Jim Nabors, star of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.</> married Stan Cadwallader, his partner of 38 years, in Seattle on January 15th.
Same-sex marriage recently became legal in Washington state, so the couple traveled from their home in Hawaii to Seattle as soon as possible and legally wed at Downtown’s ritzy Fairmount Olympic Hotel, as reported by Hawaii News Now.
Nabors met Cadwaller, a former firefighter, in Honolulu in 1975. Nabors had always been open about his sexuality to his colleagues in the entertainment industry, but never wanted to get involved in the big public debate about same-sex marriage.
In a telephone interview, Nabors declared he and Cadwallader wanted recognition for their relationship, as reported by The New York Times.
“[We] had no rights as a couple” before they were married. “Yet when you’ve been together 38 years, I think something’s got to happen there, you’ve got to solidify something. And at my age, it’s probably the best thing to do.”