sheriff (Reynolds) who falls in love with a
brothel madam (
Dolly Parton), Nabors played Deputy Fred, a character similar to Gomer Pyle. Though the film received mostly unfavorable reviews, Nabors garnered some positive comments for his performance. In 1983, Nabors played an auto mechanic in
Stroker Ace, starring Burt Reynolds as a NASCAR race car driver who has a contentious relationship with his team owner, a fried-chicken fast-food chain entrepreneur. The film was panned, and Nabors earned a
Golden Raspberry Award for his performance. Like the two previous Reynolds films Nabors appeared in,
Cannonball received mostly negative reviews. In 1986, Nabors returned to television, reprising his role as Gomer Pyle in the television movie
Return to Mayberry, in which the cast of
The Andy Griffith Show reunited. Also in 1986, Nabors starred in the half-hour comedy pilot
Sylvan in Paradise as the title character, Sylvan Sprayberry, an accident-prone bell captain at a Hawaiian hotel. The series was not picked up by
NBC. in 2008. For over 40 years, he sang "
Back Home Again in Indiana" before the start of the race. After moving to Hawaii from
Bel Air, California, with his partner Stan Cadwallader in 1976, he launched a show,
The Jim Nabors Polynesian Extravaganza at the
Hilton Hawaiian Village, which ran for two years. Nabors eventually experienced "bright-light burnout" and disappeared from the stage, save for an occasional performance. In 1984, after a five-year hiatus, Nabors returned to performing, starring in the "Moulin Rouge" show at the
Las Vegas Hilton and other shows in
Reno and
Las Vegas. In 1982, he made his theatrical debut as Harold Hill in
The Music Man with
Florence Henderson at the
Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in
Jupiter, Florida. In 1994, Nabors suffered from a near-fatal case of
hepatitis B. According to Nabors, he contracted the disease while traveling in India; he shaved with a
straight razor and "whacked [his] face all up." The disease caused liver failure, and Nabors was given a dim prognosis; however, his friend
Carol Burnett contacted the head of the liver transplant division at the
University of California, Los Angeles, and gave Nabors the information. Shortly after recovering from his transplant, Nabors embarked on another tour, with stops in Phoenix, St. Louis, and Washington. From 1997 to 2006, Nabors starred in the Burton White-produced
A Merry Christmas with Friends and Nabors, a live performance at the
Hawaii Theatre Center in
Honolulu. The production, featuring local and national artists, ran for 40 performances and was directed by Tom Hansen until Hansen's death in 2006. The final performance run was directed by John Rampage and dedicated to Hansen.
Retirement From 1972 to 2014, Nabors sang "
Back Home Again in Indiana" with the
Purdue All-American Marching Band before each
Indianapolis 500 race. In March 2014, Nabors announced that the
2014 Indianapolis 500 would be his final appearance, because health issues were limiting his ability to travel. After his retirement from this role, the singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana" was done on a rotating basis (as it had been before Nabors became the regular performer), before organizers named
Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer
Jim Cornelison as permanent replacement. ==Personal life==