Happy 60th Anniversary to 'Gilligan's Island': A Look Back at the Show's Stars and More

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It’s been sixty years since the debut of Gilligan’s Island, which originally ran on CBS from 1964 to 1967.

Starring Bob Denver, formerly of The Many Loves of Dobbie Gillis, as Gilligan, the Island cast also included Alan Hale, Jr. as The Skipper, Jim Backus as millionaire Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer as Mrs. Lovey Howell, Dawn Wells as farm girl Mary Ann, Russell Johnson as the Professor, and Tina Louise as movie star Ginger Grant.

Louise is the only surviving member of the cast, though she chose not to partake in the later-day TV-reunion-movies based on the show.

The name “Ginger Grant” is believed to be taken from two stars of Hollywood’s “Golden Era”, Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant; the latter is frequently spoken of in this series. “Ginger” is a nickname in many places (including England) for someone with red hair, Rachel Welch auditioned for the role, and Kit Smythe was the first to play the part in the show’s pilot episode.

A hodge-podge of characters from every walk of life, Gilligan’s Island remains one of the most beloved TV shows of all time.

Just a Few Behind the Island Tales

In the show's first-season opening credit sequence, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were referred to as just “the rest.” That was allegedly due to Tina Louise’s mandate that no other actor followed her in the listing.

By the second season, that changed when Bob Denver demanded that Wells and Johnson be billed equally, thus switching the lyrics to “The Professor and Mary Ann.

Series creator Sherwood Schwartz, who composed both themes, said it didn’t occur to him that the Professor and Mary Ann would become so popular.

Ship Ahoy!

The name of the ship of the series was S.S. Minnow, in reference not to the fish but rather to Newton Minow, head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1961. That was the name of the FCC representative who once referred to TV as “America’s vast wasteland.”

In the end, Sherwood Schwartz was not too fond of Minow, the man, so he named the soon-to-be shipwrecked ship after him.

Schwartz later said, however, that Mr. Minow did have a sense of humor about it all and the two gentlemen eventually exchanged friendly communication.