George Lindsey

George Smith Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American character actor, best known for his role as Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D. and his subsequent tenure on Hee-Haw. 2Life and career George Lindsey was born in Fairfield, Alabama and grew up in the small town of Jasper. He graduated from Walker County High School (Jasper) in 1946 and then attended Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, and Florence State Teacher's College (Florence, Alabama) (now the University of North Alabama), where he majored in physical education and biology, played quarterback on the football team, and received a Bachelor of Science in 1952. After graduating from college he enlisted in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico. After his discharge, he taught for a year at Hazel Green High School in Hazel Green, Alabama, while waiting to be accepted by the American Theater Wing in New York City in 1956. After graduating from the Wing and performing in two Broadway plays, "Wonderful Town" and "All American", he moved to Los Angeles in 1962. He got parts in TV series of the day including Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, The Real McCoys, The Twilight Zone, Daniel Boone, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and three episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, before he got the role he would become famous for as "Goober" on The Andy Griffith Show. 3The Andy Griffith Show, as "Goober Pyle" (1964) In 1964, Lindsey was cast as the slow-witted but kindly "Goober Beasley" on The Andy Griffith Show. His character was later renamed "Goober Pyle" to tie him to his cousin Gomer Pyle, slow-witted country boy played by Jim Nabors, also from Alabama. Goober's antics frequently included his exaggerated "Goober Dance" and his comically bad Cary Grant impressio