Gomer Pyle is a television character played by Jim Nabors and introduced in the middle of the third season of The Andy Griffith Show. Pyle, a simpleminded and gentle auto mechanic, became a character when actor Howard McNear, who portrayed Floyd the Barber, took a respite from the show due to health reasons. Nabors played Pyle for 23 episodes from 1962 to 1964.After two seasons on The Andy Griffith Show, McNear returned and Griffith proposed a show based on the Gomer Pyle character.