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As most "Gilligan's Island" fans can tell you, the show's original pilot episode, "Marooned," was quite a bit different from the show the public eventually saw. Most notably, three of the show's cast members were different. The characters of Ginger and Mary Ann, for instance, started as a pair of secretaries named Ginger and Bunny, played by actresses Kit Smythe and Nancy McCarthy. The Professor was preceded by a more studly high school teacher played by John Gabriel. After the pilot tested poorly, show creator Sherwood Schwartz re-tooled the series, replacing those three characters with the versions we all know and love today. The seven-person ensemble — Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells — now seems eternal and immutable.

"Gilligan's Island" fans also likely know of the show's original calypso-inflected theme song, famously penned by John Williams. That theme was ultimately rejected and...

Before Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island" took to the airwaves in 1964, Jim Backus was probably the cast's biggest star. Backus had already appeared in the moving 1955 James Dean flick "Rebel Without a Cause" and had been voicing the amusing animated character Mr. Magoo since 1949. He also had a prolific film career, having racked up dozens of high profile credits working for notable directors like William Castle, Jose Ferrer, and Stanley Kramer. "Gilligan's Island" needed Backus more than Backus needed "Gilligan's Island."

The rest of the cast all came from different career paths but had their share of experience. Bob Denver was remembered for playing Maynard Krebbs on the hit sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," while Alan Hale, Jr. had already snagged dozens and dozens of supporting roles in a bunch of B-comedies and genre pictures. Russell Johnson, in comparison, had mostly starred in Westerns and spy movies,...

"Gilligan's Island" is simultaneously incredibly important in the annals of television history and one of the dumbest things you'll ever see. It was immensely popular during its three-season run from 1964 to 1967, raking in huge amounts of cash for CBS and its seven lead actors. Thereafter, "Gilligan's Island" landed a plum syndication deal, allowing it to remain in reruns for literally generations, informing culture in a pervasive — some might say insidious — fashion. Show creator Sherwood Schwartz has attached some hifalutin ideas to "Gilligan's Island," pointing out (rightly and fairly) that it represents an idealized model of American democracy operating at peak efficiency. Seven people, all from varying classes and walks of life, are forced to survive together, and, lo, are able to thrive in comfort and peace.

But those ideas rest comfortably in the background of a series that banks on cheap slapstick jokes and broad, unrealistic characterization. There's no real drama on "Gilligan's Island,...

As many TV historians can tell you, Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" was as popular as it was reviled. Critics dismissed "Gilligan" as cartoonish, unrealistic, and frivolous, an estimation that stuck to the series for generations. Even into the 1980s, when "Gilligan's Island" was merely surviving on reruns, some critics considered it the nadir of culture. At the same time, however, "Gilligan's Island" was always popular, fetching huge numbers throughout its initial three seasons and drawing new generations of fans throughout its eternal syndication. It may have been the nadir of culture, but no one turned it off.

However one judges "Gilligan's Island," it has left an unwashable gravy stain on the tablecloth of the American consciousness. The seven stranded castaways have become new archetypes in a 20th-century American version of Commedia dell'arte, and the theme song can now be considered just as vital an American standard as "Rhapsody in Blue.

It may be common knowledge among TV historians that Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" wasn't beloved by critics when it debuted, but it was a big hit with audiences. Critics said that the show was fluffy, unrealistic, and insubstantial, and Schwartz likely agreed. Indeed, its insubstantiality may have been the main reason for its success. Over the years, the seven main cast members of "Gilligan's Island" have all cited the show's featherweight tone as a necessary relief for audiences who had been inundated with turbulent news of the outside world. It certainly didn't help that "Gilligan's Island" was also very kid-friendly, featuring no serious conflicts, no sex, no violence, and no adult themes. 

In the year 2025, "Gilligan's Island" isn't just accepted as popular, but has become something of a cultural institution. Its images, music, and characters are archetypal nearly to the point of becoming Jungian. Gilligan (Bob Denver) and...

On Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island," every character represented a different American class, and each one served a vital social function. The Skipper (Alan Hale), for instance, could be seen as a representative of the American military, while his sailing know-how provided the Island with a better understanding of their surroundings. Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) was a working-class character with knowledge of farming, but she was also a barometer of the Island's general mood. If she was happy, then things were going well. Gilligan (Bob Denver), meanwhile, was the innocent of the island, providing a plucky spirit of survival, while also offering something like a childlike perspective to the plight of the castaways.

The itinerant actress Ginger (Tina Louise) was weirdly vital. Many feel that Ginger, because she was so glamorous, provided mere sex appeal to "Gilligan's Island," but one can see that she also served as something of a morale officer.

