The Gang’s All Here
Gilligan’s Island ran for three seasons in the mid-60s. It was a comedic masterpiece filled with memorable characters. 50 years later, people are still interested in Gilligan’s Island, so here is the story behind the hit show.
Bob Denver & The Lion
Gilligan’s Island was filled with zany antics that often put the characters in some form of danger. After all, they were all stranded on an island. Of course, the danger was only to the characters, not the cast—or was it?
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Bob Denver & The Lion
At one point, the show featured a story in which Gilligan (played by Bob Denver) was trapped in a hut with a lion. All perfectly safe, right? Well, maybe not as safe as you think.
Locking Himself in a Hut with a Lion | Gilligan's Biggest Blunders, MeTV
Bob Denver & The Lion
Fellow actor Dawn Wells remarked that even the trainer seemed to have some trouble handling the lion. When filming the scene in which Gilligan noticed the lion, the lion decided to leap at Bob Denver instead!
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Bob Denver & The Lion
Fortunately for Denver, the lion trainer was quick on his feet. He jumped into action, tackling the lion before it could get to Denver. Denver’s instinctual reaction—to start karate chopping—likely wouldn’t have been a match for the lion.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
Alan Hale Jr’s Little Secret
During the wrap party for the first season of the show, showrunner Sherwood Schwartz was in for a big surprise. Alan Hale Jr, who played skipper, made an offhand comment that gave Schwartz cause for some alarm.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Alan Hale Jr’s Little Secret
Hale told Schwartz that the wrapping of the season finally gave him a much-needed opportunity. Now that they were no longer filming, Hale remarked that he finally had a chance to let his arm heal.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
Alan Hale Jr’s Little Secret
This being the first time he’d heard anything about Hale’s arm, Schwartz was understandably confused. When Schwartz asked what Hale meant, Hale was far too casual for what the situation called for.
Alan Hale Jr’s Little Secret
Three weeks earlier, Hale had missed a safety pad when falling out of a tree. He’d broken his arm. However, he didn’t want to miss filming, so he didn’t tell anyone. Hale spent those three weeks lifting bags of coconuts, and even Bob Denver, all with a broken arm!
Warner Bros. Studio, Wikimedia Commons
Delayed By History
Gilligan’s Island almost didn’t happen at all. They filmed their pilot in Hawaii; however, their plans to film at a local naval base became significantly delayed—for good reason.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
Delayed By History
They filmed in late 1963 and were scheduled to film at the naval base in mid-November. To be exact, they were meant to film there on November 23, 1963.
Gilligan's Island Pilot (Marooned) Opening Theme and Closing, Mark Brown
Delayed By History
Any history buff can tell you that President John F Kennedy passed the day before. As a result, the government closed the base. Gilligan’s Island didn’t manage to return to finish their filming there until December.
Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Tina Louise Was Trouble
As much as you like to think that the stars of your favorite shows all become one big happy family, that isn’t always the case. Gilligan’s Island had one actress who couldn’t get along with the rest of the gang.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Tina Louise Was Trouble
Tina Louise, who played movie star Ginger, might not have needed to dig too deep for inspiration. Supposedly, she got into arguments with her co-stars often. This seems to have started early on.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Tina Louise Was Trouble
In 1965 TV Guide reported that Louise sat by herself between takes while the rest of her co-stars joked and got along. Decades later, when the opportunity to do reunion movies arose, Louise refused to reprise her role.
5 Ginger Moments!!--Gilligan's Island--Ginger Grant (Tina Louise), Rick Nineg
Somebody Save Them!
Most people understood that they were enjoying a comedy show. However, the concept of fiction did not quite dawn on all audience members watching Gilligan’s Island at the start.
The Professor Builds a Telephone to Call for Help - Gilligan's Island - 1966, Shatner Method
Somebody Save Them!
Sherwood Schwartz received the surprise of a lifetime early on in the show’s run. He received word from the US Coast Guard looking to check in on the status of his actors!
U.S. Government, Wikimedia Commons
Somebody Save Them!
It seemed that some concerned viewers did not quite understand that no one was truly lost. The Coast Guard began receiving telegrams from people asking them to “rescue these poor people…”
Gilligan's best moments, Frozen Gas
Jim Backus Didn’t Pay!
Despite playing a millionaire on the show—and likely receiving a healthy paycheck for his time—actor Jim Backus had a problem with spending his money. It seems that he was quite cheap.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
Jim Backus Didn’t Pay!
Backus, reportedly, would take his co-stars Dawn Wells and Natalie Schafer out for lunch regularly. However, when it came time to pay, remarkably, his wallet was always missing. Don’t worry, Wells and Schafer had the last laugh.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Jim Backus Didn’t Pay!
Although the ladies often paid for the meals (how could they not?), they didn’t let the matter slide. At some point after all was said and done, Schafer decided to get what she was owed. She gave Backus a bill for $300—what all those lunches supposedly came to. However, she didn’t need the money.
Studio Publicity, Wikimedia Commons
Schafer Had Millions
Natalie Schafer played Jim Backus’s wife on the show. This meant that her character was also quite well off. However, Schafer could easily relate to her character: she, too, had plenty of money!
Schafer Had Millions
Schafer and her husband made some smart investments long before Gilligan’s Island even started. They invested in Beverly Hills real estate before the value began to rise. They were millionaires in their own right.
