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Gilligan’s Island sparked one of the great television comedy debates of all time: Who would you rather date, Ginger or Mary Ann?

While Ginger was the show’s designated sex symbol, a Hollywood starlet who oozed glamour and allure, a surprising majority of fans were in love with Mary Ann. According to Russell “The Professor” Johnson, Dawn Wells received more fan mail than any of the other cast members. In his book Here on Gilligan’s Isle, Johnson quotes another writer about the Ginger versus Mary Ann debate: “Ginger Grant could make men swoon — a perfumed beauty in slinky gowns. But Mary Ann was a breath of fresh air in sporty short shorts. The girl next door.”

Those sporty short shorts were a problem, according to Wells. “There were network censors back in those days, and they were really strict,” she told People in 2018. “They had to make sure that...

For one who used to be one of the most famed and commended music moguls of all time, P Diddy has truly undergone a tremendous downfall, unparalleled by any other. While the results of his ongoing federal criminal trial have yet to reveal if he is actually guilty or not, all the allegations against him have already led to his collapse in the eyes of the public.

But while the debate surrounding his innocence continues to rage on, it’s worth pondering: Just how long has Sean Combs, aka Diddy, been behind bars, now that his trial has entered its sixth week? And when exactly will this s-x trafficking trial end, considering how it has been going on for so long? Well, here’s all we know about the same.

How much time P. Diddy has spent behind bars? P. Diddy. | Credits: Image by Nikeush / Licensed under Cca by Sa 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons.

In one of the most mind-boggling and confounding turn of events in the history of Hollywood controversies, the P Diddy allegations have been taken to court in a much more massive federal criminal court trial than anyone might have expected. What’s making it even more interesting are all the other names that are being embroiled in this contentious fire.

While the music mogul himself is currently standing at the receiving end of disgrace as his trial unfolds in court, many other names have since popped up in the case. But the more surprising part is that Katt Williams actually predicted long ago that celebrities are now at risk as the Diddy trial’s ripple effect might have him snitch on them in court!

Katt Williams predicted long ago that celebrities would be embroiled in the P Diddy fire P Diddy in the Closer to God music video. | Credits: Diddy / YouTube.

The now-disgraced music mogul P Diddy is currently being sincerely examined in a court of law due to all the allegations against him, and this scrutiny into his past and love life is especially bringing about some truths that people never really knew of. Like his previous love affairs that were never quite confirmed publicly by either party.

This includes the record producer’s being romantically linked with numerous celebrities, including the likes of Lori Harvey, Steve Harvey’s stepdaughter, and model Tina Louise, with whom the rapper was reported to have had a “casual” and “fun” romance, among others. That said, here’s a deeper dive into those rumored relationships.

P Diddy reportedly dated Lori Harvey and Tina Louise Lori Harvey. | Credit: @loriharvey / Ig.

While Diddy has made headlines for all the women he has been romantically linked with in the public eye to date, he has also garnered...

Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" is a controversial horror classic with a legacy that transcends cinema. Not only is it a terrifying tale of Satanic cults and devilish pregnancies, but the apartment the movie was shot in is reportedly haunted. What's more, the wave of real-life deaths surrounding "Rosemary's Baby" has given it a "cursed" reputation, further adding to its eerie sensibilities. Polanski's chiller is infamous, but the same can't be said about its sequel, "Look What Happened to Rosemary's Baby" -- a made-for-television cheapie from 1976 that most people have forgotten about. Either that, or they are trying their best to erase it from their memories.

Directed by Sam O'Steen, the forgotten ABC sequel chronicles Rosemary's son, Andrew (Stephen McHattie), from his childhood through to his adult years. What a life he lives, too, as he's kidnapped by a sex worker, Marjean (Tina Louise), at an early age and...

