The Jim Nabors Hour
Encyclopedia
The Jim Nabors Hour was a variety television series hosted by Jim Nabors
that aired on the CBS
television network
from 1969 to 1971.
Fresh from his success with Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
, which put his backwoods "Gomer Pyle" character from The Andy Griffith Show
in a military context, the show not only built on that success, including Ronnie Schell
and Frank Sutton
, two of Nabors' old co-stars, but also displayed his baritone
singing voice, which had been used on the Pyle show on occasion and had gotten Nabors several gold records in the late 1960s.
The show was consistently in the top thirty and performed strongly in its time slot, but fell victim to the infamous CBS "rural purge
" and was axed by the network.
Jim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
that aired on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
from 1969 to 1971.
Fresh from his success with Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
, which put his backwoods "Gomer Pyle" character from The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
in a military context, the show not only built on that success, including Ronnie Schell
Ronnie Schell
Ronald Ralph "Ronnie" Schell is an American actor, stand-up comedian and cartoon voice actor . Early in his career he appeared as himself as a contestant on You Bet Your Life opposite Groucho Marx, demonstrating a comic barrage of jive talk.-Life and career:Schell was born in Richmond, California...
and Frank Sutton
Frank Sutton
Frank Spencer Sutton was an American actor best remembered for his role of Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter on the CBS television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.-Early life:...
, two of Nabors' old co-stars, but also displayed his baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
singing voice, which had been used on the Pyle show on occasion and had gotten Nabors several gold records in the late 1960s.
The show was consistently in the top thirty and performed strongly in its time slot, but fell victim to the infamous CBS "rural purge
Rural purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks was a series of cancellations between 1969 and 1972, the majority of which occurred at the end of the 1970-71 television season, of still popular rural-themed shows and shows with demographically-skewed audiences...
" and was axed by the network.