It was only supposed to be a three-hour tour. A three-hour tour! Gilligan, Ginger, the Skipper, and a few other passengers were enjoying a tour aboard the S.S. Minnow, but unbeknownst to them, a tropical storm was coming and after a series of bad decisions, the crew completely lost control of the boat. “Gilligan’s Island” aired from 1964 to 1967, but only hardcore fans will have the knowledge to pass this quiz!
It was only supposed to be a three-hour tour. A three-hour tour! Gilligan, Ginger, the Skipper, and a few other passengers were enjoying a tour aboard the S.S. Minnow, but unbeknownst to them, a tropical storm was coming and after a series of bad decisions, the crew completely lost control of the boat. “Gilligan’s Island” aired from 1964 to 1967, but only hardcore fans will have the knowledge to pass this quiz!
For three seasons, Bob Denver did a marvelous job portraying the clumsy main character Gilligan. But before he was on “Gilligan’s Island,” he played Maynard G. Krebs on the series “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” which was also a sitcom.
Actor Alan Hale Jr.’s character is often called "The Skipper.” But a lot of fans don’t realize that the Skipper had an actual first name and last name. It was Jonas Grumby.
Tina Louise will always be remembered as the actress who brought Ginger to life on the TV screen, but there were 5 other actresses who took on the role over the course of the series and beyond. And most fans don’t know that actress Raquel Welch almost played Ginger before Louise was cast.
Like the Skipper, Gilligan was not really his fictional first name. It was actually Willy, but fans still prefer to call him Gilligan as he was the character who had the most personality on the series.
The man behind one of the funniest sitcoms in TV history is none other than Sherwood Schwartz. He is also the man that brought “The Brady Bunch” to television screens across the country.
There were a ton of different characters, each with their own types of personalities and careers that some viewers had no idea even existed. But in the original pilot, there was also a character named Bunny, who was Ginger’s best friend and a secretary, which was also originally Ginger's profession.
Shows like “Gilligan’s Island” always had a band backing up the on screen action, and in this case, that band happened to be The Wellingtons. The band was even featured in one episode, but they went by the name The Mosquitos.
When the creator of the show was in college at New York University, he wrote a one-minute speech detailing what he'd bring to a deserted island. Over the years, Sherwood Schwartz recalled this moment and pitched an idea about a diverse group of people who learn to live together while stranded on an island, despite their different beliefs and status in society.
The show’s creator wanted the show to go on for four seasons. Even the cast was prepared to shoot one final season. But CBS chose the Western “Gunsmoke” over “Gilligan’s Island” because the network president’s wife liked “Gunsmoke” a lot.
Thank this iconic musical conductor for the theme song of “Gilligan’s Island.” He is also responsible for composing music for major films like “Schindler’s List” and “Star Wars.”
The show’s creator was hoping to create several spin-offs based on the original series. “Dusty’s Trail” even featured the actor who played Gilligan on the show. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as big of a hit.
Before they were on “Gilligan’s Island,” Tina Louise and Bob Denver worked together on the beach party film called “For Those Who Think Young” in 1964.
About two months after production of the show began, a producer of the series was contacted by the commander of the U.S. Coast Guard. After being invited to his office, the producer found out that people were sending the Coast Guard letters claiming they thought the survivors on the show were actually stranded and they wanted to know why they hadn’t been rescued.
In the original plot, Gilligan and the Skipper were taking the passengers on a three hour tour near Honolulu when all of a sudden, they got shipwrecked. But a lot of the filming actually took place in Los Angeles, California.
The actor who played the Skipper introduced more viewers to “Gilligan’s Island” when he appeared in the episode “The Ogg and I” in the live-action series “Batman.”
Back in the day, it was completely normal for TV shows to get cartoon spin-offs and “Gilligan’s Island” was no exception. It was called “The New Adventures of Gilligan.” Then the show got another cartoon spin-off called “Gilligan’s Planet,” which took place in space.
Although “Gilligan’s Island” ended in the 1960s, the 1980s sitcom “Alf,” which was about an alien living with a human family, did a crossover episode called “Somewhere Over the Rerun" during the show’s second season. This episode included guest appearances from the show’s original cast, including Bob Denver as Gilligan.
The show’s creator originally wanted Jerry Van Dyke to play Gilligan, but the actor turned down the role because he wanted to do a show with his name on it like his brother’s show, “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
The name of the boat that Gilligan and The Skipper were using to give tours was the S.S. Minnow. Unfortunately, the ship crashed on the island that left the passengers stranded for three seasons.
The S.S. Minnow got its name after Newton Minow who used to be the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. Ironically, Minow thought that TV was a “vast wasteland.” So, the show’s creator named the ship after him as a way to take a jab at him.
On occasion, the stranded passengers were able to get a signal and listen to their radio. But there was a radio announcer whose voice will never be forgotten and that voice came from Charles Maxwell.