The second of the three "Gilligan's Island" spinoff TV movies was called "The Castaways on Gilligan's Island," and it aired on NBC on May 3, 1979. It arrived one year after the first movie, "Rescue from Gilligan's Island," and 12 years after the final episode of the original "Gilligan's Island" TV series.

The "Gilligan's Island" TV movies were considered dubiously canonical by the show's fans. Tina Louise didn't reprise her role as Ginger from the "Gilligan's Island" TV show for any of them (with Judith Baldwin serving as her replacement), while, generally speaking, they aren't nearly as well-remembered or beloved as Sherwood Schwartz's original creation. The animated "Gilligan's Island" spinoff shows also contradicted what happened in the TV movies, leaving fans to debate which of the "Gilligan's Island" timelines counts as the "real one." Personally, I like to think "Gilligan's Planet" is the canonical path.

In "The Castaways on Gilligan's Island," life...

At the start of "Gilligan's Island," before the seven castaways-to-be took their fateful three-hour tour, there were only two pre-established inter-character relationships. There was, of course, the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Howell (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer), a couple that had been married for years, but there was also the professional relationship between the Skipper and his first mate, Gilligan (Bob Denver). As audiences would eventually learn, Gilligan was kind of clumsy and innocent like a child, but he was clearly capable enough as a sailor to remain in the Skipper's employ. 

Also, the Skipper, although often wrathful enough to strike Gilligan with his hat, clearly had affection for the man; the Skipper often referred to Gilligan as his "little buddy," and the two men had no compunctions about sharing a cabin. It's never made an integral part of the show, but one might get the impression that the...

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On "Gilligan's Island," romance always ran at a low ebb. Apart from Mr. and Mrs. Howell (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer), there were no couples on the island, and none seemed to form over the course of the show. Indeed, several of the characters seemed too silly or childish to form anything approaching a real-life affair. Gilligan (Bob Denver) was too innocent, and the Skipper (Alan Hale) was more often thinking of engineering and survival than being charming. Ginger (Tina Louise) was often dressed in pretty gowns, and was certainly presented as a sex symbol, but was more concerned with fame and acting than flirting with any of the men or women around her. 

The two "normal" characters on the island were Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) and the Professor (Russell Johnson), who often served as the show's "straight man" characters...

The "Roseanne" episode "Sherwood Schwartz: A Loving Tribute" was, as the title implies, a tribute to one of the most successful sitcom creators to play the game. Schwartz, of course, is the mastermind behind both "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch," and he worked as a writer on shows like "My Favorite Martian," "The Red Skelton Show," and "I Married Joan." Schwartz is a giant of the televised medium, and many TV shows owe him a debt; he provided several generations of goofy comedians with inspiration.

"Gilligan's Island" was particularly well-known among the public, partly because of its indelibly dumb humor, and partly because of endless reruns that continued through the 1980s. Every American knew the premise of "Gilligan's Island" and every sitcom writer wanted to emulate its success. It stood to reason that the makers of "Roseanne" — a blue-collar sitcom — would want to pay it, and Sherwood Schwartz, homage.

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Fans of "Gilligan's Island" are likely intimately familiar with the show's original pilot, which was shot in 1963, but not aired to the public until 1992. The pilot, called "Marooned," featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jim Backus, and Natalie Schafer, but also starred three rudimentary characters that didn't carry over into the completed series. The Professor was originally a high school teacher played by John Gabriel. The Mary Ann character was a secretary named Bunny (Nancy McCarthy), and Ginger was still named Ginger but was ... another secretary. She was played by Kit Smythe.

Eventually, the show was reworked, and creator Sherwood Schwartz wrote a tighter, better pilot with the Professor (Russell Johnson), Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), and Ginger (Tina Louise) that we all know and love today. 

In Schwartz's biography "Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication," he mentioned that Louise...

Alan Hale, Jr. was a deeply committed and versatile character actor whose career stretches all the way back to the 1930s. He has appeared on stage, in movies, and on hundreds of TV shows. He played the lead role in the 1952 TV series "Biff Baker, U.S.A." and the 1957 series "Casey Jones." He was involved with comedy, drama, Westerns, superhero shows, romances, and legal thrillers. There didn't seem to be much Hale would say no to. 

Of course, most audiences know Hale as Jonas Grumby, a.k.a. The Skipper on the 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island." That show was an enormous hit when it debuted, and, entrenched itself deeply in the American consciousness. Also, thanks to sweet, sweet syndication deals, reruns of the three-season show managed to stay on the air continuously for decades. Gen-Xers grew up watching "Gilligan's Island" as late as the late '80s. Alan Hale became a broadly recognized archetype,...

