Final Chapters for Dec. 3, 2017: Jim Nabors, Bud Moore, Wayne Cochran

Jim Nabors was a comic actor who starred as TV’s dim but good-hearted Southern rube Gomer Pyle and constantly surprised audiences with his twang-free operatic singing voice. He died Nov. 30 at his home in Hawaii. He was 87. Nabors became an instant success when he joined “The Andy Griffith Show” in the early 1960s. The character of Gomer Pyle proved so popular that in 1964 CBS starred him in “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” which ran for five seasons. Nabors earned high salaries singing in Las Vegas showrooms and in concert theaters across the country and recorded more than two dozen albums. Among his regular gigs was singing “Back Home Again in Indiana” at the Indianapolis 500 each year, which he first did in 1972.

Bud Moore was a NASCAR Hall of Famer who won championships as a car owner and crew chief. He died Nov. 27. He was 92. Moore won a NASCAR title in 1957 as crew chief for Buck Baker and car owner titles in 1962 and 1963 with Joe Weatherly. His final NASCAR win as an owner was in May 1993 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 and had been its oldest living member. He was a World War II veteran and was awarded five Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars.

Wayne Cochran was a rhythm-and-blues singer and extraordinary showman who was an influence on Elvis Presley. He died Nov. 21 at his home in Miramar, Fla., of cancer, his grandson said. He was 78. Cochran began his career in the 1950s, singing country and rockabilly music and writing songs. One of his tunes, “Last Kiss,” became a major hit for J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers in 1964 and Pearl Jam in 1999. He was once billed as the “White Knight of Soul,” and was a headliner in Las Vegas and appeared on national television and at the Apollo theater in Harlem in the 1960s with his band, the C.C. Riders. Except for occasional stage or television appearances, he largely abandoned his music career at 40 and turned to preaching.

Rance Howard was a veteran Hollywood actor and father of director Ron Howard. He died Nov. 25 in Los Angeles. He was 89. Howard began appearing on television in the 1950s in series that included “Kraft Theater” and the western “Bat Masterson.” He appeared in several of Ron Howard’s films, including “Apollo 13,” ‘’A Beautiful Mind,” ‘’Splash,” ‘’How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and ‘’Parenthood.” He also made appearances in several TV series, including “Seinfeld,” ‘’Murder, She Wrote,” ‘’NCIS: Los Angeles,” ‘’Grey’s Anatomy” and “Happy Days,” which his son starred in.

Perry Wallace was the first black varsity basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. He died Dec.1 at a hospice center in Rockville, Md., after a battle with cancer. He was 69. Wallace made history when he played for Vanderbilt in a game against SMU on Dec. 2, 1967. Two days later, he played in his first SEC varsity game against Auburn. He was a first-team All-SEC player as a senior, and he still ranks among the Commodores’ best all-time rebounders. He went on to earn a law degree at Columbia University and served as a longtime law professor at American University. He also served in the U.S. Justice Department and worked for the National Urban League.

Steve Jones was a former ABA and NBA player who had a long career in broadcasting. He died Nov. 25 in Houston after a lengthy illness. He was 75. Jones was a three-time All-Star in eight ABA seasons with Oakland, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, Carolina, Denver and St. Louis. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers in his lone NBA season in 1975-76. His broadcasting resume included work for ESPN/ABC, TBS, TNT, Fox Sports Net, USA Network and NBC, where he was an analyst for the “NBA on NBC” for more than a decade.

Carol Neblett was a red-haired, fiery-voiced opera singer who became a star soprano of the Metropolitan Opera in the 1980s. She was found dead Nov. 24 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 71. Neblett was known for her charming, often sensual portrayals of comic characters and dramatic heroines. She played the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca” more than 400 times by her count, including a 1976 Lyric Opera of Chicago production opposite Luciano Pavarotti. She was christened “the world’s sexiest soprano” by People magazine in a 1975 profile.

Ken Shapiro was a former child actor and director of the 1974 movie “The Groove Tube.” He died Nov. 18 from various cancers at his home in Las Cruces, N.M., according to his daughter. He was 75. Shapiro most notably played “the kid” on Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theater” in the early 1950s. His movie, “The Groove Tube,” satirized television and 1970s counterculture. He retired from Hollywood after directing the 1981 movie “Modern Problems.”

Wesley Fox was a retired Marine Corps colonel who received the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. He died Nov. 24 at his home in Blacksburg, Va. He was 86. Fox, who served in the Marines for 43 years, received the Medal of Honor for rallying his men during an operation that decimated enemy sanctuaries along the mountain jungle border with Laos. Despite being wounded twice during battle on Feb. 22, 1969, Fox led his men through heavy fire while refusing medical attention.

Mitch Margo was an original member of the American doo-wop group the Tokens. He died Nov. 24 at his home in Studio City, Calif. He was 70. Margo was only 13 when, in 1960, he and two friends started the Tokens, whose biggest hit, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1961 and one week in 1962.

Walter Reyes was a former Syracuse tailback who was second on the school’s all-time rushing list. He died Nov. 26 at a hospital in Warren, Ohio, after complaining of stomach pain for several days. He was 36. Reyes played for the Orange during 2001-04 and was a first-team All-Big East selection his senior season. He finished his college career with 3,424 yards rushing, behind only Joe Morris’ 4,299 yards at Syracuse.

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Final Chapters for Dec. 3, 2017: Jim Nabors, Bud Moore, Wayne Cochran."