The names Roy Hinckley, Eunice Wentworth, Jonas, and Willy would not ring a bell for anyone but the most savvy television viewers from the 1960s. However, if I were to mention the Professor, Mrs. Howell, the Skipper, and Gilligan, anyone would immediately recognize that I was talking about the sit-com “Gilligan’s Island”, a successful series that ran on CBS from 1964 until 1967. Seven castaways stuck together on an uncharted island comprised the premise behind this show, which is probably running somewhere in the world every day even now in syndication. Of the original cast members, three are still alive, while four have died.
Gilligan, played by Bob Denver, never had his first name mentioned on the show, but series creator Sherwood Schwartz revealed that it was Willy. Jerry Van Dyke was considered for the part but turned it down to star in the ill-conceived “My Mother, The Car”, so Denver assumed the role of the first mate on the S.S. Minnow, always wearing a red shirt and white hat. Denver had previously been featured as the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” and was a perfect fit for the character, who took more than his share of abuse from the Skipper for his constantly messing up. Denver never came close to duplicating his success in subsequent comedy series, and he died in 2005 at the age of 70 from complications due to throat cancer.
Alan Hale Jr. was from an acting family, as his father, Alan Hale Sr. appeared in more than 230 movies, including just about every Errol Flynn film. Alan Hale Jr. was a fixture in Westerns during the Forties and Fifties and he made guest appearances on many television shows. He took the role of Jonas Grumby, the skipper of the doomed Minnow, and cherished it for the rest of his life. He would look into the camera with an exasperated look and hit Gilligan with his hat when he screwed things up; frequently it was a chance to be finally rescued. Hale died of cancer to the thymus in January of 1990 at the age of 68.
Jim Backus was the millionaire Thurston Howell III, marooned with the rest. Backus worked for five decades in radio, movies, and TV, playing parts like James Dean’s father in “Rebel Without a Cause” and voicing the cartoon character of Mr. Magoo. His “Gilligan’s Island” character was a Harvard graduate, which led to Backus uttering the line, “He must be a Yale man” several times over the course of the series. Howell slept with a teddy bear and did little if any work on the island due to his social prominence. Jim Backus was beloved by the other cast members; he passed away at 76 in 1989 from pneumonia after dealing with Parkinson’s disease for years.
Natalie Schafer was a film and Broadway actress who was always secretive about her age. It wasn’t until after she died in 1991 from cancer that it was revealed she had been born in 1900, making her 90, or about a dozen years older than she was thought to be. As Mrs. Eunice “Lovey” Howell, she played a good-hearted ditzy wife to Mr. Howell. In real life, Schafer’s nose for a good investment made her, ironically, a multi-millionaire. Schafer fought for her character to be portrayed as a scatterbrain, and not as a snobbish high society matron as the show’s creators originally envisioned, and she won out, playing Mrs. Howell to perfection.
Russell Johnson was a World War II veteran who flew 44 combat missions in the war, receiving a Purple Heart for the injuries he acquired when his plane was shot down by the Japanese. He used the G.I. Bill to go to school and he became an actor and close friend of Audie Murphy, showing up in three of his movies as well as many other Westerns and sci-fi films. He appeared in a couple of “Twilight Zone” episodes before being cast as Professor Roy Hinkley, who could make one thing after another out of the materials on the island to help the castaways. Russell Johnson appeared in various roles after his “Gilligan’s Island” days; he will be 83 in November and lives in Washington State.
Tina Louise today resides in New York City and is 73 years old. The beautiful red-headed actress garnered the part of Ginger Grant, a Hollywood movie star that winds up on “Gilligan’s Island”, with the name a combination of the monikers of Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. Jayne Mansfield reportedly turned down the part before Louise took it; Tina was formerly seen in films like “God’s Little Acre” and “The Hangman” before becoming the glamorous Ginger. Tina felt that she was typecast by her role in the series and refused to take part in the made-for-television movies that reunited the rest of the original cast. She continued to work in films and on television, her place as a national sex symbol secure for all time.
Dawn Wells played the innocent girl from the Midwest, Mary Ann Sommers, who was the opposite of Ginger Grant, a wholesome country girl but still very pretty. Her outfits however made her very appealing to male viewers, as she had been named Miss Nevada in 1959 prior to her beginning an acting career. Wells worked in limited television guest roles and some films after her stint as Mary Ann and today lives in Idaho where she operates a clothing business that caters to those with limited ability to get around.
