Little Known Facts About the Making of The Show “Gilligan’s Island”

Lovey Howell is my idol. She's fabulous.

....

Just imagine if Jayne Mansfield had gotten to play Ginger. Instead her career went down, down, down.

Did people clock the various plot-holes when it was originally aired? Or was it only in hindsight?

What plot holes?

I love you, r5!

best fact they didn't mention is that the characters personalities were based on the seven deadly sins: Skipper- Anger

Gilligan- Sloth

Ginger- Vanity

Mary Ann- Envy

Thurston Howell III- Greed

Lovey- Gluttony (not just for food, but for mass consumption---more! more! more!)

Professor- Pride

Gilligan was gay.

Gilligan took a shit in the Professor’s hut/dressing room.

A network executive wanted the castaways to escape Gilligan's Island after the first episode:

Miss Grant was a rank amateur.

They had incestuous orgies on the set of Sherwood Schwartz’s Brady Bunch.

I don’t think you know what incestuous means.

Hint: they weren’t family, they were actors.

No shit r13??

No, I wouldn’t kid you, r14.

Honest.

I hope you’re not sore at me.

I think we need the Honeybees.

Natalie as a "Honeybee" was a bit creepy since she was clearly many many many decades older than Tina and Dawn

Poor Natalie. I think she had a stroke and didn't let anyone know. Why else would she do this insane routine?

Lovey Howell was secretly a whore. A big one.

Why did they have luggage for a 3 hour tour?

Why did dozens of contemporary stars - Rory Calhoun, Marty Landau, Don Rickles even that slut Zsa-Zsa Gabor - visit the island, yet NO ONE notified the authorities about this island and its surviving band of idiots once they left?

R21 from what I remember, all the visitors to the island had their own reasons for not letting anyone know about the castaways. You really can’t apply any kind of logic to GI, or else it would’ve fell far short of three seasons.

My favorite story from a Dawn Welles interview was the one when the cast made an appearance at a prison. Each were introduced and Dawn and Tina Louise were expected to get the biggest applause. Surprisingly, it was not the case. When Russell Johnson was introduced, not only did the get the biggest applause, but cat calls and whistles as well. Dawn said that he was clearly taken aback by the response, while the rest of the cast were amused.

[quote]Why did they have luggage for a 3 hour tour?

You’ve got to ask this correctly:

Why did they have luggage for a 3 hour tour? A 3 hour tour?

Tina Louise said that because she looked so different when she played Eva Grubb, the actors' union required the show to give her special credit:

[quote]Lovey Howell was secretly a whore. A big one.

She wasn't a whore, r19, she was a madam...

I knew someone who was in play with Dawn Wells but I missed her after the show. I passed Dawn exiting the lobby. I assumed she’d come from backstage so I asked if my friend was still back there but we had missed each other. Dawn offered me her cell phone to call her. I thought that was really sweet and so Mary Ann. She looked really good, although her fur coat , I thought, had seemed better days.

[quote]Why did they have luggage for a 3 hour tour?

They had all checked out of their various hotels and were heading to the airport directly after the cruise.

I’m starting to think Gilligan’s Island was actually St. Olaf.

Are we sure the island isn’t hell?

Well it's outlasted most of its' contemporaries, warts and all.

And face it , GI makes more sense than "Lost" so there's that.

They should've used a tour boat with better Yelp reviews.

Why were there only 3 seasons but each season had 30+ episodes?

You can sing "Amazing Grace" to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song, before the part where they sing about the characters by name.

Tina Louise is pissed about Funko Pop’s Ginger Grant figure!

From her FB page:

“Hello friends! I have stayed silent on this issue but I do want to address it as I have now autographed over 75 of these boxes (and I know you all wouldn’t be sending them to me if you didn’t believe they were supposed to be me.) Unfortunately, I was never brought into the conversation when these toys were being created. And as someone who has never received a single residual check for Gilligan’s Island in all these years of it continuously running, I would have hoped that Warner Brothers would have considered me when they were licensing the rights to my likeness on these dolls. Sadly, they did not. Even though the doll has my red hair and my beauty mark in the same exact spot on her face, they believe the doll is made after the "character." So I am, once again, not being paid for the use of my likeness and not even getting a licensing fee. I never want to disappoint you all so I have been signing them anyway when they come to me, but I'd really like to hear YOUR thoughts on the matter. With love, Tina

p.s. For the record, many years ago when Ted Turner ran Warner Brothers, they used the Ginger character in a Diners Club ad and I was paid what I deserved for that so they do not own my likeness.”