In the pilot episode, there is an American flag at half-mast. This was done as a sign of respect for President Kennedy. As a matter of fact, the cast and crew learned about the tragic news while they were on set.
Although the show premiered in 1964, the pilot episode was shot in 1963. The reason it took a year to get the show on the air was because the pilot underwent some serious revisions, including the elimination of some characters, like a high school teacher.
The radio was featured every now and then on the show whenever the characters were able to get a signal on the island. Unfortunately, when Gilligan heard any relevant news, he often messed up while relaying the information to the others.
Although the actress was pretty famous before the sitcom, the rest of the cast had no idea what her exact age was. In fact, they had to wait until the show ended before they learned her real age.
Over the course of the series, the Skipper would often refer to Gilligan as his "Little Buddy." The fact that they ran a tour boat business and that they had a history of serving in the military together was a major reason for this affectionate name.
Although the first season was filmed entirely in black and white, the second and third seasons were filmed in color. This was a big deal for a TV series back in those days.
Given that “Gilligan’s Island” had used the lagoon at the studio and it was still there, the producers of the film “Creature from The Black Lagoon” decided to use it as well.
When the show’s creator called on Alan Hale Jr., to audition for the Skipper, the actor was in the state of Utah on business. But he wanted to try out for the show so badly that he found a way to get to the studio anyway and landed the part.
For one episode of “Roseanne,” the cast of “Gilligan’s Island” dressed up as their popular characters and appeared on the show. Even the show’s producer, Sherwood Schwartz, made a cameo.
The series got made into three movies after the show ended. But if it had been up to the show’s creator, there would have been four to provide a better closure to the storylines from both the series and the other three films.
Although the series’ sudden cancelation shocked the cast and the creator, they all wanted the adventure to continue. So, they made three reunion movies that were praised by the fans.
The song "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash is actually related to the show’s opening theme in its cadence and key. And thanks to this, the song surprisingly sets the tone for the entire series.
Although Gilligan’s silly antics might have driven him up the wall, the Skipper liked Gilligan because he saved him during the war they both served in.
It wasn’t easy to sell the concept of the show to the network, so the creator had to promise that the characters would all be rescued from the island at some point.
Although the show concentrated a lot on the character’s backstory, the nature of how the creator came up with the name Gilligan is not so amazing. As a matter of fact, he simply picked a random name from the phone book and that’s all.
The actress and her husband were rich thanks to some lucrative Beverly Hills real estate investments. After Schafer died, the money went to her poodle. After the dog passed away, the money was allocated to the entertainment industry.
In the original pilot, Mary Ann’s character was a secretary named Bunny. But the character underwent a number of revisions before the show’s creator finally introduced the audience to Mary Ann.
The actress did all of her stunts during the show’s entire run, but this wasn’t something she was forced to do. She volunteered to do her own stunts and claimed that dieting and exercising allowed her to do crazy stunts like jumping in the lagoon despite being over 60 years old at the time.
The actress who played Mary Ann was once married to a talent agent named Larry Rosen. He was the one who created an amendment with the network to have Dawn Wells continue to get paid royalties even after the show went off the air, which the other cast members did not receive. Sadly, Wells passed away on December 30, 2020.
While shooting an episode of “Gilligan’s Island,” Alan Hale Jr., aka the Skipper, fell out of a tree and broke his arm. Fortunately, it was just his arm and he was able to continue on with the role after he recovered.
The lagoon was a huge part of the show. The only issue the producers and creators had with it was that one could hear the noise of the nearby highway during the day. This made it difficult to shoot, but not impossible. In 1995, the set was destroyed and turned into an employee parking lot.
Although some fans claim she was the best Ginger on the show, Tina Louise reportedly had conflicts on the series. She also refused to appear in any of the show’s reunions or voice her character in the animated spin-offs.
The actor who played the Professor was asked to take his shirt off during the audition by the show’s producers and creators. But he refused to do so. Despite this, he landed the role anyway.
The cast started using real coconuts as cups, but since coconuts are porous in nature, they started to sweat after a while, which ruined the shot. So, the show had to use fake dish ware instead.
It took the show’s creator quite a long time to find the right actor for the role of the Skipper. He was looking for someone who was kind, but also rough. Fortunately, once Alan Hale Jr. auditioned, the creator knew he had found the Skipper.
The Professor and Mary Ann were not included in the original version of the theme song. But then, Bob Denver, aka Gilligan, told the creators that these characters were important and needed to be mentioned in the theme song.
Although the show was filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, the pilot was filmed in Hawaii. So, Natalie Schafer, who played Mrs. Lovey Howell, reportedly took on the role for the free trip to Hawaii.
According to online surveys, Mary Ann, played by actress Dawn Wells, was voted the show’s most-liked character. But that’s not much of a surprise given Mary Ann’s sweet personality.