RIP George Lindsey

By Cindy Watts, The Tennessean

George "Goober" Lindsey, most widely known for playing Goober Pyle on the iconic television series The Andy Griffith Show, died Sunday in Nashville after an extended hospitalization. He was 83.

As long as his health allowed, he was still making people smile. The Hee Haw star showed up at Ray Stevens' CD release party Feb. 28 at The Rutledge to lend support to his good friend and fellow comedian. Stevens beamed from the stage as he thanked Lindsey for being there.

Actor Andy Griffith said in a statement that accompanied the family's Sunday morning announcement of Lindsey's death: "George Lindsey was my friend. I had great respect for his talent and his human spirit. In recent years, we spoke often by telephone. Our last conversation was a few days ago. We would talk about our health, how much we missed our friends who passed before us and usually about something funny. I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say, 'I love you.' That was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. 'I love you.' "
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Lindsey is survived by son George Lindsey Jr. of Woodland Hills, Calif.; daughter Camden Jo Lindsey Gardner, her husband, Russell, and their sons, Carson Cole Gardner and Andrew Liam Gardner, all of Valencia, Calif.; a cousin, Rebecca Weber of Gadsden, Ala.; and his companion of many years, Anne Wilson of Nashville.