05/07/12 - NNHS Newsletter - George Lindsey

George Smith Lindsey
(11 Dec 1928 - 06 May 2012)

Walker High School, Jasper, Alabama, Class of 1946

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lindsey

http://www.nnhs65.com/famous-airmen.html

   Thank you so much, Rip.  I am honored to do this for your dear friend.  You have my deepest condolences on his passing.
 

George

I believe most of us would like to write about a friend or relative that has recently passed away, but figure, not many people knew this person and in reality who would have as much interest as I do. In this case everyone knows George.

Shortly after moving to Nashville in 1993, I was in my backyard working when this older gentleman came over to introduce himself. Wow, did he ever. He went on and on about acting career and his association with some of the greatest such as Ernest Borgnine (24 Jan 1917 - 08 July 2012), Don Knotts (21 July 1924 - 24 Feb 2006), Lee Marvin (19 Feb 1924 - 29 Aug 1987), Chuck Connors (10 Apr 1921 - 10 Nov 1992), James Arness (26 May 1923 - 03 June 2011), etc. The problem was that I am not a groupie and had very little interest in the lives and life styles of the acting community. I excused myself and got back to work on my backyard project. I told my wife Janis of the encounter and she reminded me of how rude I was and that I should have given George more recognition and admiration. She considered him a great actor and icon. I guess I could have been politer, but got back to work on an inside home project. There was a knock at that door. There stood George with some old VHS tapes of movies or shows where he played different roles. He suggested that I review the tapes and return them when I was done. It was kind of neat reviewing these old films: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, and some others. OK, I then started feeling bad. Old George had brought these films over to prove his creditability as an actor. It was not that I was questioning his acting career; I just was not a great movie fan. After reviewing the films, I decided to convert them to DVD’s and then return the VHS tapes and DVD’s to George as a peace offering.  George did not care about the peace offering; he just wanted to confirm that he was a great actor (what an ego!).

George had moved to Nashville from California with the advent of Hee-Haw. At that time he left his family for this new pursuit and would never return to his family except on an occasional visit with his children.  Mostly he lived the life of a hermit, doing an occasional commercial, carnivals and at least 1 movie. He did not like most people, but those he did like, you would certainly know it and appreciate it. He could be a giving and caring person.

George immediately found favor with my wife. I guess because she had such admiration for this man and at the same time she was married to a guy who just could not grasp George’s importance as an actor and comedian, while he would have to make it the rest of his life’s commitment to prove how great he was. George, would come over to our house quite often throughout the years to party (only a little – did not like to be around people drinking), have dinner with us (he loved Janis’s collards and cooked cabbage) and to bring us gifts. He attended our oldest daughter’s wedding and I wish I could have gotten him down to Ole Miss to see our youngest daughter cheer.

George had his own annual film festival down in Florence, AL, home of his Alma Mater, University of N. Alabama. The first time he asked us to go and at least participate in the awards dinner, I did not want to go. Janis did and so we went. It turned out to be a lot of fun. There are hundreds of potential film artists and non-professionals who have created films of various content and they are shown all over town and at the University. They are judged and the winners win cash prizes. Upon our first trip, we rode with the motorcade to pick up one of George’s best friends, Ernest Borgnine. We all had pictures taken together and returned to this beautiful campus for dinner at the Chancellor’s house. Each year George would invite us to this event, but we could not make it every year.

Around 1999 George decided he wanted to play tennis with me and would bug me about it all the time.  I kept trying to put it off and even tried to talk him out of it because I was afraid I might wear him out. He insisted.  I told George that he should be aware that I was not a great tennis player but could win because of trick shots. He did not care. He was determined. We volleyed around for awhile until he said he was ready to play. He served first, then I. Upon his first volley back, I put a back spin on the ball, close to the net. He charged the net and fell forward in a head first dive. I jumped the net to check on him, whereupon I found him bleeding from the forehead, nose and ear. He yelled for me to get him some water. I ran back to the car to get water and upon my return, poured the water over his head to wash off the sweat and blood. This angered him and he said, “I did not want to be baptized, you asshole, I need water to drink”. Thus, my new nickname which he would call me for the balance of his life.

This is George Lindsey I am referencing. Mayberry R.F.D., The Andy Griffith Show, Hee-Haw. Goober (he hated to be “Goobed”  by the public). If you ever recited, “Judy, Judy, Judy” to him, he would walk away.

George and Andy Griffith (01 June 1926 - 03 July 2012) really never got along. About 5 years ago, George unexpectedly called me from an Andy Griffith Show convention in LA and told me that he had tried to win favor with Andy but Andy would have nothing to do with him. I suggested that he tell Andy that whatever the barriers that Andy may have against him, that George apologize and that in their waning years that they should form a final friendship that will be remembered by all. He called an hour later and said it appeared to work.

Later, around 2009, George was rushed to the hospital suffering from a lack of potassium.  By the time Janis and I got to the hospital, his vital signs were not good and he lay in bed moaning and groaning and incoherent. A group of friends and relatives had gathered around and had tried to inspire George to show some sign of recovery. It did not work. When we arrived, George’s girlfriend knowing how much George liked our company asked my wife if she would say something to him that might motivate George to recognize a voice. My wife said, “George, it is Janis and I have the “asshole” with me”. He then stopped rolling around in bed and a big smile came upon his face. All there laughed and clapped their hands. He later recovered.

George’s health never really returned to normal after this incident, but his mind was mostly sharp. He would always remind me, ”What do you expect out of a 83 year old man?” Of course I would remind him that his best buddy Ernest Borgnine was 93 and still acting. He would then start calling me by my revised nickname.

In April, George had fallen in his bathroom and was wedged between the sink and wall for at least 10 hours before being discovered. He had suffered a major stroke and one side of his body was paralyzed. 2 weeks ago, he had a brain scan and his son, George Jr. told me that his brains appeared as though there was no chance of recovery. He was taken off his feeding tube. Janis and I had been visiting with him each weekend over the past 3 weeks and I told Janis that I could not go back and watch him die in the nursing home he hated [Minnie Pearl (25 Oct 1912 - 04 Mar 1996), had died in this nursing home and because of this, he hated the place]. My wife had suggested that it was a good probability that George would pass away when his daughter came to visit from CA. She arrived this past Saturday afternoon. She visited with him and George held her hand. At about midnight, she excused herself to use the bathroom. George left us about 12:05 AM Sunday morning.

Goodbye old friend. I promise I will do my best to watch those re-runs.

~ Rip “the a--hole”