The series was a Spinoff of an episode of '' The Andy Griffith Show '' which aired on May 19th, 1964. The show featured Jim Nabors reprising his role as the bumbling but lovable Gomer Pyle , who had left the town of Mayberry and joined the U.S. Marine Corps . The series mostly revolved around Pyle's misadventures in the Marines, usually ending with his good-naturedness winning over adversity, especially his hard-nosed Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Vince Carter (played by actor Frank Sutton ). Due to Gomer's deep humility, he never sought promotion beyond the rank of Private First Class . CBS executives ordered that Pyle remain in training indefinitely and not be sent to the Vietnam War to preserve ratings.
On August 9 2001 , PFC Gomer Pyle was promoted to Lance Corporal by General James L. Jones , then Commandant of the US Marine Corps, for the character's promotion of Marine values of selfless devotion to duty and unquestionable loyalty.
- Pvt Gomer Pyle, played by Jim Nabors
- Gunnery Sgt. Vince Carter, played by Frank Sutton
- Staff Sgt. Charley Hacker, played by Allan Melvin
- Lt Col Edward Gray, played by Forrest Compton
- Pvt/Cpl Gilbert "Duke" Slater, played by Ronnie Schell
- Cpl Chuck Boyle, played by Roy Stuart
- Pvt Frankie Lombardi, played by Ted Bessell
- Pvt Lester Hummel, played by William Christopher
- Lou-Ann Poovie, played by Elizabeth MacRae
- Bunny Wilson, played by Barbara Stuart
- In The Simpsons episode ''Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?'' Homer flashes back to watching Gomer Pyle as he mourns the loss of his couch.
- The term "Gomer Pyle" is used by Marine Corps Drill Instructors, as a personal epithet for recruits that are perceived as "goldbricking" (being lazy), or not responding/adjusting to training properly. This usage is shown in the Stanley Kubrick film '' Full Metal Jacket ''. It was also briefly a Nickname for the X-Men character Cannonball (who was a rookie from the country at the time).
- US pilots flying missions over Vietnam often called Soviet MiG-19 and MiG-23 pilots "Gomers" due to their large goggles.
- "Gomer", though an unusual name is Biblical , although it was actually that of a woman.
- Andy Griffith , Frances Bavier , Ron Howard and George Lindsey made guest appearances on the Spin-off series playing the same characters from '' The Andy Griffith Show ''. Denver Pyle played Briscoe Darling in six episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and played tomato farmer Titus Purcell in an episode of Gomer Pyle (season 4, episode 25). And Allan Melvin , who played a wide variety of characters in eight different episodes of The Andy Griffith Show was a regular on Gomer Pyle, playing Sergeant Carter's arch rival, Sergeant Hacker.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. has often been criticized for repeated Plot Lifting directly from its parent show, The Andy Griffith Show. Below are just a few examples which illustrate the obvious similarities found in script details of both shows.
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