Jim Nabors

Kids are more rewarding than anything in life. They are the most enthusiastic, honest people in the world. And so beautiful. They look at me like an old friend.

Life for my family was a real struggle, as it was for most in those farming communities in Alabama.

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.

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.

It's people, not possessions, that make home for me. It's not that I get much time to entertain, or any of that, what with the television production schedule and, now, singing concerts all around the country and making recordings.

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.

After I sang 'Back Home In Indiana' the first time, I became a Hoosier.

Making a success in show business is like getting a big promotion on a job. You get more prestige, more authority, more money - and you also get longer hours, more work, and more responsibility. It evens out.