Portal:Gilligan's Island
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Introduction
Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show had an ensemble cast that featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Russell Johnson, Tina Louise, and Dawn Wells. It aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. The series followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive the island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts, for whose failure Gilligan was frequently responsible, to escape their plight.
Gilligan's Island ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season, consisting of 36 episodes, was filmed in black and white. These episodes were later colorized for syndication. The show's second and third seasons (62 episodes) and the three television movie sequels (aired between 1978 and 1982) were filmed in color.
Selected general articles
- Thurston Howell III (mentioned in the opening credits as: "The Millionaire") is a character on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island, which ran from 1964 to 1967, and later in syndication.
Howell, portrayed by veteran character actor Jim Backus, is so wealthy that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and several changes of clothing with him for what was intended to be only a three-hour boat tour in Hawaii, one of the sillier premises of the show. Speaking with a Locust Valley lockjaw accent, Howell is a stereotypical member of the New England Yankee elite — a resident of Newport, Rhode Island, a graduate of Harvard University and a Republican. He is a member of the Newport Country Club, Oyster Bay Yacht Club, and the Union League Club where he has a "window seat". His wife, Lovey, portrayed by Natalie Schafer, is conscious of social strata, yet seems to be a good-hearted woman with a deep sense of noblesse oblige, allowing her to interact with the other passengers and crew, though they are all her social inferiors. One of the implied humorous points of the show is that Thurston continually fails to realize that all of the Howells' money is essentially useless to them on the island. On the other hand, the other castaways apparently tolerate the fact that he refuses to do any work. One exception is when an egocentric Hollywood producer (played by Phil Silvers) "visited" the island and the Howells had to wait on him as butler and maid in order to be rescued. One of the most unusual aspects of his character is that, even though he is married, he sleeps with a teddy bear that he calls "Teddy". The Howells, as was common practice on American sitcoms of the mid-1960s, slept in twin beds. Thurston Howell III was the basis of a character in the television sitcom Dusty's Trail which was based on Gilligan's Island. Read more... - The S. S. Minnow is a fictional charter boat on the hit 1960s television sitcom Gilligan's Island.
The ship ran aground on the shore of "an uncharted desert isle" (in the south Pacific Ocean), setting the stage for this popular situation comedy. The crew of two were the skipper Jonas Grumby and his first mate Gilligan, and the five passengers were millionaire Thurston Howell III, his wife Lovey Howell, movie star Ginger Grant, professor Roy Hinkley, and farm girl Mary Ann Summers. Read more... - The Real Gilligan's Island is a reality television series that aired two seasons on TBS in 2004 and 2005. Contestants on the show were required to participate in challenges based on plots from the 1960s television show. Both editions of the show were recorded in the Mexican Caribbean on a location South from Cancun. Pop-Punk group Bowling for Soup covered the original Gilligan's Island theme for the show and the show also featured music from the Music Producer and Songwriter Brett Epstein. Read more...
- The third and final season of the American comedy television series Gilligan's Island commenced airing in the United States on September 12, 1966 and concluded on April 17, 1967 on CBS. The third season continues the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive and escape from an island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their failed attempts—invariably Gilligan's fault—to escape their plight. The season originally aired on Mondays at 7:30-8:00 pm (EST).
Originally, it was planned for the series to be renewed at the conclusion of its third season, but at the last minute, CBS decided to renew their older show Gunsmoke (which soon vaulted to the top five in the rankings) and drop Gilligan's Island. This came as a shock to both the cast, crew, and series creator Sherwood Schwartz. At the time of its cancellation, the series was ranked 44th out of 101 shows in total. Immediately following the cessation of the show, it was sold into syndication, wherein it became a major success. However, Schwartz was forced to hire lawyers and audit United Artists film studio because they did not pay royalties in a timely fashion. Read more... - The first season of the American comedy television series Gilligan's Island commenced airing in the United States on September 26, 1964 and concluded on June 12, 1965 on CBS. The season introduces the audience to the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive and escape from an island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their failed attempts—invariably Gilligan's fault—to escape their plight. The season originally aired on Saturdays at 8:30-9:00 pm (EST). Read more...
- Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The series aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to September 4, 1967. Read more...
Dawn Elberta Wells (born October 18, 1938) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island. She and Tina Louise are the last surviving regular cast members from that series. Read more...- Johnson in Black Saddle (1960)
Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Professor Roy Hinkley in Gilligan's Island. He was also known as Marshal Gib Scott in Black Saddle. Read more... - Ginger Grant is a fictional character portrayed by actress Tina Louise in the 1964 to 1967 television sitcom Gilligan's Island. Read more...
