George Lindsey – Or As You Knew Him Goober Pyle – Dies and We Learn a an Important Fact About His Life

News That Should Have Been Known While He Was Alive

Somewhere in the Unites States at this very exact time some TV station is either playing reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, or getting ready to broadcast the show.  If we are talking about TV stations in North Carolina, forget that getting ready to broadcast the show, it is on the air somewhere. 

The characters are all part of Americana, Andy, Aunt Bee, Opie, and Barney were the stars. About the only real criticism of the show is that apparently Mayberry, North Carolina, the fictional home town of the characters was the only place in the entire state that did not have a single African American resident.

Another character on the show, Goober Pyle, played by George Lindsey is instantly recognizable.  The character was so memorable that it survived the demise of the show, and Mr. Lindsey went on to continue to create the character until the 1990’s.  At the age of 83, Mr. Lindsey has just passed away.

The news that merits a mention in this Forum is what Mr. Lindsey did with his life after he became famous, and presumably wealthy (hopefully he got fees from syndication).  Here it is.

Lindsey devoted much of his spare time to raising funds for the Alabama Special Olympics. For 17 years, he sponsored a celebrity golf tournament in Montgomery, Ala., that raised money for the mentally disabled.

So Mr. Lindsey was one of the many quiet Americans who with little publicity or attention outside of his home area did good things in his life.  Nice going Goober Pyle.