Los Angeles Times, Wikimedia Commons
Schafer Had Millions
If she was so well off, then why did she bother with the show at all? Well, Schafer once said that she just wanted a free trip to Hawaii. She was joking—probably.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
It Was Almost Very Different
Today, the cast of Gilligan’s Island is iconic. The characters are memorable and no one could think of them played by any other people. However, when it was first filmed, their cast was almost entirely different.
Gilligan's Island - Mary Ann and Gilligan acting married, A Fan Editor
It Was Almost Very Different
In the first pilot, they filmed different actors playing the characters of the Professor and Ginger. It also included a character named “Bunny”. Unfortunately, that show didn’t work.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
It Was Almost Very Different
When showed that pilot, the executives at CBS were far from impressed. Unwilling to give up on the program, they fired the three actors mentioned above and changed “Bunny” to the character of Mary Ann.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
What About Jerry Van Dyke?
It was not just the previously mentioned roles that could have been quite different. Initially, the role of Gilligan was offered to Jerry Van Dyke. Van Dyke, however, had some strong opinions.
Jerry Van Dyke, comedian and actor, dies at 86, ABC30 Action News
What About Jerry Van Dyke?
Jerry Van Dyke didn’t think that Gilligan’s Island was marketable. He thought it would never be successful, so he took the lead in My Mother the Car—which has been called the worst television show of all time. Looks like giving up on Gilligan wasn’t the best move after all.
Jerry V. Dyke & My Mother the Car - Pilot, OLDSHOWS506070
Looking For The Skipper
The Skipper was another character that took a while for them to cast. Carroll O’Connor was considered for the role. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pull off what they were looking for in the auditions and Alan Hale Jr got the role.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Paying For The Reruns
When Gilligan’s Island first aired, television was still fairly fresh. No one was thinking about reruns. Unlike today, none of the actors had residuals written into their contracts. However, one might have gotten around that.
Gilligan's Island - Professor & Gilligan Scenes, Gilligan's Island
Paying For The Reruns
The rumor goes that Dawn Wells and her agent (who was her husband) reached out to CBS asking to be paid for the reruns and the lawyers didn’t fight her on it. However, Wells has a different story.
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com, Wikimedia Commons
Paying For The Reruns
While it is a nice story, it’s unlikely to be true. Dawn Wells herself has gone on record saying that “We didn’t really get a dime” for any reruns that were aired.
Freeman and Best?, Wikimedia Commons
What’s Gilligan’s First Name?
Pay attention to this one as it’s a very popular trivia question. It’s also a difficult one to answer as there are a couple of possibilities that exist.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
What’s Gilligan’s First Name?
Sherwood Schwartz has said that he considered “Willy” as a first name for the title character. Thanks to this, the name even appeared on an early press release. However, as time went on, Schwartz seemed to change his mind.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
What’s Gilligan’s First Name?
Later, after the show had been on for some time, Schwartz made a different statement. He stated that the Howells are the only characters on the show who are addressed by their last names. What does this mean for Gilligan?
A Gilligan's Island Halloween, Chief Scheider
What’s Gilligan’s First Name?
Well, it means that Gilligan is his first name. It’s his last name that’s a mystery. Bob Denver has also said that Gilligan is the character’s first name. So, next time someone asks you at trivia, remember: it’s a trick question.
HaarFager at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
You Can’t Escape The Fans!
Gilligan’s Island has fans all over the world. As a result, the actors often find themselves facing fans in the oddest of places. Russell Johnson (the Professor) found a room full of PhDs were huge fans and Dawn Wells found a fan on an isolated island without electricity or running water!
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
It’s A Political Show
The idea for Gilligan’s Island started when Schwartz was in college. Each student in the class was asked to say what they’d bring to a desert island. The answers struck Schwartz and the idea stayed with him.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
It’s A Political Show
Schwartz’s initial idea was of a show that was a satirical and political comment on the silliness of people viewing each other all as “different” when survival depends on each other. Although Schwartz toned the idea down, you can still see these undertones in the show.
Gilligan's Island | Gilligan's Best Moments | Compilation | Warner Classics, Warner Bros. Classics
And The Rest
The first season of Gilligan’s Island left a major part of their crew out of the credits. Mary Ann and the Professor aren’t mentioned in the opening credits. Instead, they are simply lumped together as “The Rest”.
Gilligan's Island - The Professor and Mary Ann's Screentime, Gilligan's Island
And The Rest
Bob Denver didn’t think that was right. He used his influence as the “star” of the show to get them the recognition they deserved. Denver’s intervention worked and Mary Ann and the Professor got proper recognition during season 2.
Gilligan's Island - The Professor and Mary Ann's Screentime, Gilligan's Island
The Darker Side Of Gilligan
In 2003, writer Tom Carson felt that Gilligan’s Island didn’t go deep enough. He published a novel titled Gilligan’s Wake. The book is a collection of short stories with some interesting ideas about the show's characters.
Gilligan's Island Bamboo Car, Chief Scheider
The Darker Side Of Gilligan
Gilligan’s Wake dives into the backstories of the characters and each one is darker than the next. Each character carries a secret that shows them to be not as wholesome as they initially appeared.
Gilligan's Island - Gilligan's WWII Mine, Ricki Stromm
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