She has a point.....if someone else is making money, why shouldn't she?

The “hamlet” episode is brilliant. Every time I hear one of the musical pieces I immediately go to this episode

Not counting the brilliant "The Producer"- Harold Hecuba/Hamlet the musical episode because it stands alone as the peak of the series, after much consideration, I've decided "The Second Ginger Grant" is the next funniest episode. Maryanne hits her head and thinks she's Ginger and all hell breaks loose. There are no special guest stars, just the castaways deep into the third and final season all hitting their marks brilliantly. It's very funny.

Honorable Mention episode, "Don't Bug the Mosquitoes"! Hilarious.

I always thought the Professor was handsome, but the Skipper is really more my type.

The Skipper would pound your bussy into next week.

He couldn’t get your pregnant.

But you’d want him to try forever.

The professor was hot and hung

My favorite episodes are the ones where Denny Miller appeared, but I also love the one where they are able to read minds and start telepathing mean thoughts at each other.

Skipper was hot.

Up until his own death Alan Hale Jr. would suit up as The Skipper and visit sick children in the hospital. He'd let them wear his hat and call them "Little Buddy". It apparently brought him great satisfaction.

My favorite episode was when Gilligan discovered the radioactive vegetables. Also, the vampire bat one.

R17, Lovey was a Honey QUEEN Bee.

[quote]Why were there only 3 seasons but each season had 30+ episodes?

The story was that CBS canceled "Gilligan" to save "Gunsmoke," which is why it only ran for three seasons despite high ratings.

[quote]Why did dozens of contemporary stars - Rory Calhoun, Marty Landau, Don Rickles even that slut Zsa-Zsa Gabor - visit the island, yet NO ONE notified the authorities

The Rory Calhoun episode provided what was arguably the show's only truly dramatic moment when the Calhoun character told the castaways he intended to hunt Gilligan down and kill him. Though ultimately played for laughs, the episode could've been so much more interesting had they not shied away from going all in on such a dark premise.

What was this show about? I never watched it. I mean, I know what it’s ABOUT — slapstick sit com with a bunch of incompatible people as castaways — but I mean, was it a satire of popular culture? If not, what was it?

R49 It was not a commentary on anything. It sprung from a young Sherwood Schwartz having to write a paper about what he would take to a deserted island.

[quote]My favorite story from a Dawn Welles interview was the one when the cast made an appearance at a prison. Each were introduced and Dawn and Tina Louise were expected to get the biggest applause. Surprisingly, it was not the case. When Russell Johnson was introduced, not only did the get the biggest applause, but cat calls and whistles as well. Dawn said that he was clearly taken aback by the response, while the rest of the cast were amused.

Omg. A prison full of homos. How awful.

Scripts for the fourth season had been commissioned before the surprise cancellation. Tina Louise would have been rescued and leave the show three or four episodes in, and than coincidentally another hot female would wash ashore.

"The Original Giligan's Island Fan Club" purchased a script copy of the last episode "Gilligan The Goddess", and discovered several forth season proposals which were yellowed and deteriorated.

1)"Proportional Potions": Gilligan finds a drink which makes him miniaturized.

2)"Another Start Is Born" or "Bye Bye Birdy": Ginger climbs aboard a rowboat (Titanic Jr.) and gets rescued.

3)"An Eye For An Eye": Ginger Grant is replaced by Miss Krissy and Miss Sally.

4)"No Bill For This Tab": Guest star portrayed by Tab Hunter appears.

5)"Ahoy Matey": Modern day pirate 'Silver Long-Johns' comes to the island.

6)"Eye Detect You": Gilligan thinks he's Dick Tracy and ruins rescue.

7)"Who's The Dodo?": Professor tracks what he thinks is the rare Dodo bird while Gilligan finds a lamp which when rubbed brings forth a genie.

