Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

BEING A Spin off from THE ANDY GRIFFITH show, even before anyone had even heard of a "spinoff"; GOMER PYLE, U.S.M.C. successfully walked a tight rope to sitcom immortality. Going on and staying on CBS for a full 5 years was no small accomplishment.

THE "TIGHTROPE" OF which we speak was that certain balance that the production team sought and managed to maintain throughout the series run. This balance was one of seeking a sort of middle of the road approach to Gomer's persona.

HAVING ORIGINATED AS a stock character hillbilly and employed as an assistant mechanic & grease monkey; the character Gomer's main function was to provide the show with some of its most obvious laughs. Hence, the other supporting characters, such Barney, Floyd, Otis and even Ernest T. Bass, would seem, at least comparatively, smarter.

NOW, WITH THE advent of the GOMER PYLE Series, the production team was presented with a problem of minor personality modification. This "surgery" was a necessary evil for the ultimate success of the show. If left as he appeared on ANDY GRIFFITH, his inherent stupidity would be an insurmountable obstacle to believability and success.

IN RE-INVENTING Gomer's personality (or at least in adjusting it), the writers made Pyle more of an innocent and literalistic (much like Andy Griffith's characterization of 'Will Stockdale' in NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS). Added to this, they emphasized a sort "Heart of Gold" tendency of our hero. This greatly enhanced their ability to make a premise last for the full half hour.

SPEAKING OF FAR-OUT characterizations, what about that of Sergeant Vince Carter. Being portrayed by an under-appreciated dramatic actor (Frank Sutton), it at first seems that this Sergeant is Gomer's eternal Drill Instructor (aka "D.I.") His involvement with the story lines, however, also required a toning down for the good Sergeant Carter's attitudes, personality and actions.

WITH THE OBVIOUS blessing of the United States Department of Defense, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, those opening and closing sequences using hundreds of real marching Marines, that serve as a backdrop for Sgt. Carter's hard-boiled shouts and gesturing and Pyule's silly laugh-talking.

THIS SEEMED TO be an exercise in the unbelievable; as it was the era of the Vietnam War. We don't really know how to describe this; other than "Dicotomy" and "Paradox."

This was one of the funniest shows of the 1960's. This took the premise of putting the very innocent and naive Gomer Pyle from the Andy Griffith show and putting him into the the greatest killing machine ever. The thing that made this show great was not only his interaction with Sergeant Carter, but with other people as well. The situations that Gomer would get into as a result of his naive nature helped to make this show the classic that it was. Also, Frank Sutton created one of the classic characters in the history of television in Sergeant Carter. Not only could Carter be easily exasperated, but in a lot of instances he also could be seen as more of a big brother to Gomer as he bumbled his way through his hitch in the marines.

I been a fan of this show ever since it's debut in 1964, I was ten years old. I sure did laugh at all the things that Gomer got into and even though Sergent Carter yell at Gomer alot, I knew that deep down inside he really like the country boy from Mayberry North Carolina

In 1965 the Gomer Pyle, USMC show was switched from black and white to color. It was necessary to film the color guard and opening and closing scenes for the show in color. This was done at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, in June, 1965. I was in the recruit platoon used for the filming and I am the young Marine marching directly behind Gomer in those scenes. During most of the brief scene Sgt. Carter is between me and the camera, however the angle changes just before the scene closes. We marched from 0730 until 1430 that day just to get those few seconds of film. The platoon was Plt. 130, 1st Recruit Btn. As a side note, during a break in the filming, Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter) asked me if I ever smiled. Being the young, indoctrinated, Gung Ho recruit I was, my reply was, "Yes Sir. When my Drill Instructor tells me to, sir!" Frank Sutton Rolled his eyes and said to Jim Nabors, "I forgot where we were for a second". After my stint in the Marine Corps, I went into law enforcement and spent more time in front of a TV camera than I cared to. I'm now retired and enjoying life to the fullest.

When Andy Griffith hired Jim Nabors to portray Gomer Pyle on his hit Mayberry sitcom, the Alabama born actor-singer played the part so well that a spin off was created for him. It turned out to be Gomer Pyle, USMC, putting his naive personality against the tough, no-nonsense Sergeant Carter, played by Frank Sutton. The show ended up becoming one of TV's most successful spinoffs, never falling out of the Nielsen Top 10 ratings.

I remember watching Gomer Pyle for many years and I thought it was a very funny show. A couple of episodes I remember was the one when Gomer and Sgt. Carter were in Washington and Gomer really wanted to say "Hey!" to the President. Recently, i saw the two episodes with Carol Burnett, including the one where Gomer and Sgt (promoted from Corporal) Carol Barnes sang a duet. It was one of several episodes that showcased Nabors' outstanding singing talent.

Also added to the hysteria were Ronnie Schell as Duke Slater and Allan Melvin as Sgt. Hacker.

After five years, Gomer Pyle ended its run, not because of low ratings, but because CBS offered Nabors a variety show and he decided to leave the sitcom and focus on the new show. But we'll always remember his stint as one of TV's funniest marines. Shazam!