Tina Louise (born February 11, 1934) is an American actress best known for playing movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy Gilligan's Island. She began her career on stage during the mid-1950s, before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God's Little Acre for which she received Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
Louise had starring roles in a number of Hollywood movies, including The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. Louise later returned to film, appearing in The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, and The Stepford Wives (1975). Read more...- The Castaways on Gilligan's Island is a 1979 made-for-television comedy film that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964–67 sitcom Gilligan's Island and the first reunion movie, Rescue from Gilligan's Island, featuring the original cast from the television series with the exception of Tina Louise, who was replaced in the role of Ginger Grant by Judith Baldwin. Written by Al Schwartz, Elroy Schwartz and series creator Sherwood Schwartz and directed by Earl Bellamy, it was first broadcast on NBC May 3, 1979. Unlike the independently-produced Rescue from Gilligan's Island, this and the subsequent The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island were produced by Universal Television. Read more...
- The Adventures of Gilligan's Island (also known as Gilligan's Island: The Video Game) is a single-player Nintendo Entertainment System video game by Bandai that is based on the 1960s sitcom of the same name. Read more...
- "Lovey" Howell (née Wentworth), referred to as "Mrs. Howell" by characters other than her husband, is a fictional character from the 1964 to 1967 television show Gilligan's Island. Played by Natalie Schafer, the character was a rich, spoiled socialite, married to Thurston Howell III. Read more...
- The second season of the American comedy television series Gilligan's Island commenced airing in the United States on September 16, 1965 and concluded on April 28, 1966 on CBS. The second season continues the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempt to survive and escape from an island on which they had been shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their failed attempts—invariably Gilligan's fault—to escape their plight. The second season, unlike the first season, was filmed in color. The season originally aired on Thursdays at 8:00-8:30 pm (EST). Read more...
Mary Ann Summers is a fictional character in the television sitcom Gilligan's Island which ran on the CBS network from 1964 to 1967, and has run more or less continuously since in reruns. She was played by actress Dawn Elberta Wells. Read more...
Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan, March 8, 1921 – January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. Hale Jr. was the son of major movie character actor Alan Hale Sr. Hale Jr.'s television career, which spanned four decades, was most noted for his co-starring role on the 1960s series Gilligan's Island. He also appeared on several talk and variety shows.
Appearing in over 200 films and television roles, Hale's long acting career began in films in 1941, appearing primarily in Westerns, playing opposite Kirk Douglas in The Big Trees (1952), Audie Murphy in Destry (1954), Ray Milland in A Man Alone (1955), Robert Wagner in The True Story of Jesse James (1957) and Hugh Marlowe in The Long Rope (1961). He also appeared in musical comedies, playing opposite Don DeFore in It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), James Cagney in The West Point Story (1950) and Judy Canova in Honeychile (1951). He achieved continuing success on the CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964–1967), playing the secondary lead role of the Skipper. Hale reprised the role of Skipper in three Gilligan's Island television films and two spin-off cartoon series. Read more...
In the film Dishonored Lady (1947)
Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress of film, stage and television, known for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964–67). Read more...
Newton Norman "Newt" Minow (born January 17, 1926) is an American attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. His speech referring to television as a "vast wasteland" is cited even as the speech has passed its 55th anniversary. While still maintaining a law practice, Minow is currently the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Chicago.
Minow has been active in Democratic party politics. He is an influential attorney in private practice concerning telecommunications law and is active in many nonprofit, civic, and educational institutions. Barack Obama named him a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2016. Read more...- Rescue from Gilligan's Island is a 1978 made-for-television comedy film that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964–67 sitcom Gilligan's Island, starring Bob Denver and Alan Hale, Jr., and featuring all the original cast except Tina Louise. The film first aired on NBC as a two-part special on October 14 and October 21, 1978. The film has the characters finally being rescued after 15 years on the island. The film was directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Read more...
- Gilligan is a fictional character played by Bob Denver on the 1960s TV show Gilligan's Island and its many sequels. Gilligan, affectionately called "Little Buddy" by the "Skipper", is the bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone first mate of the SS Minnow. None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name or clearly indicate whether "Gilligan" is the character's first name or his last. Gilligan wears a trademark red shirt, pale trousers, white sneakers and white navy cap.
