"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 tell anybody," Nabors said. "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."
Though best known for his portrayal of Gomer Pyle, Nabors became a popular guest on variety shows in the 1960s and 1970s (including two specials of his own in 1969 and 1974), which showcased his rich baritone voice. He subsequently recorded numerous albums and singles, most of them containing romantic ballads.
Nabors is also well known for singing "Back Home Again in Indiana," prior to the start of the Indianapolis 500, held annually over the Memorial Day Weekend.
Jim Nabors is an American actor and singer. On January 15, 2013, Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader. The couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter. "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 tell anybody, Nabors said. 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."
Nabors began vacationing in Hawaii in the 1960s, and in 1976, moved from Bel Air, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. For 25 years, he owned a macadamia plantation on Maui before selling it to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, a conservationist organization, though he still retains farming rights to the land and owns a second home on the property.
An urban legend maintains that Nabors married Rock Hudson in the early 1970s, shortly before Nabors began his relationship with Cadwallader. At least publicly, the two were never more than friends. According to Hudson, the legend originated with a group of "middle-aged homosexuals who live in Huntington Beach" who sent out joke invitations for their annual get-together. One year, the group invited its members to witness "the marriage of Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors," at which Hudson would take the surname of Nabors' most famous character, Gomer Pyle, becoming "Rock Pyle." Those who failed to get the joke spread the rumor. Hudson was also gay but closeted, and because of the fear that one or both of them might be outed, Nabors and Hudson never spoke to each other again.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Nabors
Further Readings:
Publisher: Serendipity Media Group (March 3, 2011)
Amazon Kindle: Living Room Legends: A Chat With Jim Nabors
Millions of baby boomers the world over grew up with the same electronic babysitter—the living room television. Stop any number of people on the street and ask them to do one of the following: recite the preamble to the Constitution, or sing the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies. If history is any indication, the Hillbillies will emerge the conquering champions.
Television was a special part of our childhood. It whisked us into worlds beyond our own. We fell in love with many of its endearing characters and welcomed them into our living rooms with open arms, and to this day, their funny and familiar faces retain a special place in our memories and our hearts.
As a classic television fan and historian, I wanted to delve deeper to find out more about these special friends, and go beyond what had previously been written in articles and books to find the answers to questions that casual, as well as die-hard fans have always wanted to ask. I wished to capture their first-hand accounts and preserve for posterity the historical significance of their time on some of the most beloved shows in television history.
In this edition of Living Room Legends, Jim Nabors, who starred as the lovable and good-natured Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle-USMC, breaks with tradition and treats fans to a fun stroll down memory lane about his time on two of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1960’s. I hope TV fans of all ages will share in my enthusiasm at attempting to capture these golden moments, and savor the rich oral history of these small screen classics, and that these memories and anecdotes will continue to enlighten, entertain, and endure for generations to come.
More Real Life Romances at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance
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