Gomer Pyle was the simple-minded gas station attendant and later auto mechanic in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, played by Jim Nabors. Nabors continued the character in his own starring vehicle, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. from 1964-69. Gomer eventually left Mayberry to join the United States Marine Corps, as seen on the spin-off series, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., where his innocence and ineptitude served as the backbone for the show's humor, and made Gomer comic foil to the hard-nosed drill instructor, Sgt. Vince Carter.