CityView Magazine

10 | September 2020 "Bill, Southern girls don't call boys," she would say. "Have Ronnie call me. I would love to talk with him." And sure enough, Ronnie Schell did make the call. 'Like we never parted' "I think a lot of him," Elizabeth MacRae says. "We didn't have too many scenes together, but I got to know him more at Mayberry Days in Mount Airy. We used to go to Mayberry Days, and it was fun. Everybody from the show is gone now … producers, directors, Frank Sutton and Jim Nabors. He said nobody could find me. We didn't talk too long, but I brought him up to date." Ronnie Schell will tell you the telephone call was like a trip down Memory Lane. "It was like we never parted," he says. "We picked up right where we le off." ey talked, Schell says, of fellow cast members now gone, like Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton and Forrest Compton, who played Col. Edward Gray on "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," and died at age 94 on April 4 from COVID-19. Frank Sutton, who portrayed gunnery Sgt. Vince Carter on the comedy series, died at age 50 on June 28, 1974, while preparing for a comedy stage production in Shreveport, Louisiana. Jim Nabors died at age 87 on Nov. 30, 2017 at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii. Nabors' death broke Elizabeth MacRae's heart. "He was wonderful to me," she says, and recalls his kindness when her late husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter Ned Young, died at age 54 on Sept. 16 1968. "When Ned died, Jim was living in Bel Air, California, and his mother, Mavis, had come to live with him, and he asked me to come and stay with them. at was so sweet of him to do that. He was such a giver. And later, he did concerts and gave all of the money to his favorite charities." Ronnie Schell echoes her admiration for Nabors. "He was good to everybody," Schell says. "One of the most honest and nice guys I ever met. He never let his fame go to his head." Nor, Schell says, did Elizabeth MacRae. 'Like we never parted' Elizabeth Hendon MacRae was the second child born to the late James MacRae and Dorothy Hendon MacRae, and who grew up in the two-story home along Brook Street in Haymount. She remembers fondly playing in the nearby park, watching Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Cornel Wilde and Clark Gable on the motion picture screen of the Haymount eater. And she remembers sharing some of the best days of her youth with friends to include Nancy Cook, Betsy Reinecke, Virginia MacMillan, Kitty Rose Patton, Martha Jean Allen and Mary Lee Breece. Today, Elizabeth MacRae, 84, lives quietly with her husband of more than 50 years, Charles Halsey, 92, and Cortie, the mixed-breed "mutt" she rescued through the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society. She doesn't watch reruns of "e Andy Griffith Show" or "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C," but Elizabeth MacRae is excited to know both iconic comedies can be seen on MeTV. "Charles, do we get MeTV?" she calls to her husband. Nor does Elizabeth MacRae plan to attend Mayberry Days, scheduled for Sept. 21-27 in Mount Airy, and where Ronnie Schell will be performing on Sept. 24 as part of the weeklong festivities. Schell would love for her to come to the festival. "Probably not," she says. "Not with this COVID-19." No matter, he found Lou-Ann Poovie and loved reliving the nostalgia of yesteryear. "We had a nice conversation," Ronnie Schell says. "We just reminisced about the old days and how much fun we had together. One of the thrills of my life was reconnecting with Elizabeth." Epilogue Ronnie Schell forever will be Duke Slater, Gomer Pyle's sidekick. Elizabeth MacRae forever will be Lou-Ann Poovie, Gomer Pyle's girlfriend. "She was my alter-ego, and she lives inside me still," Elizabeth MacRae says of the character that brought her fame and pride to her hometown. "I loved playing Lou-Ann Poovie." Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at bkirby@ cityviewnc.com, billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961. CityView presents FOOD,WINE & ART SEPT. 25, 2020 7PM-9PM TICKETS $35 SUPPORT THE ARTS AT CAPE FEAR BOTANICAL GARDEN PERFORMANCES BY: SPONSORED BY: FOOD & BEVERAGES BY: Locally Owned JOHN MCCAULEY ALBERT MCCAULEY BRIAN RAYNOR Parking Lots • Driveways • Subdivisions • Complete Site Work • Sealing • Striping • Patching • Paving • Grading OFFICE: 910-485-5790 FAX: 910-323-4163 www.highlandpaving.com Plant:1351 Old Wilmington Rd Office: 2031 Middle Road Licensed & Insured NC License #55505 FREE ESTIMATES TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.CITYVIEWNC.COM

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