The arc of Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island," which first debuted in 1964, is well documented by TV historians. Because it was so broad, unrealistic, and silly, the series garnered some pretty negative reviews from critics. "Gilligan's Island," after all, takes place in a slapstick universe where none of the characters have to wrestle with survival; their food and water supplies seem to be well taken care of, and all of the characters more or less get along. The only terrible fate the castaways faced was the ever-sinking reality that they would never return to civilization. Which, from the look of it, wasn't too awful a thing to ponder, as they had a bottomless supply of clean water and fruit salads. 

Audiences seemed to latch onto the show's generally nonthreatening tone, however, and the show was almost an instant success. After three seasons, "Gilligan's Island" was folded into a near-perfect...

Ruben Östlund's 2022 film "Triangle of Sadness" was an unlikely Oscar darling, earning nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It didn't win, but it was odd to see the Academy Awards recognize a movie with an extended ship-wide vomit sequence. The premise of "Triangle of Sadness" was simple and wicked. A group of wealthy know-nothings -- including Instagram influencers, Russian oligarchs, and other ancillary money-hoarders -- gathered on a luxury yacht for an anything-goes-type pleasure cruise. The ship's staff have shifted into "the customer is always right" mode, and have to entertain each of the oligarch's weird whims (Swim party! Whee!), even if it interrupts the natural flow of the ship's operations.

The weather starts getting rough. The yacht lurches through the ocean waves. During a fancy dinner party, all the guests become queasy. Despite the courage of the fearless crew, the cookies all were tossed.

Thanks to the earworm that is "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island," most audiences know how Gilligan (Bob Denver) and the other castaways became stranded. Gilligan and the Skipper (Alan Hale) took five passengers on an intended three-hour tour of the Hawai'ian islands when they hit rough weather and were thrown off-course. The ship set ground on the shore of an uncharted desert isle, and the seven castaways had to learn to survive. Because "Gilligan's Island" was broad and cartoonish, however, the survival was never harrowing or even particularly difficult. There were rarely food or water shortages, and everyone brought huge amounts of clothes and supplies. Life actually seemed okay on Gilligan's Island, the utter isolation notwithstanding.

Series creator Sherwood Schwartz said that he intended "Gilligan's Island" to be an idealized microcosm of a well-functioning American democracy. Seven character, all from different classes, are forced to live together by extreme circumstances,...

Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island" was a tremendous success when it premiered in 1964. The premise is well-known to TV viewers the world over, thanks to its immensely catchy theme song. Five passengers set sail from Hawai'i one afternoon, hoping to take a three-hour boat tour of the island, guided by the Captain and the First Mate of the S.S. Minnow. The ship, however, hit bad weather, was thrown off-course, and crash-landed on an uncharted tropical island. The series showed the travails of the seven stranded castaways as they aimed to survive, and consistently bungled their own attempts at escape. "Gilligan's Island" took place in a cartoonish world, however, where there was no actual scarcity or death. Everything was bright and clean and the castaways generally got along. 

Meanwhile, two years later ... 

William Dozier's adventure comedy series "Batman" was a tremendous success when it premiered in 1966. Its premise...

Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is simultaneously hopeful and hopeless. It is hopeful in that seven ostensible strangers, all from different classes and walks of life, became stranded on a remote tropical island, and managed to survive and thrive, living together in harmony and often working together to achieve common goals. Even though there are rich people and poor people on the island, all sense of class has been erased. On Gilligan's Island, everyone is equal. Democracy works.  

The show is hopeless, however, because the seven stranded castaways seem to be eternally trapped on that island. Every time an opportunity for escape presents itself -- a hot air balloon, a new signaling device, etc. -- Gilligan (Bob Denver) fouls it up for everyone. Gilligan, a friendly, gentle, clumsy idiot, bumbles his way through life, often ripping hope from his compatriots. 

More viewers likely see "Gilligan's Island" in its former context,...

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There are many ways to interpret Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island." Author Paul A. Cantor once wrote in his 2001 book "Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization" that the series presents an idealized version of American democracy. Cantor's thesis pointed out that the show's seven castaways all came from different American classes -- there were two millionaires, a professor, a farmer, a pair of military men, and an entertainer -- but when they were forced to live on a deserted island together, they became fast friends. Not only that, but they also thrived. Schwartz was said to have confirmed Cantor's thesis in an obituary printed in the Washington Post.

Many (including this author) see a Sisyphean element to "Gilligan's Island." Every episode begins with hope. Often, a new person or object will wash ashore, offering the castaways an opportunity for escape.

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The seven lead characters in Sherwood Schwartz's 1960s sitcom "Gilligan's Island" have become an indelible part of the world's pop consciousness, emerging as a new canon of distinctly American Commedia del'arte archetypes. The Professor (Russell Johnson) is the updated version of Il Dottore. Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) is the new Pantolone. The Skipper (Alan Hale) is clearly a modern Scaramuccia, and Gilligan (Bob Denver), well, he's Arlecchino. Additionally, Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) is likely Colombiana, Ginger (Tina Louise) is Gianduja, and Mrs. Howell (Natalie Schafer) is ... I guess another Pantolone.

