It's always good to be home.
I've learned that just because you're successful in one area doesn't necessarily mean you'll be successful in another.
One thing I've learned is when you find a best friend in this life, you better hang on.
It is often pointed out to me that, in a brief time, I have gone from unknown film editor to star of 'Gomer Pyle,' guest star in two TV specials, and a night club headliner, and that this must necessarily have wrought some deep changes in me.
An inevitable question asked of a performer who has made a modest success of his career is, 'How has success changed you?' It's a loaded question because it automatically assumes that there has been a change. And, in a sense, the assumption is a correct one. Basically, however, most people remain pretty much the same.
Most people thought Gomer was stupid, dumb, a real klutz. But you study him, he really wasn't any of those things. Gomer just didn't want to see bad in anybody; you could never get him mad.
I've never considered myself an actor; I get much more immediate satisfaction singing. If you sing good, people clap. On television, you never know whether you've done well or not.
I sang in the glee club and church choir, but I never sang a solo. I never thought of myself as a singer, and that might have crossed your mind, too.
Even though I've got quite a bit of singing experience, I still get nervous when stretchin' my pipes.
I'm a farmer! We have a farm that's part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Maui, and we raise macadamia nuts.
The businessman gets his name on a door. The star gets his name in lights. They both get their names on a parking space.
I had a liver transplant, then I had a pacemaker put in, then I had a new knee put it, then I had a heart valve put in. I'm almost brand new. I have a lot of new parts.
I visited Minnie Pearl's home down in Nashville, and I liked it so much I asked the same man to help fix up my place.
When I went to Vietnam in 1971 with Bob Hope, we went to Da Nang, which was a Marine base. I just have to say it was one of the biggest thrills I have ever had.
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.
I really never watched myself on TV.
I could go on all night about my wonderful experiences.
A mother and a little boy were walking along, and I could tell the minute the recognition hit the little boy. As he walked by holding his mother's hand, he said in a real loud voice, 'Look, Mother. There goes an old Gomer Pyle.'
I started singing in college just as a fun thing to entertain.
I can perform whenever I want to, without the pressure of having to.
