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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths


Message added by Mr. Sparkle,

Reminder:

This thread is for deaths of celebrities in the entertainment business only. No notices about politicians, please. 

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12 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

David as a teen idol was in my mother's generation, not mine, but she was a huge Bobby Sherman fan and despised David Cassidy. She especially hated "I Think I Love You"---she would absolutely go nuts if she even heard the beginning notes of that song.

Wonder how your Mom reconciled her Bobby Sherman love with her David dislike when Bobby appeared on The Partridge Family?

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2 hours ago, buffynut said:

Wonder how your Mom reconciled her Bobby Sherman love with her David dislike when Bobby appeared on The Partridge Family?

I'm guessing that may have been the only episode of it that she ever watched. Of course, TPF reruns weren't watched in my house by the time I came along LOL.

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8 hours ago, buffynut said:

Wonder how your Mom reconciled her Bobby Sherman love with her David dislike when Bobby appeared on The Partridge Family?

I had no idea that ever happened.  Thanks for posting.  Now you know I'm going to have to search to see if they ever had any dialog together...

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29 minutes ago, amaranta said:

I had no idea that ever happened.  Thanks for posting.  Now you know I'm going to have to search to see if they ever had any dialog together...

That episode was a back door pilot for Getting Together. It lasted 14 episodes.

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I don't think this has been posted in the thread.... David Cassidy's daughter Katie (with whom he had little to no relationship for many years) has spoken up with this touching message...
 

 

Both Katie and David had openly talked about having no relationship, but I suspect that they may have tried and it went awry.

Edited by TVFan17
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43 minutes ago, crazycatlady58 said:

"So much wasted time  " has got to be the saddest sentence  ever.

Doesn't it though? I mean, did he mean that about his life, in general, for whatever reason or did he mean it about his relationship/lack thereof with Katie? I could see it both ways (if there aren't more ways you could interpret that which I'm not thinking of).

At any rate, I'm glad for both of them that, whatever kind of relationship they had at the end, it didn't turn into a case of her not wanting to go to his side, because they had little to no relationship (despite being biologically related) or him having her barred from visiting him/being there with him at or before the end. I don't know how accurate this report was, but I'd read that she went to be with him from an appearance at 1 of those Comic-Con type things in Atlanta (so at least she was fairly close, geographically,when this started to go downhill); she plays (or played, I don't watch the show so I don't know if she is/isn't on anymore) a character in the Marvel Comic-based CW show Arrow.

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3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I don't think this has been posted in the thread.... David Cassidy's daughter Katie (with whom he had little to no relationship for many years) has spoken up with this touching message...
 

 

Both Katie and David had openly talked about having no relationship, but I suspect that they may have tried and it went awry.

And here  is the message Tweeted by David's most recent ex-wife & the mother of his son, Beau. Beau hasn't updated his Twitter since way before David got sick, let alone died. I don't know if Shaun's younger brothers/David's younger half brothers Patrick &/or Ryan "did" social media; I'll have to check & post if I find anything.

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45 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Doesn't it though? I mean, did he mean that about his life, in general, for whatever reason or did he mean it about his relationship/lack thereof with Katie?

Cassidy actually said it about Katie in one of the articles I found after he passed. That’s when I learned she was his daughter. He admitted he was a terrible father, or rather that he was no father at all to her and he regretted that and it was all on him.

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1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

she plays (or played, I don't watch the show so I don't know if she is/isn't on anymore) a character in the Marvel Comic-based CW show Arrow.

She is still on as an evil version (from an alternate universe) of her original (now dead) character.

Edited by ratgirlagogo
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3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Cassidy actually said it about Katie in one of the articles I found after he passed. That’s when I learned she was his daughter. He admitted he was a terrible father, or rather that he was no father at all to her and he regretted that and it was all on him.

Well, I'm glad he at least realized he screwed up with his relationship/lack thereof with Katie. I hope they were able to mend fences before David died. I've known for awhile--before the organ failure & dementia, anyway--that Katie was David's daughter, but he never married her mother & sometimes they had something of a relationship & other times they didn't.

And I hope he said whatever he needed to to his son, Beau, too. I'm not sure what kind of relationship they had; especially since Beau has referred to his dad by his first name, "David", instead of "Dad" or something like it, in the updates he'd been posting for the family to David's Twitter & Facebook. Somebody commented on that on either Beau's mom's Twitter or her Facebook; she hasn't responded (like I'm sure that's on the top of her "To Do" list anyway, since the father of her only child just died--though probably a few years earlier than if the dementia had been the primary cause of death). I thought I'd always heard Katie was the "neglected" child & Beau had a better relationship with David.