During a storm, he throws an anchor overboard without a rope attached, which leaves the Minnow shipwrecked on an "uncharted desert isle" with its seven passengers and crew, establishing the underlying premise of the franchise. The enduring popularity of the series has made him a cultural icon. Read more...
James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles were the voice of nearsighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, Joan Davis' character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's I Married Joan, James Dean's character's father in Rebel Without a Cause, and Thurston Howell III, on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island. He also starred in his own show of one season, The Jim Backus Show, also known as Hot Off the Wire.
An avid golfer, Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament. Read more...- The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island is a 1981 made-for-television comedy film. It is the third of three movies that reunited the cast of the 1964–67 sitcom Gilligan's Island. The film aired on NBC on May 15, 1981. Read more...
- Gilligan's Planet is an American Saturday morning animated series produced by Filmation and MGM/UA Television which aired during the 1982-1983 season on CBS. It was the second animated spin-off of the sitcom Gilligan's Island (the first being The New Adventures of Gilligan).
Gilligan's Planet was the last cartoon series that Filmation produced for Saturday mornings; afterwards, they transitioned from Saturday Mornings to producing cartoons exclusively for syndication. It was also the first Filmation series to feature the Lou Scheimer "signature" credit (as opposed to the rotating Lou Scheimer/Norm Prescott "wheel" credit which had been used since 1969). In addition, it was one of the last 1980s Saturday morning cartoons to be fitted with an adult laugh track, as the popularity of the practice had subsided. Read more... - The New Adventures of Gilligan is an American Saturday morning animated series produced by Filmation and was aired on ABC during the 1974–1977 seasons. Read more...
- Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three-Hour Tour in History is a 2001 American made-for-television docudrama film based on the 1964–1967 television sitcom Gilligan's Island.
Originally airing on CBS on October 14, 2001, the film stars three of the four cast members from the 1960s series who were still alive at the time: Bob Denver, Dawn Wells, and Russell Johnson. These performers tell their stories, while other actors re-enact old scenes from the series and dramatize behind-the-scenes moments. Read more...
Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor, widely known for portraying Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Read more...- Roy Hinkley, referred to as the Professor, is one of the seven castaways from the television series Gilligan's Island (1964–67); he was played by Russell Johnson. The character was originally played by John Gabriel in the pilot episode, but the network thought he looked too young to have all the degrees attributed to the Professor. Read more...
The Skipper is the title and nickname of Jonas Grumby, a fictional character from the 1960s situation comedy Gilligan's Island. Played by Alan Hale Jr., the Skipper (the character's actual name was rarely mentioned after the show's pilot episode) was the owner and captain of the S. S. Minnow on its "three-hour tour" in Hawaii when he, first mate Gilligan (portrayed by Bob Denver), and their tourist passengers were caught in a violent storm and stranded on a deserted island. He acts often in his legal role as the group's leader, albeit with a decidedly collegial and democratic bent; the only individual whom he routinely orders about is Gilligan. In times of crisis, the Skipper tends to defer to the more level-headed and educated passenger, Professor Roy Hinkley (portrayed by Russell Johnson). He is sort of a strongman succumbed to lack of exercise, despite doing most of the physical work on the island or making Gilligan do it. He is also the most superstitious castaway, sometimes putting him in conflict with the Professor's rationalism.
The Skipper is lovable but is irritated continually by the clumsiness and ineptitude of his "little buddy" Gilligan, despite that they are good friends. A running gag is that whenever Gilligan messes up a rescue, the skipper conks Gilligan on the head with his hat; a variation of this gag is that whenever Gilligan is in a tree as a lookout and falls down, he usually lands on the Skipper, or if Gilligan (on seldom occasion) does something right or correctly predicts an outcome, the Skipper is about to conk Gilligan, then restrains himself due to the fact Gilligan was right. The dynamic of their relationship, at times, resembles that of Laurel and Hardy. Read more...- Gilligan's Wake (ISBN 0-312-29123-X) is a 2003 novel loosely based on the 1960s CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island from the viewpoints of the seven major characters, written by Esquire film and television critic Tom Carson.
The title is derived from the title of the TV show and Finnegans Wake, the final work of Irish novelist James Joyce. The novel was published subsequently as a paperback in 2004 (ISBN 0-312-31114-1). Read more...
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Selected images
Dawn Wells as Mary Ann
Bob Denver as Gilligan
Alan Hale Jr. as the Skipper
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