Actor-singer Jim Nabors is among those paying tribute to Andy Griffith, who died Tuesday at age 86.
Nabors co-starred with Griffith in the classic comedy The Andy Griffith Show, which also featured Don Knotts, Ron Howard and Frances Bavier in its cast.
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“I was saddened this morning to learn of the passing of my good friend Andy Griffith,” Nabors said Tuesday. “He was a legend. My thoughts and prayers are with Andy’s family.”
Nabors played gas station attendant Gomer Pyle in The Andy Griffith Show, which ran on CBS from 1960-68.
His character was so popular with viewers that he was given a spinoff, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., in which Pyle enlists in the Marine Corps. It aired on CBS from 1964-1969.
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Howard also paid tribute to Griffith on Tuesday, tweeting: “Andy Griffith His pursuit of excellence and the joy he took in creating served generations & shaped my life I’m forever grateful RIP Andy.”
Griffith, who was 86, died at about 7 a.m. Tuesday morning at his home in Dare County, N.C., according to North Carolina’s WITN-TV. Emergency medical crews had responded to a call for help, but no cause of death was given.
Watch the classic “Citizen’s Arrest” episode, featuring Griffith, Nabors and Knotts, from The Andy Griffith Show below.
