TV's 'Gilligan Island' Stars Dawn Wells and Bob Denver and Their Controversy Behind the Scenes

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Actor Bob Denver, who passed away in 2005, will forever be remembered for his leading role on the classic 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island.

Denver also played another famous TV character: the beatnik-type Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Denver was close friends with Gilligan's Island co-star Dawn Wells, who died of Covid-19 in 2020. In 1998, the two actors had a brush with the law.

A Closer Look

In 1998, Bob Denver, then 63 years old, and living in West Virginia at the time, was busted for possessing an ounce of weed.

The actor claimed that Wells was his supplier, but then changed his story in court. He then said the drugs were sent to him by an over-zealous fan.

Approximately one decade later, in 2007, Wells was arrested for weed possession when she got pulled over for swerving on the road. She ended up serving a five-day sentence in jail, and fittingly, was also given six months probation.

According to Wells' lawyer, the weed found in her vehicle belonged to her friend, who testified as much. Those individuals she was with just before she stepped into the vehicle would testify that she was not in the least inebriated.

As to the swerving, Wells said she was attempting to locate the heater knobs in an unfamiliar car.

Conclusion

Despite their controversial legal issues, Bob Denver and Dawn Wells will be forever fondly remembered for their beloved performances on Gilligan's Island.