In all honesty, if David had to die from either dementia or organ failure, while neither is probably a picnic, I'm probably happier (for him & his loved ones, anyway) that he died from the organ failure. At least, as far as we know anyway, when he was hospitalized for the organ failure his dementia apparently hadn't reached the point where he didn't recognize his loved ones. I think maybe that had to be something like a blessing to his loved ones. Maybe even to him considering that comment that was in a lot of the articles on his illness & death in the last few days; the 1 where he said how the only way he knew his mom still recognized him when she was at the end stage of her dementia was that a single tear would roll down her cheek/face when she saw him.

Considering what was published about, mainly, Glen Campbell (but sometimes other celebs battling the disease) as his dementia battle progressed, having been a fan (& a fan who actually got to meet him), I'm not sure it would've been real easy to read stuff like, "well, David's at the point now where he doesn't remember how to play the guitar", or that "he no longer recognizes his stepmom, Shirley; his half brothers Shaun, Patrick & Ryan; his last ex (& Beau's mom), Sue, or Katie &/or Beau, among others." I know that, while I wasn't as big a fan of his (though I liked his music, have his autograph, & I did get to meet him somewhere, a few years before I did the March of Dimes stuff), it was even hard for me to read the periodic updates the Campbell family had printed in People magazine about the progression of Glen Campbell's illness. Especially when they would say stuff like he was no longer able to do something for himself. Anyway...

@ratgirlagogo: Thanks for the update on Katie Cassidy's current status on Arrow/in the cast. It's appreciated.

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I feel like a total ignoramus, because I had no idea that Ron's father was an actor (much less that he was that well-known, respected, and liked in Hollywood).  But yes, it's clear that more than that, he was an outstanding father and inspiration to Ron and Clint -- and the strong family resemblance between Rance and Ron is uncanny.  The apple very definitely didn't fall far from the tree!

RIP, Mr. Howard.  The world is a much better place because of you and the success you had in raising your children to follow your example.

Edited by legaleagle53
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1 minute ago, legaleagle53 said:

 I feel like a total ignoramus, because I had no idea that Ron's father was an actor (much less that he was that well-known, respected, and liked in Hollywood.  But yes, it's clear that more than that, he was an outstanding father and inspiration to Ron -- and the strong family resemblance is uncanny.  The apple very definitely didn't fall far from the tree!

RIP, Mr. Howard.  The world is a much better place because of you and the success you had in raising your children to follow your example.

Rance Howard was also the father of actor Clint Howard, who starred in the CBS series Gentle Ben with Dennis Weaver. 1 of his granddaughters was actress Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron.

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52 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

Rance Howard was also the father of actor Clint Howard, who starred in the CBS series Gentle Ben with Dennis Weaver. 1 of his granddaughters was actress Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron.

Their mom was Jean Speegle Howard who was also a talented and well respected character actor. Her guest starring part on Roseanne was totally  hysterical.

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1 minute ago, Willowsmom said:

Their mom was Jean Speegle Howard who was also a talented and well respected character actor. Her guest starring part on Roseanne was totally  hysterical.

She also played Jim Lovell’s mother in Apollo 13.  Ron famously said he cast her because she was the only actress he knew who’d work without her dentures. 

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5 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Rance Howard was also the father of actor Clint Howard, who starred in the CBS series Gentle Ben with Dennis Weaver. 1 of his granddaughters was actress Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of Ron.

Ron cast Rance and Clint in a lot of his movies.  You can make a game out of looking for them.  They seemed to be a great, close family.

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And he made them audition for the parts just like everybody else.  If they weren't right for the part then they didn't get it.  I can remember Mr. Howard telling that on a talk show and he was laughing about it.

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One of the more funny stories Ron shared was when he was on The Andy Griffith Show, and he had acted up and got into trouble, and complained to Andy. But Andy sided with Rance and told Ronnie what he did was wrong and he knew it. It just highlighted what a good father Rance was. I think he even guest starred on it.

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1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

One of the more funny stories Ron shared was when he was on The Andy Griffith Show, and he had acted up and got into trouble, and complained to Andy. But Andy sided with Rance and told Ronnie what he did was wrong and he knew it. It just highlighted what a good father Rance was. I think he even guest starred on it.

