In Memory of Actor Roy Stuart ('Gomer Pyle - USMC'): Two Decades After His Tragic Death From Cancer

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It's been two decades since beloved actor Roy Stuart died tragically by cancer at 78 on Christmas Day in 2005 in Woodland Hills, CA. Best known for his genial role as Corporal Chuck Boyle on TV's classic hit sitcom, Gomer Pyle - USMC (CBS, 1964-1969), Stuart was a respected actor who made countless other appearances on TV, film and the stage. This is his story.

A Closer Look

Roy Stuart was born July 17m 1927 in The Bronx of New York City, where he eventually launched his career in the entertainment industry.

Stuart began performing in night clubs and in theatre productions including the acclaimed Broadway musicals Beg, Borrow or Steal (1960) and Café Crown (1964).

The talented actor ventured into television, the increasingly popular medium boomed in the 1960s. Stuart made headway with his big break as Corporal Chuck Boyle, the affable assistant to Frank Sutton's manic Sargent Vince Carter on Gomer Pyle - USMC.

Sutton's Carter would make frequent comedic attempts to have leading character Gomer Pyle, played by the one and only Jim Nabors, removed from the Marines.

However, on many occasions, Stuart's Boyle, in good conscience, would come in through the backdoor to counsel Carter with a more fair and balanced approach in dealing with Pyle.

It was the same kind of integry that Stuart would instill in all of his roles, including countless guest TV appearances on shows like on Mister Ed, Bewitched, Gidget, General Hospital, Laverne & Shirley, The Golden Girls, Mama's Family, and more.

Stuart also brought his extreme likability to over 100 TV commercials, as sponsors were quick to recognize how his cordial screen presence would add up to high product sales numbers.

Curtain Going Down

In addition to Broadway musicals like Café Crown, Roy Suart's other stage credits include the play Curtain Going Down.

Shortly before he passed way in 2005, the multi-talented thespian had appeared in local Theatre Forty productions of Absurd Person Singular and The Sunshine Boys.

A long-standing member of the heraled Theatre West company, Roy Stuart spent his final days deservedly catered to at the Motion Picture and Television Fund hospital in Woodland Hills, CA.

Parting Thoughts

As an actor, Roy Stuart possessed the kind of charismatic down-to-earth appeal that is rarely seen in the modern age of Hollywood.