It's hard to imagine a world where the seven stock "Gilligan's Island" characters were dramatically altered, as the seven characters audiences saw were downright perfect. One could always predict how one character might interact with any of the others.

Of course, it took a little trial and error to get the characters right.

Back in 1975, director Bill Rebane brought the world The Giant Spider Invasion, an independent sci-fi action horror film that managed to get network play on both ABC and CBS, was mocked on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and made somewhere in the range of 15 to 22 million dollars on a budget of $300,000. Now, Julien’s Auctions has announced that the rights to the film are going up for public auction this week! This includes remake and sequel rights. The winning bidder will also receive the original 35mm negative of the film. The rights to The Giant Spider Invasion are being offered by the current rights holder, who happens to be Rebane.

This auction is part of the Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies collaboration A Week of Hollywood Legends: Sci-Fi, Horror, & Action, which will take place at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, California on December 12th. The man-eating spider prop, which...

The premise of Sherwood Schwartz's popular 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is handily explained in its theme song: five passengers check into a three-hour boat tour, run by the skipper and first mate of a tiny tourist boat called the S.S. Minnow. The ship hits some bad weather and is thrown miles off course, landing on an uncharted desert isle. The seven tourists become seven stranded castaways. No phones, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury. Like "Robinson Crusoe," it's as primitive as can be. The septet have to learn to live together, usually to comedic effect. 

Gilligan (Bob Denver) was the above-mentioned first mate, and his innocent cluelessness and tendency to bumble often thwarted the castaways' ability to escape. He shared the island with his Skipper (Alan Hale), a professor (Russell Johnson), a pair of married millionaires (Natalie Schafer and Jim Backus), a farmer (Dawn Wells), and a...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Midsommar Tree Topper from A24

A24 has turned Midsommar‘s most enduring image — Florence Pugh as the May Queen — into a Christmas tree topper.

Priced at $48, the handmade felted wood decoration stands 10.5″ tall. It will ship by December 6 to ensure delivery before the holidays.

PopTaters Chucky from Super Impulse

Chucky has joined Super Impulse’s PopTaters line, which gives pop culture icons a Potato Head makeover.

The 4″ potato body comes with 14 interchangeable facial and body parts, including Good Guys overalls, a knife, and a surprise original Potato Head piece.

Accessories can be mixed and matched with other Poptaters toys, including characters from the likes of “Stranger Things,” “Squid Game,” “Wednesday,” and Garbage Pail Kids.

Ice Nine Kills...

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In Paul A. Cantor's 2001 book "Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization," the author posited that Sherwood Schwartz's celebrated-and-lambasted-in-equal-measure 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" stood as a symbol of America's indomitable confidence in its post-War, Baby Boom period. One could, "Gilligan's" argued, place a random assortment of seven Americans in whatever isolated locale you wanted, and they would essentially form a pleasant democracy. The seven stranded castaways of "Gilligan's Island" might have bickered, but they never went to war. Instead, several distinct American classes came together. The ultra wealthy (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer's Howells) hobnobbed with a farmer (Dawn Wells' Mary Ann). The intelligentsia (Russell Johnson's Professor) got along perfectly well with the Hollywood elite (Tina Louise's Ginger), and they were all held together by a gentle military hand (Alan Hale's Skipper). Gilligan, meanwhile,...

Prior to "Gilligan's Island," Natalie Schafer had a professional acting career that lasted for decades. When she was still in her 20s, Schafer began appearing in numerous Broadway productions, often in smaller roles, and rarely in a play that ran for a very long time. She was an expert in playing a certain kind of high-society bourgeoisie biddy, and tended to play comedically clueless archetypes. Beginning in the 1940s, Schafer started to appear in films as well, appearing in multiple features a year. In the 1950s, she stretched into television, and was soon playing guest characters on many of the hottest anthology shows of the day.

At some point along the way, Shafer began telling people that she was 12 years younger than she actually was, likely hoping to avoid a stubborn, unjust stigma in Hollywood against older women. She had a stipulation in her contract that she receive no extreme closeups,...

When Sherwood Schwartz was creating "Gilligan's Island" back in 1964, he designed the series as one might an animated show. It was meant to be a broad, unrealistic farce, so Schwartz had no issues with making "Gilligan's Island" into something colorful and artificial. The characters, for the most part, wore the same clothes every day, allowing Schwartz to color-code them. Gilligan (Bob Denver) always wore a long-sleeve red shirt and sailor's cap. The Skipper (Alan Hale) always wore blue and wore a captain's hat. The Professor (Russell Johnson) always wore slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Ginger (Tina Louise) may have changed often, but she always wore something glamorous, and her red hair was always highlighted. 