This says Rance Howard was on The Andy Griffith Show 4 times; usually, it seems, in minor parts like the Governor's chauffeur. It also says he & another writer shared an Emmy nomination for writing an episode of the show, & Rance Howard also played the preacher who married Barney Fife & Thelma Lou in a reunion movie involving the show's cast (from 1986, I think it said).

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2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

One of the more funny stories Ron shared was when he was on The Andy Griffith Show, and he had acted up and got into trouble, and complained to Andy. But Andy sided with Rance and told Ronnie what he did was wrong and he knew it. It just highlighted what a good father Rance was. I think he even guest starred on it.

I think that's why Ron and Clint were able to adjust so well to life after childhood stardom and didn't end up as completely screwed up as many child stars did.  Ron and Clint had parents who weren't afraid to lay down the law and enforce it and other adult role models like Andy who also kept them in line by making sure they walked the walk as well as talked the talk. It's got to be one of the reasons that both brothers turned out so well and have had long, successful careers as adults, and I'll bet they were the same way raising their own kids.

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Yes, I think Mr. and  the 1st Mrs. Rance Howard were exceptional parents. One thing that also bears mentioning re how they saved their sons from the many pitfalls was that they made sure one of them were ALWAYS onset of their sons' shows right up to the boys' 18th birthdays. Consider how many child performers either went wild on their own or had the guardians' absences taken advantage of by unscrupulous folks, and one must bow the Howards' wisdom. IOWs, they knew that the boys had lots more to contend with than than bears and goats run amok.  Also, I thought that Rance Howard from his appearances on "Gentle Ben" could have easily traded his acting skills and brooding outsider appearance into a successful, independent solo acting career but he never lost sight the importance of guiding his family taking priority over all.  RIP, Mr. Howard. 

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1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Yes, I think Mr. and  the 1st Mrs. Rance Howard were exceptional parents. One thing that also bears mentioning re how they saved their sons from the many pitfalls was that they made sure one of them were ALWAYS onset of their sons' shows right up to the boys' 18th birthdays. Consider how many child performers either went wild on their own or had the guardians' absences taken advantage of by unscrupulous folks, and one must bow the Howards' wisdom. IOWs, they knew that the boys had lots more to contend with than than bears and goats run amok.  Also, I thought that Rance Howard from his appearances on "Gentle Ben" could have easily traded his acting skills and brooding outsider appearance into a successful, independent solo acting career but he never lost sight the importance of guiding his family taking priority over all.  RIP, Mr. Howard. 

Legally, unless you're talking about someone who's been declared an emancipated minor for work purposes, either Mr. or Mrs. Howard (or a guardian named by them, & probably approved by someone else involved) would've absolutely had to have been on a TV or movie set with Ronny &/or Clint until they turned 18, due to California Child Labor Laws (I'm just pointing that out, & agreeing with you on that point).

But what I assume you're talking about/comparing & contrasting the Howards to are the unscrupulous parents/guardians who might, like, make a show of bringing the kid to the set & then disappearing until it's time for the kid to leave (whenever possible) ... on top of which they tend to systematically steal whatever they can, however they can, from whatever trust fund might've been set up to handle the money the kid made from acting or whatever other entertainment industry job they had.

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On 11/20/2017 at 6:48 PM, Calvada said:

I always hear "the Tate-LaBianca murders," and Tate and the LaBiancas get identified by their full names, then it's just "and six others" in recaps of the events.  Sometimes Sebring would get named in local coverage/conversation, because he was a semi-famous hair stylist in Hollywood.

Chiming in late, but I wanted to say that I hate calling them the "Manson Murders" since it just gives him more attention.  However, It's tough to include all the victims in a quick sentence, so I understand why it's done that way.  Plus, there were many other deaths/attempted murders which have been attributed to the Manson Family most of whom will not be as well known as Sharon Tate or Jason Sebring was

My station completed an interview with Sebring's nephew (he was 4 at the time of the murders) and it turns out he's making a documentary on the murders and told us he wanted to clear the air about his uncle.  He said that when he got older, and was reading up on the murders, he was appalled at the things that had been written about him in the papers  and said much of it was garbage.  It was so chilling to hear him explain how he learned of his uncle's death;  he and his uncle were buddies and he adored his uncle!  Unaware of the murders (much less the gory details), he had asked his mom when his uncle was coming back to visit with them;  he said the look on his mom's face (Sebring was her brother) was something a child should never see.  