Even if you never watched "Gilligan's Island" yourself, it's such a pillar in pop culture that you undeniably know the gist of what it's about. A charter boat with two crew members and five passengers ends up getting shipwrecked on a deserted island, except for the occasional guest star who would show up for an episode and then never appear again. These seven individuals frequently get underneath one another's skin, as they figure out how to get off the island, and anytime it seems like they're close, Gilligan (Bob Denver) usually winds up ruining everything.

It's a simple premise, but one that worked incredibly well for 98 episodes across three seasons from 1964 to 1967. To this day, Gilligan's iconic red shirt and white bucket hat remain entrenched in people's minds. But a lot happened during those three seasons that even the most hardcore of fans may not be aware of. After 60 years,...

For a goofy sitcom on which a Professor could make a lie detector out of bamboo and coconuts, yet couldn’t figure out a way to patch a hole in a boat, Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz sure had some highfalutin ideas about the show’s core concept.

“There’s a great deal of sociological implication in Gilligan’s Island,” Schwartz explained in The Unofficial Gilligan’s Island Handbook. “It takes a group of very carefully selected people who represent many different parts of our society and shows how in a circumstance — being shipwrecked together — they have to learn to get along with each other. I mean, none of these people had anything in common with each other, and that’s quite deliberate.”

That’s the reason why the show’s opening theme song describes the characters in such broad terms: a Skipper, a Millionaire, a Movie Star, a Professor. They...

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,...

For some actors, landing a role on a long-running sitcom would be a dream come true. But that wasn’t the case when Natalie Schafer won the part of the obscenely rich Lovey Howell on Gilligan’s Island. “I didn’t even want to be in Gilligan when I tested,” she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via MeTV. “I cried when I got the role.”

Bob Denver, the comic actor who played Gilligan, told a slightly different version of the story. In a Cjad interview with Peter Anthony Holder, Denver said Schafer didn’t have to test for the role at all. An accomplished film, television and theater actress, she worked constantly, and Gilligan producers offered her the part without requiring an audition.

It took some convincing, but Schafer agreed to film the pilot — mainly because she wanted a free Hawaiian holiday. “My agent called me, saying, ‘Listen, Natalie, we can get you good money,...

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In the opening credits for the first season of "Gilligan's Island," the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) were infamously unnamed. All the other characters were introduced by name or characteristic, but the final two characters were just listed as "and the rest." This was because of a stipulation in Tina Louise's contract that stated her character gets to be listed last on the show's credit role. Louise played "the movie star" Ginger, so her co-stars were left unnamed. It wasn't until Gilligan actor Bob Denver pulled rank and threatened to put his own credit after Louise's that she demurred. For the second and third seasons of "Island," Wells and Johnson were finally named as "The Professor and Mary Ann."

This weird quirk of the credits subconsciously linked Wells and Johnson in the public's mind. Not only...

Throughout its history, there has been a push-and-pull between the critical consensus on "Gilligan's Island" and its overwhelming popularity among audiences. Few step forward to defend the show's quality, with even its defenders agreeing that it is mostly childish, slapstick nonsense. Yet "Gilligan's Island" has remained popular for decades. It was a hit pretty early during its initial run in 1964, and was re-discovered time and again by several new generations, all thanks to years and years of reruns. 

The "Gilligan's Island" cast was startled by the popularity of the series, but seem to know why it was popular. In the mid-1960s, when America had just seen its president assassinated and a subsequent rise of civil rights battles, "Gilligan's Island" provided a frivolous, meaningless salve. On "Gilligan's Island," everything is silly, no one is hurt, and -- most importantly -- everyone gets along. 

It certainly didn't hurt that the cast were so appealing overall,...

If you are a main cast member of a long-running network television show in 2025 (i.e. a series that runs somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 episodes per season), you should be set for life financially once the syndication deal kicks in. This is the dream for many working actors, who, if they so choose, can use the freedom they've earned from a successful series to work on less lucrative projects that satisfy their artistic cravings.

