Well known Indianapolis 500 performer Jim Nabors has passed away from cancer at the age of 87.
It is not often that an actor-entertainer becomes as well know for singing at a car race as he does staring on the screen. However, Jim Nabors was such a man who from 1972 made 36 appearances singing “Back Home Again in Indiana” just prior to the call “Drivers Start Your Engines”.
Nabors, who was also known for his television portrayal of bumpkin Gomer Pyle in the “The Andy Griffith Show” in the early 1960s and for his starring role in the popular spin-off television comedy “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” from 1964-69. His catchphrase on both shows, “Gollllll-ly!” was flavored with the Southern drawl of his native Alabama.
Here is Nabors' final performance at the Brickyard in 2014.