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Jim Nabors created the ''happiest set in Hollywood''
Nabors drew on past experience to ensure everybody felt right at home.
A stress-free work environment is rare. But if you've been lucky enough to have a job with positive conditions, you know just how much it can affect everything. Because work isn't just work. Work is how we spend a lot of our time, and it follows us into whatever we do afterward and on the weekends. Life is already preciously short, and what we're locked into from 9 to 5 bleeds into the rest of it. So, being happy at work sets us up to be happy for the rest of our lives as well.
While any industry is likely to have both good and bad workspaces, it seems like Hollywood is more often home to the latter. Maybe it's just our nature to report on and read about negative stories. We're more likely to have our interest piqued when things are nasty for someone famous. But, whether it's media bias or not, we can all agree that being on a blazing hot set with hundreds of exhausted professionals would make for a stressful day. It's a wonder, then, that there are still stories of friendly folks in Hollywood.
Standing alone as his own Mt. Rushmore is Jim Nabors, a notoriously good person whose demeanor was rivaled only by his talent.
After years of stealing scenes on The Andy Griffith Show, it was time for Nabors to strike out on his own, as his character Gomer left Mayberry to serve his country in the Marines. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. built greatness from a simple fish-out-of-water premise, plunking the bumpkin in boot camp, and having a drill sergeant correct his every move. While Pyle remained undeterred in his quest for patriotic fulfillment, so too did Nabors stay steadfast in his insistence on having a friendly place to clock in each day.
A 1968 profile in The Toronto Star paints Nabors as a good-natured, hard-working actor, even when the day's production reached stressful levels. In the article, Nabors' coworkers agree that he steers a steady, happy ship.
"Jim's beautiful," said Renny Rocker, a bit player on that day's episode. "Just a beautiful guy. This [rooky performer] is nervous and [Jim] is trying to take his mind off it. When I first started he knew I was scared and he did the same thing. He pulled me aside and said not to worry and rehearsed with me for about 20 minutes. And boy, if you know anything about Hollywood, you know that just doesn't happen with a star around here."
An electrician, passing by during the interview, states that Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. is the "happiest set in Hollywood."
"Yes sir," said the unnamed tradesman, "he knows every one of us by name and makes it a point to find out just what our problems are and how our families are doing. The star sets the tone on a set, and on this one, for the last five years, there hasn't been an ounce of tension. It's incredible. He's never been late and he always knows his lines. Yes sir, everybody loves him."
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A Good Man.