8)"Laugh until It Hurts": Comedian Paul Lynde guest stars to 'test' jokes on the castaways.

9)"My Favorite Alien": A silly alien lands on the island.

10)"I Hear You": A singer (Bobby Vinton?) guest stars as Mary Ann's, Miss Sally's, and Miss Krissy's favorite singer.

I wonder if they ever had tropical orgies.

[quote]Why were there only 3 seasons but each season had 30+ episodes?

Longer seasons were the norm back then.

When I was 7, my mother (who was taking a night class in Spanish) took me on a trip to Mexico. The first thing I did when we got to the hotel was turn on the TV, and who did I see? Gilligan and the gang, all speaking Spanish. I was stunned... yet delighted.

We would drive by Alan restaurant all the time, but you wouldn’t want to eat there. On the Restaurant Row, it was always Lawry’s for our family.

I didn't realize Alan Hale was so young during the series. He was in his early 40s but could easily have passed for a 60+ year old. Those old time movie stars did not age well.

I can see why those prisoners were whistling at Russell Johnson. He was hot af when he played the Professor.

At the time of their shipwreck, the Professor (Roy Hinkley) was in the middle of writing a book, "Rust: The Real Red Menace."

I love all the Cold War references in old 60s sitcoms.

Loved the episode, too, where Gilligan’s teeth begin picking up mainland radio stations.

Russell Johnson's son was an early AIDS casualty.

Wow R61 I had no idea. That’s so sad.

A classic Twilight Zone with Russell Johnson trying to stop Booth from shooting Lincoln.

[quote]Son David died of AIDS at age 39 on October 27, 1994. Before, and especially since, David's death Johnson devotes a great deal his time to AIDS fund-raising.

[quote]Before, and especially since, David's death Johnson devotes a great deal his time to AIDS fund-raising.

This bio could do with a bit of updating. Johnson died in 2014.

Back in the early 1990’s Russell Johnson appeared on a lot of talk shows discussing his son and AIDS. It really helped ‘average’ people connect to the plague our community was ravaged by. It meant a lot to us back in those dark, ugly days. He was a good man.

It's amazing how much Alan Hale Jr. resembled his father. Watch one of those Errol Flynn movies with the senior Hale to see what I mean.

Bob Denver was lucky to have two breakout roles for which he is remembered. He pretty much stole "Dobie Gillis" from Dwayne Hickman.

I enjoyed Bob Denver a lot more as Maynard G. Krebs than as the eternal fuck-up Gilligan. But "Dobie Gillis" was a much better show.

Raquel Welch auditioned for the part of Mary Ann but was ultimately turned her down because they thought she was too sexy.

Tina did deodorant commercials after Gilligan’s Island. That’s a real step up.

[quote]Raquel Welch auditioned for the part of Mary Ann but was ultimately turned her down because they thought she was too sexy.

Raquel was a Ginger, not a Mary Ann.

This episode of Hawaiian Eye was just on...

I wish Jayne Mansfield had gotten Ginger instead of Tina Louise. She was very good at spoofing her own sex symbol image and would have fit right in with the show.

Miss Nevada 1959. She did not place at Miss America.

I think Tina Louise expected Dallas to really revive her career. But

As much as I don't like Jayne Mansfield, I think she might have been good as Ginger.

I remember a grimdark version that had this as the theme song...

With Gilligan... The stripper too... The millionaire... Whom they knifed... The porno star Professor Pain Mary Jane Here on Gilligan is Vile!

[quote] Jayne Mansfield, I think she might have been good as Ginger.

Jayne would have been excellent. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter shows she could poke fun at her image and still be likeable and entertaining.

Had she taken the role she wouldn't have had to do that city to city strip show she was doing when she was killed en route.

I love these threads!

I just watched Rescue from Gilligan’s Island because of this thread. My God. I never knew exactly what acting chops Tina Louise brought to the character of Ginger until I saw Judith Baldwin play her.

Helen Lawson almost played Lovey Howell. But then she bruised Sherwood's prostate during a rather heated pegging session in his office at Television City and was immediately dropped from consideration.

