Golll-eeeee! The '60s' favorite TV country bumpkin, Gomer Pyle, won the hearts of viewers on The Andy Griffith Show, and spun off in to his own wildly popular series, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.. As the eternally cheery and clueless Gomer, Jim Nabors gives a comic tour de force performance as a newbie Marine under the command of the short-tempered Sgt. Carter, played with demonic fervor by Frank Sutton. Are Pyle and Sgt. Carter bitter foes or comedic sidekicks? "Surprise, surprise, surprise"--the secret to their chemistry was that the actors and characters were both, inseparable and adorable in their signature ways. The scrapes Gomer gets into are fairly routine and never exactly threaten national security, but Nabors' guileless delivery makes viewers tune in for more; the belly laughs are real. Shazam!
Cast & Characters
- Jim Nabors as Pvt. Gomer Pyle
- Frank Sutton as Sgt. Vince Carter
- Ronnie Schell as Pvt. Gilbert "Duke" Slater
- Roy Stuart as Corp. Chuck Boyle (1965-1968)
- tED Bessel as Frankie Lombardi (1965-1966)
- Barbara Stuart as Bunny
- William Christopher as Pvt. Lester Hummel
- Forrest Compton as Col. Edward Gray
- Allan Melvin as Sgt. Hacker (1965-1969)
- Tommy Leonetti as Cpl. Nick Cuccinello (1964-1965)
- Larry Hovis as Larry (1964-1965)
- Elizabeth MacRae as Lou Ann Poovie (1967-1969)
Broadcast History
First Telecast: September 25 1964Last Telecast: September 9, 1970
Original Network:
CBS
Number of Seasons: 5
Number of Episodes: 150
Original Primetime TV Schedule:
- September 1964- June 1965, CBS, Friday 9:30-10:00pm
- September 1965- September 1966, CBS, Friday 9:00-9:30pm
- September 1966- August 1967, CBS, Wednesday 9:30-10:00pm
- September 1967- September 1969, CBS, Friday 8:30-9:00pm
- July 1970- September 1970, CBS, Wednesday 8:00-8:30
Theme Song & Opening Credits
Watch opening intro:Listen to theme song:
Buy Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. On DVD
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C Trivia
Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. was a "spin-off" of the series, "The Andy Griffith Show".Jim Nabors has had some jobs that required his appearance each year. Carol Burnett had him on the first episode of the "Carol Burnett Show" each season it aired. She felt that he was her good luck charm. Jim also sang the song, "Back Home Again In Indiana" each year at the opening ceremonies for the Indianapolis 500 race!
Barbara Stuart who eventually played the role of Sergeant Carter's girlfriend "Bunny", had also appeared on the TV show earlier as "Hannah, The Dragon Lady" on episode #8, "Gomer And The Dragon Lady".
Forrest Compton who eventually played the role of "Colonel Gray", had previously appeared on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. as a Captain.
Jim Nabors was nothing like his Gomer Pyle character. He had a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Alabama. He used that business ability to his favor too! He negotiated a partial ownership of the Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. TV show, thereby, sharing in the profits. He also used his business abilities and his popularity as Gomer Pyle to aid his singing career. He produced more than 45 of his own easy listening albums with five going gold and one even went platinum! Jim had to mostly give up his performing career due to years of illness due to a bad liver. He eventually had a liver transplant. He started a new life in Hawaii where he operated a macadamia nut plantation.
Gomer Pyle was stationed at Camp Henderson in California.
Sergeant Carter may have been somewhat IQ challenged, but the same can't be said for Frank Sutton who portrayed him. Frank graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a degree in dramatic arts! By the way, Frank was also a radio announcer during World War II and he had a black belt in Judo!