I hope Manson is rotting in some pocket dimension where the pain he inflicted on others are being visited upon him to infinity!!  

 

Quote

And he made them audition for the parts just like everybody else.  If they weren't right for the part then they didn't get it.  I can remember Mr. Howard telling that on a talk show and he was laughing about it.

I have trouble believing that - at least  in Clint's case!  I don't think he would have had a career as an adult if it weren't for Ron.  Otherwise, RIP to Rance Howard.  He and Ron's mom were indeed an example to follow when you have kids working in Hollywood.  

Edited by magicdog
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On 11/25/2017 at 8:13 PM, Willowsmom said:

Their mom was Jean Speegle Howard who was also a talented and well respected character actor. Her guest starring part on Roseanne was totally  hysterical.

Ron Howard's mom was the naked neighbor lady?! Holy crap. I never knew that.

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5 hours ago, magicdog said:

he and his uncle were buddies and he adored his uncle!  Unaware of the murders (much less the gory details), he had asked his mom when his uncle was coming back to visit with them;  he said the look on his mom's face (Sebring was her brother) was something a child should never see.  

This is absolute heartbreaking.   That poor family.   All the families.    They lost so much because of that man man and his crazy followers.   None of them should be paroled EVER.

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18 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Jim Nabors died.  In Hawaii, at 87, which ain't a bad way to go. 

I'm sure he's Gomer Pyle to most, but to me he'll always be Deputy Fred from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

He lived in Hawaii for decades. He even had a macadamia nut farm at one point!

He also sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the beginning of the Indianapolis 500 from 1972 to 2014, finally retiring as his health started to decline.

And for those keeping track, here's who we have left from TAGS:

Ron Howard (duh)

Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker)

Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou, who now lives in Andy's hometown of Mount Airy, NC)

Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling)

And from Mayberry, R.F.D.:

Ken Berry (Sam Jones)

Buddy Foster (Mike Jones)--brother of Jodie Foster

I may be missing one or two people, actually. 

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24 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Jim Nabors died.  In Hawaii, at 87, which ain't a bad way to go. 

I'm sure he's Gomer Pyle to most, but to me he'll always be Deputy Fred from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

 Also, what was also surprising to me what a rich, powerful baritone singing voice he had which one would have never guessed via his speaking voice (and, no I don't mean as Gomer Pyle which he admitted was an exaggeration of his Alabama accent).  Also, unlike Mr. Griffith and Miss Bavier, he seemed to have made peace with both himself and his alter ego long before twilight set in and he did a great deal  of good. RIP, Mr. Nabors.

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5 minutes ago, UYI said:

 

Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker)

 

I had to check out Elinor Donahue on IMDB, thinking she must be older than God, since she was a teenager on Father Knows Best when I was a toddler.  She's 80 years old and her last credit was in 2011.

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3 hours ago, UYI said:

He lived in Hawaii for decades. He even had a macadamia nut farm at one point!

He also sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the beginning of the Indianapolis 500 from 1972 to 2014, finally retiring as his health started to decline.

And for those keeping track, here's who we have left from TAGS:

Ron Howard (duh)

Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker)

Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou, who now lives in Andy's hometown of Mount Airy, NC)

Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling)

And from Mayberry, R.F.D.:

Ken Berry (Sam Jones)

Buddy Foster (Mike Jones)--brother of Jodie Foster

I may be missing one or two people, actually.

You're missing at least actor Ronnie Schell , who played Duke Slater, another Marine under Sergeant Carter with Gomer Pyle at Camp Henderson. I follow Dawn Wells, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island (& 1 of the first national celebrities I ever did March of Dimes stuff with) on Facebook; around Spring, 2016, she posted a pic of the 2 of them sitting together, waiting in LAX airport (LA) for the same flight to Australia, where they were to appear at the same Comic-Con/Nostalgia type convention

Edited by BW Manilowe
To remove an extra letter from a word.
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3 hours ago, UYI said:

One more note about Jim Nabors: He was very close friends with Carol Burnett, and appeared at least once on her show every year. 

He was!  He was Carol's "good luck charm".  He was in every season premiere of her variety show from the beginning.

 

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Aw, shame to hear about Jim Nabors.  Indeed, though, I'm glad he got to live a good, long life. May he rest in peace.

I seem to remember his life was in jeopardy and he needed a liver transplant.  He was lucky to get his second chance at life and enjoyed it to the fullest.