Lovey Howell is just about the best part and I couldn’t imagine anyone playing her except Natalie Schafer. Also, Natalie is such a modern name for a woman born in 1900. I’m surprised her name wasn’t Mabel, Ethel, or Gertrude.

Tina Louise playing a prison guard in "Nightmare in Badham County" is breathtakingly awesome. She calls prisoner Della Reese the n-word and gets her neck broken for it!

I think I remember that, R83. Tina looked very gritty, there.

Tina & Ellen McRae

I thought Tina Louise must be awful but then I saw Bob Denver on some talk shows over the years and he never stopped talking shit about her. And really juvenile shit, like he was majorly butthurt 30 years later. But I never saw or heard Tina Louise say bad shit about Denver or about Sherwood Schwartz, who was also always ripping into her.

Schwartz laughed at her wanting to leave the show because she wanted to do movies. She actually was doing movies before she got the job on the show. In fact Bob Denver was in one of the movies she was in and she had 3rd billing while he had 5th billing. Seemed odd that on GI, Denver was adamant that Tina have 5th billing. He also made the producer add the names of “the professor and Mary Anne” in the opening song rather than “and the rest” so that Tina wouldn’t be the final star who was introduced in a credit all by herself, with a character description in the song.

Denver seems to have had it in for Tina Louise. He claimed to be outraged that Louise thought her character was the star. What if her agent or someone else really had told Louise she was going to be the star just to get her on the show and take a cut of her salary? Why wouldn’t Denver & Schwartz let her leave if she was unhappy? The character had been changed from a down-to-earth secretary into a goofy goddess. A million women could’ve played her. There was no reason to hold her to the contract if she wanted to leave. It seemed to me that Schwartz and Denver were outraged that this mere woman woman was telling them she wanted to leave the show and she felt it would harm her career. Ultimately, it did. If she was so much trouble, let her go.

Schwartz got tens of millions in residuals while his stars got next to nothing. He wrote the theme song, he owned rights to the show and wrote residuals into his contracts, but he let his cast sign shit contracts that paid them …I think…a total of 6 or 9 residual airings of each episode, then nothing.

Irony - Denver’s next starring vehicle on CBS was so bad I don’t even know if it was shown in the US in reruns. It was his last tv series and nobody remembers it. He brought Hale and Backus into the cast to try and rescue it, but like all of Gilligan’s rescue plans, it to no avail.

R83 if only we could use the interwebs to do the same to Klan grannies and other DL bigots!

Interesting take, R86, Denver does sound petty, but I disagree with this point:

[quote] A million women could’ve played her.

Yes, I think they could have cast someone different - at the beginning. But once TL appeared as Ginger, I think it would have been hard to replace her.

Sounds silly, but I remember, as a kid, that the voice actor for Barney Rubble got changed out. It was hard to get used to the new voice.

R87 You are a VERY Sick Puppy who always looks for the worst in people because the worst is in YOU. You're hideous and I can only imagine that in real life people avoid you like the plague!

^ you must be one of those people who gets off on race hate🤌🏼

[quote]It was his last tv series and nobody remembers it.

What is "Dusty's Trails" for the win Alex?

Forrest Tucker of F Troop" was Denver's co-star on "Dusty's Trail."

[quote]Sounds silly, but I remember, as a kid, that the voice actor for Barney Rubble got changed out. It was hard to get used to the new voice.

Barney Rubble was voiced for many years by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.), During the original prime-time run of "The Flintstones," Blanc was seriously injured in an automobile accident and couldn't work for a while. The new voice actor for Barney was only temporary, and Blanc returned to the role. Betty Rubble's voice changed permanently during the show's original run because of the death of Bea Benaderet while she was starring in "Petticoat Junction."

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Tina Louise is the only cast member of Gilligan's Island that is still alive. 89 years of age. She really was beautiful back in the day.

Sherwood Schwartz complained that she was always messing up filming because she only wanted to be filmed from her good side. If the camera was in the wrong position, she changed blocking to ensure they filmed her good side.

Poor Sherwood Schwartz. Stuck with Robert Reed and Tina Louise, both thinking they were brilliant actors stuck on a silly sitcom.