What's more, Schwartz seemingly kept a close eye on characters' silhouettes. One of the reasons why The Skipper and Gilligan emerged as such an effective comedy duo was that Gilligan was...

Alan Hale, Jr. became a performer as part of his family's legacy. His mother was actress Gretchen Hartman who appeared in dozens of films in the 1910s, while his father, Alan Hale (real name: Rufus Edward MacKahan) racked up hundreds of credits in the silent era, typically as a reliable sidekick to Errol Flynn. Hartman retired from acting in 1929, and Hale, Sr. continued to work until his death in 1950. Alan Hale, Jr. first appeared on the screen as an infant, "starring" opposite his mother. Hale made his Broadway debut in 1931, when he was only 10, appearing in a very, very short-lived show called "Caught Wet" (it opened and closed in the same month). In 1933, Hale played uncredited role in William Wellman's Depression-era drama "Wild Boys of the Road," and it may be the first movie a casual observer would recognize him in. 

Staring in 1941, Hale began his acting career in earnest,...

Alan Hale Jr. was a showbiz veteran before he could speak. The son of Alan Hale, a popular character actor best known for his portrayal of Little John in Michael Curtiz' classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Hale Jr. appeared in silent films as a baby and made a few war movies as a young man before serving in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. Once the war was over, Hale Jr. worked steadily in film and television, turning up on episodes of "Gunsmoke," "Mister Ed," and "Lassie" while landing supporting roles in movies starring John Wayne, Gregory Peck, and Randolph Scott.

Hale Jr. would be castigated as a nepobaby today, but while being literally born to the business didn't hurt his cause, he was a natural in front of the camera and a welcome presence in just about everything. So, it's no surprise that, after a difficult casting process,...

Deep-cut fans of Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" will likely be able to tell you all about the show's original pilot episode, "Marooned." Considered a "dry run" of the series, "Marooned" featured the same premise -- seven whimsically mismatched castaways are trapped together on an uncharted desert isle -- but the characters were reshuffled a little bit. Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Skipper (Alan Hale), and the Howells (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer) were present, but the Professor (Russell Johnson), Ginger (Tina Louise), and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) hadn't been invented yet. 

In their places were completely different characters played by different actors. The original Ginger was played by Kit Smythe and was a sardonic secretary. Mary Ann was originally a character named Bunny, Ginger's ditzy best friend, played by Nancy McCarthy. The Professor, meanwhile, was originally a high school teacher played by actor John Gabriel, probably best known for...

TV trivia fanatics will happily point out that the first-season theme song to Sherwood Schwartz's seminal sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is different from the theme heard in later seasons. The song is the same -- it's the usual, earworm sea shanty that everyone can sing from memory -- but the final listing of the show's dramatis personae is different. In the later seasons, the theme song listed Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Skipper too (Alan Hale), the Millionaire (Jim Backus) and his wife (Natalie Shafer), the movie star (Tina Louise), the professor (Russell Watson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), there on Gilligan's isle.

In the first season, however, the professor and Mary-Ann were introduced merely as "And the rest." Watson and Wells didn't have credits and photos like everyone else. This was a little baffling, as all seven characters were of equal value to the series; no one was a supporting player.

Michael Curtiz directed Dodge City, a classic Western praised for its daring cinematography & timeless plot. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland starred in the successful film, with Flynn fully embracing Westerns after its success. Dodge City remains a masterpiece of classic Westerns, with unique use of composition, color, and a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

American-Hungarian director Michael Curtiz was prolific. With a five-decade-long career from the early 1910s to the early 1960s, he dipped his toes into silent films, talkies, and eventually color movies, directing a total of 178 films. With so many movies produced, they cannot all be masterpieces. However, some separate themselves from the pack, notably Casablanca (1942), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), or Mildred Pierce (1945). Another lesser-known but just as acclaimed film by the director is the 1939 Dodge City.

Curtiz was also a frequent collaborator of heartthrob Errol Flynn and classic actress Olivia de Havilland. The three worked together on Dodge City,...

The 1966 "Batman" TV series -- one of the best TV shows of all time -- wasn't shy about including shameless cameos. Early in the show's run, the producers invented an organic conceit that would allow famous people to literally poke their heads in for a moment to deliver a few lines of dialogue. While Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) were scaling the side of a building -- something they did often -- a celebrity guest would open a window to see who might be making noise on their outside wall. The series featured peek-ins from Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis, Art Linkletter, Don Ho, and Dick Clark. 

Other notable stars also provided peek-ins, but many appeared in character, playing their roles from other hip TV shows at the time. Ted Cassidy, for instance, appeared as Lurch from "The Addams Family." Werner Klemperer had a cameo as Colonel Klink from "Hogan's Heroes.

