Hollywood Yesterday

Andy Taylor:  Goob, did anybody ever tell you you’ve got a big mouth?
Goober Pyle:  Yeah, but I don’t pay no attention to ‘em.

Thanks to television, dvds, and Golden Age of Hollywood websites such as this one – even when the stars leave us, they never stop shining.  And, as is so often the case, the laughter never dies.  When someone as talented and gifted as George Lindsey creates a character like Goober, this laughter is their lasting legacy.  George Lindsey played Goober as well as a character could be played and made him stand out in a cast filled with stand outs.

And can you imagine a sweeter legacy than laughter?!  Millions and millions of people laughing because of you.   And best of all, the laughter will never die.

George Lindsey was born in Jasper, Alabama on December 15, 1935. He passed away May 6 in Nashville Tennessee.

Although Lindsey’s best remembered for his adorably simple Goober, the actor actually had a Bachelors Degree in Bioscience from the University of North Alabama.  He was a science teacher before he decided to become an actor.

Can you picture Goober standing before a classroom, teaching science?  With a straight face?  Me neither.  I keep seeing him break out in his infamous, “Judy Judy Judy!”  Priceless.

Perhaps even more startling than Goober with a diploma would be the image of Goober holding court on the Starship Enterprise.  Leonard Nimoy (Spock) has revealed that Gene Roddenberry’s first choice to play Spock was George Lindsey. He turned the part down and Leonard Nimoy and George Lindsey’s characters became household names with much-beloved faces.

I can’t picture him in front of Captain Kirk any more than I can picture him in front of a classroom!  Somehow, that’s just not where he belongs.  Let’s set things right and put him firmly in his rightful place in history.

Gomer Pyle: Me and Goober are goin’ down to see that Cary Grant movie. Goober never misses a Cary Grant movie. He studies him. You want to hear him take off on Cary Grant? C’mon, Goober; do Cary Grant.
Goober Pyle: Well, I don’t know…
Andy Taylor: Well, Gom, if he doesn’t want to…
Goober Pyle: I’ll do it! Judy, Judy, Judy!
Gomer Pyle: [laughing hysterically] Ain’t that great, Andy? How do you do it? Let me try; Judy, Judy, I can’t do it. Andy, couldn’t you just swear it was Cary Grant standin’ right before you in this room?
Andy Taylor: Uh, yeah, Gomer; that was real good, Goober.

Real good, indeed.