If you're wondering about how this all worked back in the day, network television gigs have always been pretty cushy gigs. For the most part. So when you watch old episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Andy Griffith Show," and "My Mother the Car," you can be fairly certain the folks in front of the camera are pulling down a very comfortable wage. There are, however, exceptions.

Though it would wind up becoming...

Though the castaways of "Gilligan's Island" had their fair share of misadventures while trapped on a desert island, the cast of the series seemed to mostly appreciate the bounties that came from starring in the show — save for one. Tina Louise, the actor who portrayed Ginger the movie star, seemingly wanted nothing to do with the series after it ended and didn't come back for any of the spin-offs, leading many to assume she truly hated everything to do with "Gilligan's Island." Her co-star Dawn Wells, who played the chipper and earnest farm girl Mary Ann, was essentially the opposite. She not only returned for several "Gilligan's Island" projects, but even reprised her role on an episode of "Baywatch."

As characters, Ginger and Mary Ann are polar opposites, and the actors behind them seem pretty dissimilar too. In a 2019 interview with Woman's World, however, Wells shared her feelings about working...

Tina Louise was starring on Broadway with Carol Burnett when producers approached her about a part in a new sitcom. “The CBS casting director Ethel Winant called me at the theater, ‘Do you think you could play this Lucille Ball/Marilyn Monroe-type of character?’” the 91-year-old actress told Forbes. “I said yes.”

The Lucy-meets-Marilyn character was Ginger Grant, the “movie star” who was shouted out in the opening credits of Gilligan’s Island. That character description was enough to make Louise ditch Broadway, but she was in for a rude awakening when she arrived on set. “I got there and the director wanted it to be a more sarcastic kind of character,” she said. “And so, then I didn’t even want to work on it anymore. I told him I wanted to quit.”

The head of CBS intervened, calling Louise in for a meeting. “I explained to him...

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.

"Gilligan's Island" only aired for three seasons on CBS, but it became a rerun sensation when it hit syndication after getting canceled in 1967. Kids in the market for a relentlessly silly sitcom to watch after school while they were neglecting their homework and chores couldn't do better than this aggressively formulaic show about seven castaways shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Just about every episode revolved around the characters' inevitably thwarted attempts to return to civilization, and this familiarity bred nary a hint of contempt.

The key reason the show never got old for its undemanding target audience was the cast. Bob Denver (Gilligan), Alan Hale Jr. (Skipper), Jim Backus (Thurston Howe), Natalie Schafer (Lovie Howe), Russell Johnson (Professor Roy Hinkley), Dawn Wells (Mary Ann), and Tina Louise (Ginger) formed a perfectly balanced ensemble that understood precisely what was expected of them. You couldn't imagine anyone else playing these roles.

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...

In the United States, the last time any of the extant cast members of "Gilligan's Island" were united on screen, specifically to reprise their characters from the show, was for a 1992 episode of "Baywatch." The episode, titled "Now Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale," saw some of the Baywatch lifeguards finding a small island off the coast of California where Gilligan (Bob Denver) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) had been stranded for a few years. They explained that they left their original island in a daring escape, only to become equally stranded on another island. Sadly, by the end of "Now Sit Right Back," it was revealed that Gilligan and Mary Ann weren't real, and that the events of the episode were all a dream.

By 1992, Alan Hale, Jr., Jim Backus, and Natalie Schafer had already passed away, and it seems that Russell Johnson and Tina Louise didn't want to,...

In the "Alf" episode "Somewhere Over the Rerun," also alternately titled as "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island", the furry little alien Alf (voiced by Paul Fusco), becomes obsessed with watching reruns of "Gilligan's Island" on TV. Alf dreams of living with the castaways of Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom, feeling them to be delightfully funny and living in a tropical paradise. What could be better? He begins dressing in Hawaiian shirts and ordering bamboo furniture, hoping to turn the ordinarily unassuming Tanner household into something more interesting. 

