Only a select few knew about Jim Nabors’s sexuality until he married the love of his life. The actor once explained that their marriage was merely a formality prompted by legal issues they wanted to overcome.
For a long time, Jim Nabors kept his sexuality private, but he became more open about it later in life. He married his longtime partner, Stan Cadwallader, and they remained together until Nabors’s death. Here’s what we know about his story.
Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle on “The Andy Griffith Show” on an episode dated April 2, 1963 | Source: Getty Images
Being Publicly Closeted While Dating
Nabors, an Alabama native, first met Cadwallader, a former Honolulu firefighter, in 1975. Eventually, the firefighter began working for the actor, and the two started dating. During the 1960s and 1970s, Nabors worked full-time in Hollywood and revealed he was open about his homosexuality to friends and co-workers.
Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor, Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle, Ron Howard as Opie Taylor, and Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife on the “The Andy Griffith Show,” circa 1963 | Source: Getty Images
However, he never publicly acknowledged it until his marriage. He explained, “I haven’t ever made a public spectacle of it. Well, I’ve known since I was a child, so, come on. It’s not that kind of a thing. I’ve never made a huge secret of it at all.”
Jim Nabors in a scene from “Gomer Pyle, USMC” on September 30, 1964 | Source: Getty Images
“The Andy Griffith Show” star insisted, “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.”
According to the book “Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the Sixties,” Nabors was confirmed to have been a closeted gay man publicly. Rumors circulated largely because he was not known to have romantic relationships.
Jim Nabors as Pvt. Gomer Pyle in “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” on July 21, 1967 | Source: Getty Images
At one point, various media outlets showed interest in the couple’s relationship. The actor’s advice for surviving that difficult time was, “If you have a person who has been your best friend for nearly 40 years, you better hold onto them, no matter what, because they are hard to come by in this life.”
During a phone interview, he explained that he was not shy about their relationship, “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 Nabors and Karen Morrow on “The Jim Nabors Hour” on September 25, 1969 | Source: Getty Images
He continued, “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.” Before marrying, Nabors shared the reason for finally formalizing their union.
He said, “It’s pretty obvious that we had no rights as a couple, yet when you’ve been together 38 years, I think something’s got to happen there, you’ve got to solidify something. And at my age, it’s probably the best thing to do.”
Jim Nabors and Carol Burnett on “The Carol Burnett Show,” circa 1971, in Los Angeles | Source: Getty Images
Their discretion about their sexuality was likely influenced by the era in which they grew up. Nevertheless, Nabors’s family had realized early on that he probably would not end up with a woman, so his parents encouraged him to succeed by being himself.
Jim Nabors and kissing his mother Mavis Nabors during her birthday party in Beverly Hills, California, on February 6, 1983 | Source: Getty Images
After coming out publicly, the actor was asked to share his advice for young homosexuals starting to navigate their sexuality. He said, “I really don’t have any advice. I don’t think I’m qualified because I just could handle it my own way.”
Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle in “Return to Mayberry,” circa 1986 | Source: Getty Images
“And you don’t ever understand what people look down on you, or say cruel things to you about that sort of thing, but nevertheless, that’s just life, and you just have to get above it,” Nabors stated.
Jim Nabors and date at the Variety Club International Big Heart Awards Gala on April 6, 1986, in Century City, California | Source: Getty Images
Tying the Knot
When Nabors finally decided to marry his longtime partner, he preferred it to be a private affair. He also had no intention of making a statement on the national debate over same-sex marriage.
Before their official ceremony, they participated in a civil union ceremony in Honolulu in 2012. Nabors, the star of the 1960s show “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” married Cadwallader on January 15, 2013.
The actor, also a singer, married his partner of 38 years in a ceremony officiated by a judge at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Some friends who lived down the street from their home near Diamond Head, Hawaii, witnessed the ceremony.
They traveled there after same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state in December 2012. Back in Hawaii, Nabors explained their decision, saying, “I was just trying to solidify all of our years together.” He reiterated, “When you find a good friend in this life, you hang on to him.”
Jim Nabors at the TV Land Awards airing March 17, 2004, in Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images
The year following their marriage, when the singer was congratulated, he said he and his “old good buddy” and “best friend” got married for “legal reasons.” He shared an incident that helped influence their decision.
One day, Cadwallader took Nabors to the emergency room. After leaving to park the car, Cadwallader could not find his partner because the hospital staff refused him access since he was not considered family.
Jim Nabors during the Indianapolis 500 parade on May 24, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana | Source: Getty Images
Nabors thought the situation was absurd, which partially led to the marriage. He stated, “It’s nice to find your best friend that you can hang with all these years. If you do it for any other reason than that, you’re in trouble. If you can find one in this life, you’re a really lucky person.”
The star described their wedding as “very touching” but laughed off the idea that getting married changed anything, saying, “Oh please, nothing’s changed.” He elaborated, “Most of the things you promise, we got through that 38 years ago.”
Jim Nabors at the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor speedway on May 25, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana | Source: Getty Images
Further addressing his reluctance to publicize the wedding, he said, “I am not an activist, particularly.” He also clarified, “I’m not a debater. And everybody has their own opinion about this and actually I’m not an activist so I’ve never gotten involved in any of this.”
However, he revealed his activist side by adding, “But I think every single human being has the right to choose the person they want to spend their life with. That’s not even an argument, it’s just a God-given right.”
Jim Nabors on the red carpet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Source: Getty Images
At the time of their wedding, nine out of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, had legalized same-sex marriage. Another 31 states had constitutional amendments restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.
According to a clerk in the King County Archives, Nabors’s marriage application and certificate were filed with the Thurston County Auditor in Olympia. The couple lived together in Hawaii for many years before the actor’s death.
Lars Anderson and Jim Nabors before a race at the 97th Indianapolis 500 in Indiana, on May 26, 2013 | Getty Images
The Couple’s Life in Hawaii
By 2015, Nabors and Cadwallader had been living and owning a home in Diamond Head, Hawaii, for 40 years. They often spent time on their enclosed patio overlooking the pool and a gate that led to a beach and a small cove.
Beyond the cove, they had a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Nabors shared that he fell in love with Hawaii during a visit in the 1960s. He moved there in the 1980s and bought a macadamia farm.
During that time, the retired star battled various medical issues with his husband by his side. He dealt with severe asthma, hepatitis B, liver failure and transplant, knee reconstruction, and the implantation of a pacemaker and a new heart valve.
By then, Nabors had become a full-time Hawaii resident, with him and his husband planning not to travel farther than their farm in Hana. Speaking about their life, he said, “We live in Hawaii because we love it here. There is no reason to go anywhere else. There are no regrets, only gratitude.”
For Nabors’s 85th birthday and the 40th anniversary of their life together, the couple celebrated their significant milestones before the singer’s death and the sale of their house.
Jim Nabors smiling and posing at the Indy 500 | Source: Getty Images
Losing Nabors and Selling Their Home
On November 30, 2017, Cadwallader lost his husband at age 87 after he died peacefully at their Honolulu, Hawaii, home. According to him, Nabors’s health had been declining over the past year, but he stayed by his side.
Nabors’s immune system had been suppressed since he underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after contracting hepatitis B. He got the infection in India several years earlier after cutting himself while shaving with a contaminated straight razor he had bought there.