Jim Nabors Married Stan Cadwallader After 38 Years of Dating: Meet the Gomer Pyle Actor’s Spouse 

As Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, Jim Nabors was a true scene stealer. He continued his comedy and singing career well beyond the CBS series up until he announced his retirement in 2014. One year earlier, he married his longtime partner, Stan Cadwallader. Keep scrolling to learn more about the late actor’s husband. 

Who Is Late Actor Jim Nabors’ Husband, Stan Cadwallader? 

After appearing in 23 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show from 1962 to 1964, Jim landed his own spinoff show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. The series ran from 1964 to 1969. The Hollywood funnyman soon became the host of The Jim Nabors Hour until 1971. He was also a frequent guest on The Carol Burnett Show. 

In 1976, Jim decided to make the move from California to Hawaii. He fell in love with the islands after vacationing there for the first time a decade earlier. Stan was working as a firefighter in Hawaii at the start of his private romance with the TV icon. Together they ran a macadamia nut farm in Maui and enjoyed their quiet life together out of the spotlight. The pair got married in 2013 in Washington, one month after same-sex marriage was legalized in the state.  

“I’m 82 and he’s in his 60s and so we’ve been together for 38 years and I’m not ashamed of people knowing, it’s just that it was such a personal thing, I didn’t tell anybody,” Jim explained in a 2013 interview with Hawaii News Now about keeping their relationship private before announcing news of their nuptials. “I’m very happy that I’ve had a partner of 38 years and I feel very blessed. And what can I tell you, I’m just very happy.”

The Emmy nominee made an appearance at the Indy 500 in May 2014 where he announced that he planned to take a step back from show business to focus on his health and personal life.

“In Hawaii, Jim worked less and less as time went on,” author Geoffrey Mark once told Closer of Jim’s step back from Hollywood. “He was happy in his life, happy not having to worry about what people were saying about him. And he found his personal serenity there. And good for him and good for him going public before others did. So, with Jim, you had another celebrity showing you that there was no reason to stay in the shadows.”

Jim underwent a life-saving liver transplant after contracting hepatitis B in 1994. He lived for 23 more years before Stan announced his spouse’s death at the age of 87 on November 30, 2017. 

“Everybody knows he was a wonderful man. And that’s all we can say about him,” he said in a statement at the time. “He’s going to be dearly missed.”