Alf's obsession with "Gilligan's Island" leads him into the Tanners' backyard, where he begins digging up all the grass, hoping to create a tropical lagoon just like on his favorite show. This causes Willie (Max Wright) to become furious, and he demands that Alf fill in all the dirt he dug up. While filling the yard back in, Alf falls asleep and begins to dream.

On a recent ranking of the seven main characters on "Gilligan's Island," /Film ranked Mary Ann at only #5. This is not to say that she was an insignificant character, though. Indeed, all seven of the characters on "Gilligan's Island" were invaluable members of the ensemble, and removing any one of them would irreparably damage the established comedic dynamic. Mary Ann ranked low merely because she was given so few stories of her own. Her function, however, was key. Mary Ann was something of an innocent character, and her happiness was a sign that all was well on the island. You knew things were bad when Mary Ann became upset. 

Also, actress Dawn Wells embodied the character perfectly. Indeed, the characters on "Gilligan's Island" have become comedic archetypes for the ages, so deeply ingrained in the American subconscious that they are practically Jungian. It would be hard to imagine "Gilligan's Island...

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...

Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island" debuted in 1964, and it was, for the bulk of its three-season run, a pretty big hit. Critics notoriously disliked the show for being too lightweight, disposable, and disconnected from reality, but audiences loved the show's broad slapstick, archetypal characterizations, and overall silliness. The show, as many know, struck a sweet syndication deal after it was canceled, allowing it to be rerun in perpetuity. "Gilligan's Island" reruns remained on the air for decades, allowing the show to seep deep into the public consciousness. The characters became new Jungian archetypes, and the theme song became a national anthem of sorts. Several generations of kids were raised on "Gilligan's Island" without their parents intending it. The show just made its way into our eyeballs.

Those same generations came of age watching the seven "Gilligan's Island" actors, and at least one of them was likely a Boomer — or a Gen-Xer's — first crush.

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...

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.

To the eyes of this author, there are four perfect TV theme songs in the history of the medium. For instrumentals, the two best themes are Jack Marshall's surf-like monster music he composed for "The Munsters" and Danny Elfman's Platonic-ideal-of-a-haunted-house music for "Tales from the Crypt."

For theme songs with lyrics, the two best of all time were, not coincidentally, written by Sherwood Schwartz. He and Frank de Vol composed the handy, catchy theme for Schwartz's own sitcom "The Brady Bunch," while Schwartz teamed with George Wyle to compose "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle." These two theme songs, each only about 60 seconds, managed to explain -- in rhyme -- the premise of their respective shows succinctly while also introducing each of the characters. Additionally, the songs are catchy earworms that burrow deep into the brains of listeners, latching onto the memory and never letting go. When I'm in my 90s,...

Gwen Van Dam, a veteran character actress of seven decades whose 140 credits spanned television, film and the Los Angeles stage, died Dec. 19 at her home in West LA. She was 96.

Per previous reporting attributed to her son Dirk Smillie, the cause of death was a recurrence of cancer.

Throughout her long-tenured career, Van Dam appeared in 1978’s Halloween with Jamie Lee Curtis, 1994’s Star Trek Generations with Patrick Stewart, the romantic war drama Coming Home featuring Jane Fonda and Jon Voight and the Sidney Poitier-helmed Gene Wilder pic Stir Crazy.

Among her television credits are illustrious series like Days of Our Lives, Gilmore Girls, Knots Landing, ER, Moonlighting, The Brady Bunch, Maude, Owen Marshall, New Girl, Modern Family and Criminal Minds.

On the music video side of things, she appeared in visual works for U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Panic! At the Disco and heavy metal band Mastodon.

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,...

Gwen Van Dam, whose 70-year career as a character actress for film, television and the stage included turns in True Confessions, Halloween, Coming Home, Stir Crazy and The Trip to Bountiful, has died. She was 96.