I always thought it funny how his speaking voice (at least in character as Gomer) never seemed to match his singing voice!  

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I had to check out Elinor Donahue on IMDB, thinking she must be older than God, since she was a teenager on Father Knows Best when I was a toddler.  She's 80 years old and her last credit was in 2011.

She was a teenager but a married one.  The show started in '54 and she got married in '55.

Mr. Angeltoes is from the same town in Alabama as Mr. Nabors.  The first time he took me there, as we were driving into the "city" limits, I read a big sign that said,"Home of Jim Nabors."  I said in surprise,"You really are from the same town as him." and Mr. Angeltoes said,"Why would I lie about THAT?"  Surprisingly enough (for small town Alabama) they are not related,

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3 minutes ago, magicdog said:

He was!  He was Carol's "good luck charm".  He was in every season premiere of her variety show from the beginning.

 

I seem to remember his life was in jeopardy and he needed a liver transplant.  He was lucky to get his second chance at life and enjoyed it to the fullest.

I always thought it funny how his speaking voice (at least in character as Gomer) never seemed to match his singing voice!

Yep, I remembered that, too (the liver transplant). It's mentioned in the obit @Bastet linked to. He got it in 2004, after contracting Hepatitis B, according to what I read. He managed to get around 13 years from that organ. I think the Indy 500 after the transplant was the only 1/1 of the very few he missed singing at before finally calling it quits in 2014. My mom's on 8 years, I think, with her kidney. Not for nothing.

Somewhere else I was reading, I think it was probably Wikipedia--that & Google are basically the only stuff I've read for things about him since I saw he died--said that his speaking voice in character as Gomer was exaggerated/overexaggerated from his real voice. Having heard him speak as himself on TV, I'd probably agree with that. And, I know Polly Holliday, who played the waitress Flo ("Kiss my grits!") on Alice & in her own spinoff named for the character, did the same thing for her character--her real southern accent was overplayed in character for the laughs. I've heard her speak as herself on TV too.

A lot of people's singing voices don't match their speaking voices. Especially when you're talking about, like, non-classical type singers & (I've found, anyway) singers from Australia--like Olivia Newton-John & Keith Urban. They sound pretty American when you hear them sing, but when they talk, they still have at least some noticeable Australian in their speaking voices. As for Jim, his singing voice was "bigger" sounding, when I heard it, than I imagined it would be. I don't know if he had professional training, or not. That might've accounted for the voice's sound too.

I'm glad for Jim that he lived long enough to experience marriage equality. It appears they were only married, like, 4 years before Jim died. But, like Barry Manilow & his husband, Garry Kief, who we discussed in the Miscellaneous Celebrity News thread earlier this year, after Barry officially, finally came out of the closet & publicly confirmed who his partner was, Jim & his husband were together for, like, 38 years (I think it was) before marrying in Washington state in 2013.

I wonder what they'll do about (Back Home Again in) Indiana this coming May--use a version he pre-recorded? Or get someone else to sing it, as they have at least the year while he was recuperating from the transplant & since he retired in 2014. I think a lot of people consider his version to be an "iconic" 1.

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6 hours ago, UYI said:

And for those keeping track, here's who we have left from TAGS:

Ron Howard (duh)

Elinor Donahue (Ellie Walker)

Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou, who now lives in Andy's hometown of Mount Airy, NC)

Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling)

Thanks!  I was just thinking about this the other day when I stumbled on some TAGS reruns.  One of them even featured Charlene Darling.  Another had Thelma Lou repeatedly protesting (and rightfully so) that Barney couldn't possibly join the community chorus because "he can't sing a lick!"

RIP, Jim Nabors.  Gaw-aw-lee!

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Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle shows weren't my favorites but in those days of 3 stations sometimes  you took what you could get if you feel like watching TV. I do remember seeing the show where he starts to sing and, once again in the days pre-Internet when no one had any idea that he could sing like that, it was amazing.  I miss the days when something could be a surprise like that. 

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Jim Nabors always seemed like such a nice guy.  I remember him most from his appearances on The Carol Burnett Show.  Carol issued a statement to the Hollywood Reporter about the loss of her friend.

“Jim and I remained close friends for 52 years,” Burnett said. “He was the godfather of my daughter, Jody. Every year he was always the first guest on my variety show. I considered him my ‘good luck charm.’ My heart is heavy. I’m grateful he was a large part of my life. I miss him. I love him.”

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