R96 So many actresses do this type of thing!! Claudette Colbert made a career of it!!

Sherwood Schwartz was the creator and producer of Gilligan's Island, it is not unusual he would be the person to profit the most from it.

Actors did not generally make much in residuals for tv shows back then.

As an actor Bob Denver would have had zero influence on any of the cast's billing, other than his own if he and his agent had negotiated it.

Nathalie Schaefer was a friend of Sherwood Schwartz's and she agreed to do the pilot out of loyalty to Schwartz and their friendship, but when it got picked up she was said to have burst into tears. Nathalie was about to turn sixty-five and was not looking for a full-time television series job, certainly not on this particular sitcom. It's hard to believe seeing how silly and funny she is as Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell!

The Skipper's name was "Jonas Grumby".

R100 seriously? If so, I can see why they called him the Skipper.

[quote] I think we need the Honeybees.

They weren't nearly as hot as they thought they were. If they were they would have gotten a spot on Sullivan like the Petticoat Junction Ladybugs did

R102 yes!

When I was a kid I had an elaborate dream about being on Gilligan's Island with everyone. I had to use the island outhouse and someone was in there for a long time. Mr. Howell maybe. Anyhow I was about to burst when I finally sat down in the hut...and soon woke up to find I had peed the bed.

I loved Tina as Ginger. She was perfectly cast.

Tina, by all accounts, is a difficult and prickly woman. She had written a "book" and came to promote it in Boston. The event was held on a Harbor cruise and I took a security job through a friend just so I could go.

The rumors are all true. She was a nightmare. Way too thin and a wig would have made a world of difference.

Ironically, when I was little I would tell people I wanted to be Ginger Grant when I grew up. My brother always answered pilot.

I got shushed a lot.

^Faggot

Mary Ann was the only cast member to show up for The Skipper's funeral.

R105 how was she a nightmare?

Bob Denver stated that he would sometimes hear Tina and Russell (The Professor) having sex in the room next to his on the set.

R109 The Professor was a hottie!!!

Knowing what we do of Tina's personality I suspect Dawn would have been a lot bouncier in the sheets

Skipper / Alan Hale seemed like a cool guy. I think it would have been hard to recast his role. Schwartz said that he wanted someone who would yell at Gilligan but not appear to be mean.

[quote]Knowing what we do of Tina's personality, I suspect Dawn would have been a lot bouncier in the sheets.

I use Bounce for sheets and Dawn to clean petroleum off ducks.

That walking emaciated embalmed corpse known as Tina Louise feels she's been taken advantage of, and isn't having any of it.

Tina is 89 years old. She has earned the right to look as she does now

Tina Louise has resembled an emaciated embalmed corpse since at least1990's, which was many years ago now.

Don't forget that Tina Louise was the only woman in Stepford who believed Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss. Then — poof — her husband turned her into a sex robot and ripped out her tennis court for his own putting green.

Tina Louise has looked like a scarecrow since the 1990s.

Bob Denver = SJP

Tina Louise = Kim Cattrall

Dawn Wells = Cynthia Nixon

Sherwood Schwartz = Michael Patrick King

Natalie Schafer was the only "millionaire" in Gilligan's Island ensemble cast.

In common with few other Hollywood actors or connected with industry Ms. Schafer and her first husband bought eff tons of CA real estate back when it was cheap and getting was good. Her marriage didn't last but value of those holdings grew.

That cash flow allowed Ms. Schafer to live comfortably in retirement and old age. She never was more than a "B" actress with largely television roles towards end of her career so couldn't have earned huge sums from acting alone.

Sherwood Schwartz (producer of Gilligan's Island) OTOH made bank; at least $90 million on reruns alone.

Natalie Schafer refused to rehearse her Honeybees appearance.

Judith Baldwin was fun as Ginger in the 70s.

Tom Willis ripped out Ginger's tennis court for a swimming pool.

Do you realize that Tina and Catwoman are the same age but Julie Newman looks worlds better.

Pulu Si BAGUMBA!

The cast of Gilligan's Island.

I'm surprised they didn't have Maynard G Krebs visit the island.