Van Dam, who compiled about 140 acting credits on IMDb, died Dec. 19 at her home in West Los Angeles after a recurrence of cancer, her son, Dirk Smillie, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Van Dam remained a busy actress until the end, appearing on the first five episodes of Prime Video’s Homecoming in 2018, on Netflix’s Grace and Frankie in 2019 and on two installments of Hulu’s Interior Chinatown last year. She recently finished a play, too.

Her TV résumé included The Brady Bunch, Mannix, Maude, House Calls, Days of Our Lives, Moonlighting, 227, Knots Landing, Star Trek: Generations, ER, Gilmore Girls, Charmed, New Girl, Criminal Minds, Angie Tribeca and Modern Family.

Meanwhile, she spent the...

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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.

Behind every cheerful, carefree franchise, there's a fan theory hypothesizing that someone was dead the whole time. Despite having aired decades before fans began sharing viral theories that the castaways on "Lost," musical teens in "Grease," and even the old sweetie pie in "Up" somehow died before the opening credits rolled, "Gilligan's Island" has nonetheless gotten swept up in a grim fan theory like a ship in a monsoon.

Generally, these weirdly dark non-canonical fan theories titillate some people while making others (myself included) respond with a big ol', "Who cares?" In the case of the tale of Gilligan's isle, though, the depressing theories are based on a real part of the show — an inconsistency in the theme song that becomes more and more noticeable each time you throw on an episode.

The "Gilligan's Island" theme song, brought to us by series creator Sherwood Schwartz and prolific composer and songwriter George Wyle,...

"Gilligan's Island" is a fun show about a group of castaways who never seem to get rescued despite nigh-weekly opportunities to make their way back to civilization. It's a premise that requires a certain suspension of disbelief from the get-go, especially by the time you witness the other castaways forgive Gilligan (Bob Denver) for sabotaging their attempts to secure a rescue for the umpteenth time.

However, there's a reason the CBS show is a classic. It carries a rare charm that's able to lull the viewer into said disbelief so easily that whenever you watch the show, it's hard to resist going with the flow from the second you hear that infinitely catchy theme song. This ability to casually sweep the viewer away for 25 minutes of desert island levity helped "Gilligan's Island" become one of the best TV shows of the 1960s, despite the fact that it contains some truly hilarious mistakes.

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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.

"The Ballad of Gilligan's Island," in case it needs repeating, is the single best TV theme song of all time. In addition to explicitly explaining the premise of the classic show, "Ballad" introduces every single one of its seven main characters by name. It also helps that it's one of the most insidious earworms this side of "Yellow Submarine"; once you get "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" stuck in your head, it will never leave. Your mind will be as lost as the Minnow.

In the original pilot episode for "Gilligan's Island," back before the final cast had been selected, the theme song was a calypso number composed by John Williams. That song, however, wasn't exactly what show creator Sherwood Schwartz wanted, so he and songwriter George Wyle wrote a second, better theme.. His and Schwartz's "Ballad" was written as a sea shanty, and no one can hear its...

“Who Shot Jr?” was a question that mesmerized the world. But it only did so from the final episode of Dallas Season 3, which aired on March 21, 1980, through the fourth episode of Season 4, which aired on November 21, 1980, and revealed the culprit. (Want to know whodunit? Watch the show on Amazon Prime. We’re not going to spoil your fun.) We’ll tell you when it’s a good time to stop watching the 1980s’ hottest primetime shows next week. This week, we’re focusing on when you should start.

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Standing at the Beginning With You

Sure, if you’re a completist, you could start watching Dallas with Season One. Watch if you want to see a much more low-key, not nearly as glam Southfork Ranch. Watch is you want to learn — shockingly — that Pam (Victoria Principal) first met star-crossed...

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...

60 years ago, "Gilligan's Island" blessed the world with an ensemble seemingly fashioned by the gods. Bob Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr. as the Skipper, Russell Johnson as the Professor, Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III, Natalie Schafer as Eunice Howell, Dawn Wells as Mary Ann, and Tina Louise as Ginger. They are immortalized in the theme song, and ironclad comedic types thanks to the reinforcement of syndication. "Gilligan's Island" was always meant to be, and we must consider ourselves fortunate that we lived to behold its goofball majesty.