One needn't recount the premise of "Gilligan's Island." One only needs to listen to the theme song.

When Sherwood Schwartz was first casting his sitcom "Gilligan's Island" back in 1964, he knew that finding the right actor to play the Skipper -- Jonas Grumby, the captain of the S.S. Minnow -- was going to be a challenge. He had envisioned the title character as a shrimpy, thin man, and he knew that he wanted Bob Denver, previously the star of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," in the role. To provide a physical contrast, Shwartz wanted the Skipper to be large, imposing, and capable of yelling in rage. But, and this was key, the Skipper also had to be lovable. In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Schwartz was explicit in saying he wanted a teddy bear of a man. Someone who was big and round, but also imminently cuddly.

When Sherwood Schwartz first came up with the idea for his 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island," he was less concerned with its uncharted tropical island setting as he was with cramming people with disparate backgrounds into a situation where they couldn't leave each other. He initially liked the idea of making a workplace drama, but, he felt, that wasn't isolated enough. He eventually figured that if a varied cast of characters was stranded, alone, in a remote location, then comedy and story would naturally follow. 

Schwartz developed his concept into "Gilligan's Island," wherein a tour boat captain (Alan Hale), his first officer (Bob Denver), a millionaire (Jim Backus), his wife (Natalie Schafer), a professional actress (Tina Louise), a farm girl (Dawn Wells), and a scientist (Russell Watson) take a Hawai'ian sea tour, only to be pulled off course by bad weather and stranded on a lost island in the Pacific. The series...

Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" occupies a strange space in popular culture. Thanks to decades of reruns, the series became deeply embedded into the American subconscious, becoming one of the bedrocks of 1960s television. There was a time when everyone in a certain age bracket learned all about "Gilligan's Island" without even trying, and no Gen-Xer worth their weight in clove cigarettes couldn't sing the show's theme song. At the same time, however, "Island" was widely derided by critics and audiences alike for being silly "low art" entertainment, reliant on silly slapstick over any sense of realism. "Gilligan's Island" was ubiquitous, but it wasn't necessarily respected.

The cast of "Gilligan's Island" were victims of their own popularity. Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Dawn Wells, Russell Johnson, and Tina Louise all continued to work after the series -- and they all have broad, decades-long careers in entertainment besides -- but they...

Jim Backus' first major acting gig was playing a snotty millionaire named Dexter Hayes on the 1940 radio serial "Society Girl." This was to kick off a decades-long career in radio, film, and television, wherein Backus invented multiple indelible characters that remain a part of the pop fabric to this very day. He appeared on "The Jack Benny Program" and even briefly had his own TV show, "The Jim Backus Show" in 1957. He famously played the voice of Mr. Magoo from 1949 until his death in 1989, and starred in "Rebel Without a Cause." He was adept at playing clueless weirdos and self-absorbed egotists, although he had a great deal of comedic range. Be sure to listen to his hit comedy single "Delicious!" sometime. He elicits laughter without saying anything. I could list more credits, but we'd be here all day; Backus starred in over 100 films and shorts, and several dozen TV shows.

The premise of Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" is succinctly laid out in its indelible theme song, written by Schwartz and George Wyle. The S.S. Minnow, helmed by Captain G. Jonas Grumby (Alan Hale) and his first officer Gilligan (Bob Denver) took on five passengers for a three-hour boat tour of Hawai'i. The ship hit some bad weather, got lost at sea, and washed up on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific. Now the two sailors, along with a millionaire (Jim Backus), his wife (Natalie Schafer), a movie star (Tina Louise), a professor (Russel Johnson), and a lottery-winning tourist (Dawn Wells), have to learn to survive, all to comedic effect.

"Gilligan's Island" has no themes of actual survival, instead rolling with its slapstick elements; the series clearly takes place in a cartoon reality. As such, the characters play as broad archetypes, mugging and screaming in an unrealistic fashion.

Alan Hale is probably best known for playing Jonas Grumby, a.k.a. The Skipper, on the 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island." He was, however, an experienced stage and TV performer prior to "Gilligan's," having made his Broadway debut in 1931 in a play called "Caught Wet." Hale also appeared in over 50 films before 1964, across all genres and budgets. He had a recurring role on "The Gene Autry Show" and played the title characters on "Biff Baker, U.S.A." and on "Casey Jones." He was in single episodes of most of the hit Western TV shows of the 1950s and '60s. When it came time to play The Skipper, Hale was wholly dedicated to the role, trying to be as funny as possible.In the world of adventure TV, Hale was a major presence and a consummate professional. 

Hale was so professional, in fact, that he once refused to report a...

