Gomer Pyle

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Gomer Pyle was the simple-minded gas station attendant and later auto mechanic in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, played by Jim Nabors. Nabors continued the character in his own starring vehicle, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. from 1964-69.

Gomer Pyle was a good-natured, naive country-boy, characterized by his childlike innocence and his pronounced accent. He originally lived in the fictional town of Mayberry and worked at Wally's Filling Station (the town's service station) where he took up residence in the back room. Wide-eyed and slack jawed, Gomer provided much of the comic relief during his two-year stint on The Andy Griffith Show. He was often awestruck by the simplest of things, resulting in the exclamation of his catchphrases, "Shazam!", "Gaaw-aawl-ly" and "Surprise, surprise, surprise!".

Originally employed as little more than an attendant, Gomer knew very little about the workings of cars (in "The Great Filling Station Robbery", he thought a carburetor was a hood ornament). He later became quite a skilled mechanic with a full knowledge of automobiles, perhaps due to training from his boss, Wally, or his cousin Goober (later played by George Lindsey). Goober was first introduced to viewers in Fun Girls. As a matter of fact, this was the only episode in which Jim Nabors and George Lindsey appear together. Prior to this he is always referred to in absentia, much like Juanita. Gomer was usually seen sporting a ball cap with an upturned bill and his service station uniform with an ever-present handkerchief dangling from his back pocket.

Gomer was sometimes deputized by Deputy Barney Fife when additional assistance was needed to keep law and order in Mayberry. Though always compliant, Gomer's ineptitude usually made him more of a hindrance than a help in the line of duty. However, in the eyes of his friends, especially Sheriff Andy Taylor, his shortcomings were generally outweighed by his sweet temperament.

Gomer eventually left Mayberry to join the United States Marine Corps, as seen on the spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., where his countrified, backward nature served as the keystone for the show's humor, making him a comic foil to the hard-nosed drill instructor, Sgt. Vince Carter, played by the late Frank Sutton.

The persistent conflict between Gomer Pyle and his superior officers (mostly Carter but sometimes Sgt. Hacker) on the series, was the inspiration for the naming of one of the trainees, "Pyle", in the Gustav Hasford novel The Short-Timers and in the film based on Hasford's novel, Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Hasford and Kubrick delve into what Hasford felt would be the more realistic and darker ramifications of a "real" Pvt. Pyle being constantly berated and ridiculed, eventually leading to his mental collapse, providing the film's darker overtone.[citation needed]

Gomer Pyle appeared on The Andy Griffith Show from 1962 to 1964 and on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. from 1964 to 1969.

Gomer eventually returned, along with most of the original cast of The Andy Griffith Show, in the 1986 television movie Return to Mayberry. Gomer and Goober Pyle end up running a gas station/car repair shop called "G & G Filling Station".

Jim Nabors briefly reprised his role in Cannonball Run II, under the name Homer Lyle.

During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese jet pilots were derisively referred to as 'Gomers' by their American pilot counterparts, particularly in dogfights.


[edit] Media References

  • In the movie, Full Metal Jacket a slow-witted recruit is named 'Gomer Pyle' by his drill instructor.
  • Sometime in the 1960s, the normally operatic Jim Nabors recorded an entire LP of songs sung in character, entitled Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C including a version of the novelty song "You Can't Roller-Skate in a Buffalo Herd" ; this track was also released on a Columbia House compilation LP.
  • An audio clip including Gomer Pyle saying, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" is one of the many TV samples used on the Pink Floyd album The Wall – during the song Nobody Home.
  • Jim Nabors appears in episode six season one of The Muppet Show and references his character Gomer Pyle.[1]
  • In the Futurama episode "Roswell That Ends Well", Philip J. Fry's "grandfather" is an homage to Gomer Pyle, USMC, serving in Roswell, NM.