So prepare to be shocked. When the "Gilligan's Island" pilot went before cameras, Sherwood Schwartz hadn't yet fully communed with the comedy gods. In terms of the castaways, he had five out of seven figured out. Where he'd yet to strike gold was with the young female characters. Schwartz had a very different notion of how to give the show the...

When Matt LeBlanc showed up to the premiere of a Brad Pitt flick that tanked to the tune of $500K, his reason was hilariously, well, Joey-like. When asked why he was there, LeBlanc shrugged and delivered an answer that could’ve come straight from his Friends alter ego: “Free food, man!”

Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani in Friends | Credits: Warner Bros

Only LeBlanc could pull off a moment this casually on-brand, showing us that Joey’s spirit is alive and well. With a simple, “Why not?” attitude, he reminded everyone that sometimes, it’s about the perks—not the prestige. Classic Joey move, right?

Matt LeBlanc’s ‘Free Ticket’ Response at Johnny Suede Premiere Is Peak Joey Tribbiani Brad Pitt | Image by Maggie (maggiejumps), licenced under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

“I get to see it for free.” That’s how Friends star Matt LeBlanc explained why he showed...

The classic 1960s sitcom "Gilligan's Island" follows a handful of very different individuals who all become marooned together when their ship, the Minnow, runs aground on a deserted island. The series ran for three seasons and was moderately popular during its initial run, only to become even more popular in time through syndication. Unfortunately for some of the stars of the series, filming "Gilligan's Island" itself was kind of like being on that island, as the actors were in constant close contact with one another and there were some seriously conflicting personalities. 

Actor Russell Johnson, who had the incredibly important role as the Professor, frequently the voice of reason on the island, unfortunately, came to regret playing the character or starring on "Gilligan's Island" in the first place. He, unfortunately, became typecast due to the show's popularity, which derailed his career a bit in his eyes, but according to some...

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The stereotype of the actor-as-diva gets overplayed. Most actors are total professionals who occasionally fall prey to a bout of bad humor or a feeling of being unappreciated – i.e. they're just like everyone else on this planet. For the most part, they want to do what they've been hired to do: memorize their lines, study their character (insofar as there's a character to study), hit their marks, basically be the best of themselves they can be, and call it a day. They'd prefer not to be miserable, so that means they're not out to make anyone else's life miserable.

That stereotype, however, didn't just appear out of nowhere. It's not a whole-cloth invention. No. I'm here to tell you that monsters are real. Marlon Brando really did refuse to memorize his lines at a certain point in his career,...

For many years, fans of "Gilligan's Island" heard the rumors that actress Tina Louise, who played the glamorous movie star Ginger on the series, openly hated the show. These rumors were founded mostly on the fact that Louise, after "Gilligan's Island" went off the air in 1967, refused to reunite with her old co-stars for any of the follow-up TV movies or animated spinoffs. Everyone else returned for those projects, but Louise stayed far away. 

Additionally, stories from the set detailed a strained working relationship between Louise and star Bob Denver. Some might know the story about how Louise signed a contract allowing her to be listed last in the credits, forcing the writers of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song to refer to the Professor and Mary Ann as "and the rest!" It wouldn't be until Bob Denver pulled rank and theatened to put his own starring credit last that Louise...

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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,...

When it comes to classic sitcoms, few shows have had the staying power of CBSs Gilligans Island. Having survived cancellation and avoided being rebooted, the tale of the S.S. Minow and its iconic castaways continues to delight long-time fans while gaining new ones. The shows success can, in no small way, be attributed to its wonderful cast. From Gilligan himself (Bob Denver) to the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) and Ginger (Tina Louise), the ensemble remains one of TVs best. However, one member didnt always share the same love for the show. Despite being one of the series most popular players, Tina Louises relationship with the beloved Ginger was complex.