Watching "Gilligan's Island" reruns as a child always had this author wondering if "Gilligan" was the character's first name or last name. Gilligan, as played hilariously by Bob Denver, was the main character of the series, but also its buffoonish comic relief. He was most countered by his straight man, the Skipper (Alan Hale) or Professor Roy Hinckley (Russell Johnson), but he served as a foil for every character. Denver doesn't get enough credit for his pliability as a comic performer. Denver passed away in 2005 at the age of 70, best known for "Gilligan's Island" and for the 1959 sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." He was also a regular on the Sherwood Schwartz series "Dusty's Trail" as well as the 1968 series "The Good Guys."

On "Gilligan's Island," many fans wondered what Gilligan's full name was. It seems that, at the end of the day, he's like Cher or Fabian, sporting only one name.

Sherwood Schwartz's 1963 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" was a high-concept series that, thanks to the gods of syndication, remained in the public consciousness for decades after it went off the air. The show's impeccable theme song, written by Schwartz and George Wyle, may be the best theme in television history, as it handily explains the premise using a hummable sea shanty: five tourists boarded the S.S. Minnow -- manned by Captain Jonas Grumby (Alan Hale) and his first mate Gilligan (Bob Denver) -- for a three-hour tour off the coast of Honolulu. When the tiny ship hit some bad weather, the seven characters landed on a desert island, stranded. The series followed their merry attempts to survive. 

"Gilligan's Island" ran for 98 episodes, ending its initial run in 1967, but reruns continued to air well into the 1990s. Yes, there was a time when "Gilligan's Island" was a reliable TV staple, occupying...

Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.

Stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas, Alan Hale, Arthur Hoyt, Blanche Friderici | Screenplay by Robert Riskin | Directed by Frank Capra

Spoiled but spirited socialite Ellie (Claudette Colbert) flees her privileged life commandeered by her overbearing father and ends up sharing a bus ride across America with cynical, hard-drinking newspaperman Peter (Clark Gable). If you think you know how that story ends you’re probably right, but audiences in 1934 wouldn’t have seen the inevitable romantic and comedic scenes coming; we may be used to the road-trip, odd-couple romance by now (it’s practically a subgenre all by itself), but It Happened One Night was the first of its kind.

Following a row aboard her father’s boat, Ellie dives into the harbour and enlists the help of an older woman so that she can buy a Greyhound bus ticket cross-country to Miami. The motivation behind...

It's the John Ford film you never heard of, not because it's bad, but because it's a little confused. Richard Greene, David Niven and an emotional George Sanders (!) dedicate their lives to clearing their father's name of a smear by international arms smugglers! Their spirited companion Loretta Young behaves almost as if this were a screwball comedy. So does the director! Ford aficionados will be fascinated. Four Men and a Prayer 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives 1938 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 85 min. / Street Date December 15, 2015 / 19.98 Starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith. J. Edward Bromberg, William Henry, John Carradine, Alan Hale, Reginald Denny, Berton Churchill, Barry Fitzgerald, Chris-Pin Martin. Cinematography Franz Planer Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Written by Richard Sherman, Sonya Levien, Walter Ferris from a novel by David Garth Produced by Kenneth Macgowan Directed by John Ford

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

We all...

Raymond Massey ca. 1940. Raymond Massey movies: From Lincoln to Boris Karloff Though hardly remembered today, the Toronto-born Raymond Massey was a top supporting player – and sometime lead – in both British and American movies from the early '30s all the way to the early '60s. During that period, Massey was featured in nearly 50 films. Turner Classic Movies generally selects the same old MGM / Rko / Warner Bros. stars for its annual “Summer Under the Stars” series. For that reason, it's great to see someone like Raymond Massey – who was with Warners in the '40s – be the focus of a whole day: Sat., Aug. 8, '15. (See TCM's Raymond Massey movie schedule further below.) Admittedly, despite his prestige – his stage credits included the title role in the short-lived 1931 Broadway production of Hamlet – the quality of Massey's performances varied wildly. Sometimes he could be quite effective; most of the time, however, he was an unabashed scenery chewer,...

Olivia de Havilland on Turner Classic Movies: Your chance to watch 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' for the 384th time Olivia de Havilland is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 2, '15. The two-time Best Actress Oscar winner (To Each His Own, 1946; The Heiress, 1949) whose steely determination helped to change the way studios handled their contract players turned 99 last July 1. Unfortunately, TCM isn't showing any de Havilland movie rarities, e.g., Universal's cool thriller The Dark Mirror (1946), the Paramount comedy The Well-Groomed Bride (1947), or Terence Young's British-made That Lady (1955), with de Havilland as eye-patch-wearing Spanish princess Ana de Mendoza. On the other hand, you'll be able to catch for the 384th time a demure Olivia de Havilland being romanced by a dashing Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood, as TCM shows this 1938 period adventure classic just about every month. But who's complaining? One the...