The fantasy episodes were wonderful. The one where Gilligan turns into a vampire, where Gilligan thinks he's a werewolf and his attorney is Lovey as Mary Poppins and his witness is MaryAnn as Eliza Doolittle. There was the Cinderella send up with Lovey as Cinderella, Gilligan as the fairy godfather and MaryAnn and Ginger doing hilarious work as the evil stepsisters (Ginger gets her wig pulled off revealing a bald head).

Dawn, as Miss Nevada, is at 4:35 below.

Funnily enough, she had a very similar physical look to the winner—Lynda Lee Mead of Mississippi.

R126, I agree. I think my favorite was "The Invasion" in which Gilligan played Secret Agent 014 (who was known to be "twice as smart" as 007).

And Tina was agent OhOh 36 !

"Nightmare in Badham County"

As close to soft porn as network television got in those days.

It had everything; lesbian theme, rape, sexual slavery,

It was filth!

Is this real?

No r131, it’s fake.

But this one is real.

Oops I meant r132

If Sherwood Schwartz released "You Need Us", I really think he would have had a top 10 hit.

Bea Benaderet got her start doing voice over work during "golden age of radio".

She then moved on to doing voice over work for cartoons at Warner Bros. In time Ms. Benaderet worked her way up to top female voice for all WB cartoons. However as fame of "Bugs Bunny" and thus Mel Blanc grew latter had it inserted into his WB contracts that he alone would receive credit for "voices"

Bea Benaderet voiced that annoying bobby-sox wearing Little Red Riding Hood, but only Mel Blanc receives credit IIRC.

Better link:

Ooh. Skipper, The Professor, or (for the freaks) Gilligan?

I've never had to choose between them befiore now. I'll go with The Professor.

R33

Yes. only three seasons of G's I but total of 98 episodes were filmed.

First Season -36

Second Season - 32

Third Season - 30

IIRC a "season" of shows was between 30 to 39. Primetime season in 1960's at least tended to begin in August/September and run until July or August of following year.

Assuming a show aired on episode per week starting in September and through June of next year is ten months, that's about 40 episodes.

During that ten months there were bound to be weeks where show is preempted or new episode not shown. That gets you down to middle or high 30's as number of new episodes required.

The primetime network calendar closely followed school year. Families would be back from summer holidays as their children returned to school so what better time to start a new television season.

Due to rising costs and other factors most new network shows only put about 22-29 episodes in the can. Rest of season is filled out with repeats and or weeks when show is preempted by something else.

To be eligible for syndication status (the holy grail it seems) a show needs at least 100 episodes in total.

1960's sitcoms definitely made more episodes that now. Bewitched: Season 1 (1964-65) 36 Season 2 (1965-1966) 38 (included a couple of "repackaged" episodes from Season 1 when Elizabeth Montgomery was having her 2nd child). Season 3 (1966-1967) 33 Season 4 (1967-1968) 33 Season 5 (1968-1969) 30 (rough year since Dick York's injury had become much worse and several episodes had to be written without him, so not surprised fewer episodes)

Before Gilligan's Island Denver and Louise both appeared in the 1964 film For Those Who Think Young

This is not on the trivia page, but I find it funny:

Natalie Schafer came from money. Her father was an affluent stock broker and she grew up on Fifth Avenue. She made a name for herself as one of the leading dramatic actresses of the New York stage.

Jim Backus, on the other hand, came from vaudevillian and was a revered comedian in his own right. He was taught to get the laugh at all costs, which included improvising.

This made Schafer uncomfortable at first, but she eventually trusted her partner enough she started doing it too. Backus loved it and they created a game to see who could get the other to break first. The old pros were just enjoying this "silly little program" and had a blast trying to break each other up.

They were older and more established, drama free, and enjoyed each other's company. They were having too much fun with each other to care about what "the kids" were up to.

Ginger and Mary Ann were sex starved. Skipper was physically repulsive, Howell was too old, Professor and Gilligan didn’t know how to fuck.

[quote]Professor and Gilligan didn’t know how to fuck.

Yes, he did.

Tina Louise is a far better comic actress than the show required, she's excellent throughout regardless of her feelings.

I've always loved Tina in the "Eva Grubb" episode. She kills it!