Actors don't get to choose how they break out. Obviously, given the dearth of opportunities, they're lucky to call themselves "working actors" in the first place. And when you're just starting out, the last thing you should do is refuse work -- unless there's something better and fully guaranteed on the horizon.

Consider the case of Tina Louise. Born in 1934, the beautiful young woman had a multitude of fashion modeling offers in the 1950s, but what she really wanted to do was act. Louise studied under the influential acting teacher Sanford Meisner in Manhattan, and she began booking Broadway gigs in 1952 starting with a role in the Bette Davis-led revue "Two's Company." She co-starred in the hit 1956 musical adaptation of "Li'l Abner" as Appassionata Von Climax, and made a splashy film debut in Anthony Mann's comedy "God's Little Acre." The latter earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer,...

In the first season of Sherwood Schwartz's "Gilligan's Island," the opening theme song infamously left out character descriptors for Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson. It listed Gilligan, the Skipper too, the millionaire and his wife, the Movie Star, but then merely described Wells and Johnson as "And the rest." This was certainly unfair, as all seven members of the show's ensemble were equally important, each one bringing something valuable to the overall character dynamic. 

As many "Gilligan's" fans know, the reason Wells and Johnson weren't described was because of a stipulation in co-star Tina Louise's contract. Louise, who played Ginger the Movie Star, required that she be named last on any opening credits roll. Title star Bob Denver, however, felt that Wells and Johnson deserved more, and pulled rank on Louise. It seemed that he, too, had a contract stipulation allowing him to be listed in the credits wherever he wanted.

In the realm of television, shooting a pilot is by no means a guarantee of going to series. The broadcast landscape is littered with failed one-and-done ventures like "Heat Vision and Jack," "Lookwell" and the "Beverly Hills Cop" series starring Brandon T. Jackson. If network executives don't like the way a promising concept plays once its up on its feet and before a camera, they'll nix it without a second thought. So it's important for show creators to put their best foot forward with that pilot, lest they join those aforementioned shows and hundreds of others on the scrap heap.

Amazingly, some shows can slap together a disastrous pilot and still make it to series. "Game of Thrones" famously stumbled out of the gate (forcing the producers to recast Daenerys Targaryen). Meanwhile, on the other end of the tonal spectrum, "Gilligan's Island" encountered choppy waters on its way to smooth...

There are some sitcoms that simply don't work if you're down so much as a single cast member. Could you imagine an episode of "Cheers" without Sam, Carla, Cliff and Norm? The series' producers and writers couldn't, which is why they never missed an episode. The same was true on a much larger scale for "The Brady Bunch," where every single member of the family (and their live-in housekeeper Alice) reported for duty on all 117 episodes.

This kind of consistency was evidently key to a successful Sherwood Schwartz sitcom. The writer/producer who created "The Brady Bunch" was also the mastermind behind "Gilligan's Island," the CBS joker about seven castaways who wash up on the shore of an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The key to the show's success was its shamelessness: from the pilot to the series finale (which arrived a little sooner than expected thanks to...

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The writers of "Gilligan's Island" were typically careful to retain storytelling clarity by pairing two of seven stranded castaways for their stories. Most typically, the bumbling Gilligan (Bob Denver) was paired with the short-tempered Skipper and their explosive relationship would unfold naturally. Mr. and Mrs. Howell (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer) tended to move as a unit, and many felt that there was romantic chemistry between Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) and the Professor (Russell Johnson). Mary Ann was also often paired with Ginger (Tina Louise) as they were the only two unmarried women on the island and they bunked together.

Seen less often was the pairing of Mary Ann and Gilligan, which is a bit of a head-scratcher. Gilligan was the slapstick buffoon, while Mary Ann was the optimistic farm girl, both possessed of a disarming friendliness and an appealing naïveté.