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TV legend Jim Nabors dead at 87

Jim Nabors was best known for playing Gomer Pyle on 'The Andy Griffith Show.'
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 25: Jim Nabors attends the 2014 Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 25, 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jim Nabors, who played Gomer Pyle on TV's "The Andy Griffith Show," has died at 87.

Nabors died peacefully at his home in Hawaii on Thursday with his husband, Stan Cadwallader, at his side. He was 87.

Cadwallader says Nabors' health had been declining for the past year. His immune system also was suppressed after he underwent a liver transplant about 20 years ago.

Nabors became an instant success when he joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in the early 1960s.

The character of Gomer Pyle, the unworldly, lovable gas pumper who would exclaim "Gollllll-ly!" proved so popular that in 1964 CBS starred him in "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."

Nabors' operatic voice also made him a favorite in Las Vegas and other showplaces.

In addition to a lengthy TV and film career, Nabors also performed Back Home Again in Indiana at the Indianapolis 500 nearly every year between 1972 and 2014.

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