The Sea Hawk

Written by Howard Koch and Seton I. Miller

Directed by Michael Curtiz

U.S.A., 1940

Under the Warner Brothers banner, Errol Flynn leaps, bounds and rouses hearts to the tune of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s winning score and the direction of taskmaster Michael Curtiz. Following on the coattails of Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), it’s easy to dismiss The Sea Hawk (1940) as just a studio swashbuckler, another outing of a tried and true formula that Bosley Crowther called, “an overdressed ‘spectacle’ film which derives much more from the sword than the pen.” Admittedly, this loose adaptation owes more to the seafaring adventures of Sir Francis Drake than the original Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name, but it owes even more to the politics surrounding its production. On closer examination, the film stands as a testament not only to Flynn in his booming...

Winner of five Oscars, Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night remains an outstanding entertainment, and a touchstone of Hollywood’s most enduring cinematic genre: the Romantic Comedy. Filled with naughty, cloying sexuality and a lovable slate of archetypal characters, the film encapsulated the aspirations and desperations of 1930s America, even while evoking giggles of delight from a battered audience facing a dark and uncertain future. While the Great Depression is never addressed directly, the pressures of those days infuse every aspect of It Happened One Night, from its depiction of pampered, frivolous one per-centers to its array of dodgy conmen, hapless working stiffs and penniless drifters. The fact that love continued to find a way through the world’s political and economic maelstroms was a comforting notion in 1934; a notion perfectly suited to Capra’s trademark optimistic populism.

The film’s stagebound, talky exposition scene may feel awkward at first,...

“Well you’ve shown me an excellent example of the hiking part. When does the hitching come in?”

Frank Capra’s 1934 film It Happened One Night was the first film to win the Oscar “grand slam” (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Screenplay) and is considered a pioneer of the screwball comedy genre. Lucky St. Louisans will have the chance to see it on the big screen when it plays next Saturday, February 8th at The Hi-Pointe Theater at 10:30am as part of their Classic Film Series.

It Happened One Night concerns an heiress, Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) who runs away from her father to join her new husband, society aviator King Westley (Jameson Thomas). On the bus, she meets a reporter named Peter Warne (Clark Gable) who is down on his luck. The strike a bargain: Peter can have an exclusive on Ellie’s story...

Yippee-ki-yay! It's action-movie time! From Die Hard to Deliverance, here's what the Guardian and Observer's critics think are the 10 best ever made. Let us know what you think in the comments below

• Top 10 romantic movies

Peter Bradshaw on action movies

In some ways, it should be the quintessential cinema genre. After all, what does the director shout at the beginning of a take? Action – at times a euphemism for violence and machismo – evolved into a recognisable genre in the 80s. Gunplay and athleticism resurfaced in a sweatier and more explicitly violent form, with movies such as Sylvester Stallone's First Blood. The hardware was all-important, and the metallic sheen of the guns was something to be savoured alongside the musculature of the heroes. The genre spawned the action hero. These were not pretty-boys there to melt female hearts: they were there to get a roar of approval from the guys.

Joan Fontaine movies: ‘This Above All,’ ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’ (photo: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine in ‘Suspicion’ publicity image) (See previous post: “Joan Fontaine Today.”) Also tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Joan Fontaine can be seen in today’s lone TCM premiere, the flag-waving 20th Century Fox release The Above All (1942), with Fontaine as an aristocratic (but socially conscious) English Rose named Prudence Cathaway (Fontaine was born to British parents in Japan) and Fox’s top male star, Tyrone Power, as her Awol romantic interest. This Above All was directed by Anatole Litvak, who would guide Olivia de Havilland in the major box-office hit The Snake Pit (1948), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nod. In Max Ophüls’ darkly romantic Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Fontaine delivers not only what is probably the greatest performance of her career, but also one of the greatest movie performances ever. Letter from an Unknown Woman...

Paul Henreid: From Eleanor Parker to ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (photo: Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in ‘Between Two Worlds’) Paul Henreid returns this evening, as Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Month of July 2013. In Of Human Bondage (1946), he stars in the old Leslie Howard role: a clubfooted medical student who falls for a ruthless waitress (Eleanor Parker, in the old Bette Davis role). Next on TCM, Henreid and Eleanor Parker are reunited in Between Two Worlds (1944), in which passengers aboard an ocean liner wonder where they are and where the hell (or heaven or purgatory) they’re going. Hollywood Canteen (1944) is a near-plotless, all-star showcase for Warner Bros.’ talent, a World War II morale-boosting follow-up to that studio’s Thank Your Lucky Stars, released the previous year. Last of the Buccaneers (1950) and Pirates of Tripoli (1955) are B pirate movies. The former is an uninspired affair,...