Gomer Pyle Actor Jim Nabors Comes Out, Marries Partner of 38 Years

Actor Jim Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, in Seattle earlier this month, he told Hawaii News Now.

"I'm 82 and he's in his 60s and so we've been together for 38 years," he said. "I'm not ashamed of people knowing, it's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't tell anybody. 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."

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Nabors, who's most famous for starring in the 1960s sitcom Gomer Pyle, USMC, wed Cadwallader in a hotel room with just a few friends in attendance. Hawaii residents, they traveled to Washington, where gay marriages became legal in December. Although Nabors says he didn't hide his sexual orientation, he never commented on it until now.

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"I haven't ever made a public spectacle of it," he said. "I've known since I was a child...I've never made a huge secret of it at all." About the nuptials he added, "This is really no big deal. My friend and I, my partner, we went through all of this 38 years ago. So I mean, we made our vows and that was it. It was to each other, but nevertheless, we were a couple."

The couple met in Honolulu in 1975 when Cadwallader was a firefighter. He later went on to work for Nabors.