Surviving Gilligan's Island Documentary 2001

[Music] there are times and places in all our lives events that forever alter the path routine for me that was one particular television series Gilligan's I've that's me dawn wells it's been almost 40 years since the series began 40 years some kids who watch the fact and are still watching but with their grandchildren that yeah I [Music] mean a series has never been off the air since well I think it went off if I can help you over then oh thanks very much I'm gonna need a stepladder to get to this overhead apartments it's no problem at all it's the least I can do for Marianne thanks very much welcome aboard miss Feld thank you would you like something to drink before we take off oh not just yet how long is the flight scheduled today we're scheduled to arrive at about 7:00 this evening in about three hours a three-hour tour just sit right back can you hear a redtail I grew up on that show the tale of a fateful trip that started from this driving I'm not making this up it's actually twice Gilligan's Island touched so many people's lives in the most unexpected ways we actually became part of a national consciousness and welcome to all of you as well one Daily Double awaits you in one of these categories the skipper next we have the millionaire Oh his wife the movie star and the rest are ESD in quotation marks we know what that means and finally right here on Gilligan's Island it's amazing isn't it it was just a silly little situation comedy at least that's what we thought at the time you have to identify the skipper Ashley go first the movie star for 200 Pastor Bob we're losing it we need more juice more juice this is all the juice I got wonderful thing aerobics yeah you know for better or worse the professor changed my life and to think I didn't want anything to do with that role at first me I wanted to do the pilot I just finished the long run on Dobie Gillis playing Maynard G Krebs Mork a true beatnik with rhythm like bongos man so I don't think I was exactly the first choice for Gilligan I heard they were looking at jury van Dijk that's right they sent me the script but I wasn't that crazy about it all right I thought it was awful it's the worst script I've ever read in my life I was looking for a hit and this year wasn't it psyched my agent had me lined up for a surefire hit series called my mother the car guaranteed to last forever I've had longer showers our show has played more often and in more places than any other television series in history and that includes I Love Lucy we are playing daily all over the world and in 30 languages no one would have guessed that in the beginning including the network absolutely the worst idea I've ever heard no question the worst seven people on an island week after week how many stories could you get out of that two three who'd ever watched something like that I'll tell you who'd watch it nobody that's who I disagree respectfully look I've been doing comedy now if you know your background skelton hope the Emmy and all you're a funny guy but but when it comes right down to it you're just a writer we're the network you have to trust we know what we're talking about Sherwood Sherwood Schwartz was the creator and producer of the show the same guy that came up with a Brady Bunch a few years later a huge talent you think the network would listen to him they had just gotten a taste of power there's a story there it has something to do with that little boat we set sail on you remember the name of it uh-huh the SS Minnow most of you probably assume that the minnow referred to a small fish actually it was a private joke on Sherwood Schwartz his part back in the early 60s many of the most popular television shows were designed only to entertain [Music] [Music] what do you want people to see Americans as Newton Minow was the FCC Chairman at the time and the irony is he didn't even like television when television is bad nothing is worse I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off I can assure you you will observe a vast wasteland a vast wasteland ouch his solution was to have the network's take more control of what they put on the air and they did so what you're saying is you know comedy look at our track record we just don't understand what this is they understood Gomer Pyle and they understood the Beverly Hillbillies but this concept escaped them don't get us wrong we like the boat the whole cruise business idea it's different fresh good great and let's go ahead but but what if every week it's another trip of different passengers of guest stars actually they might have been onto something but The Love Boat was still years away that's not my series you see these people have to be stranded so they're forced to become a family depend on one another what I had in mind was to create a social microcosm a what a social microcosm seven castaways representing different parts of society today the hard-working middle-class kind of guy the the millionaire the intellectual intellectual see see that concerns us Europe Europe aiming too high sure would if we wanted Plato we would have hired Plato you could try but trust me you couldn't afford them sorry not our kind of show but try us again [Music] okay so if the criticism was that there weren't enough possible plots he'd prove them wrong Sherwood came up with dozens more than a season's worth to make sure they knew it was a comedy he had to find the right title I mean would you have watched it if it was called Mortimer's Island or you know Ichabod's Island well it could have been considering where he found the name Abernathy no Dunn derson not funny eventually he got to the Gees huh Gilligan Gilligan Gilligan's Island well it certainly sounds funny that's because it is end up here a few plots just to get the ball rolling 31 feet of them yeah it's very impressive I sure would that these are all story lines you develop a that's right and you've got 31 you know actually this could be another big hit like Dobie Gillis do bye-bye dear Island base with the answers for every question they had the network agreed to make a pilot episode they gave it what's called a green light I wasn't on the first cruise that original episode and it was gone and neither was Tina Louise well there wasn't even a character named Marianne at first it was somebody named bunny Bob on the other hand was the first and only Gilligan it was pure entertainment pure silly fun the kind of thing I love to do mm-hmm and Sherwood and I found common ground right from the start that's me with the book okay it's an actor playing me but don't you get the idea Robinson Crusoe my favorite story growing up so is this where the idea came from who knows where ideas come from they just suddenly appear the trick is spotting them when they show up at your door can I do physical comedy in the show I'm sure I'm counting on it I mean real slapstick pratfalls double takes I've never had the chance to do all that so other than Lucy there's really nothing on TV like it these days besides we need more clouds here I'll tell you what take this read it and let me know what you think [Music] what can I say I've always had a strange sense of humor [Music] Sherwood had already thought of jim backus and natalie schafer and nancy mccarthy played the part of the secretary bunny John Gabriel had the role of the high school teacher I heard that Jayne Mansfield turned down the part of ginger hmm but kid Smyth soon landed that role the trick was finding the right skipper you see the problem is the audience has got to love the guy even though it keeps blowing up at Gilligan hitting him with his hat all the time like Abbott was always beating up on Costello like Hardy was with Laurel you see the skipper's got to be big he's got to be lovable mm-hmm well what about that Carroll O'Connor gave a good reading terrific actor but just not quite right Carroll O'Connor later got to do his blowing up his Archie Bunker and all in the family he was a great Archie but can you imagine him playing the skipper neither can I without the skipper you've got no show all I'm saying is we need somebody like is the only movie I've done this year all right look things don't pick up soon I'm changing careers maybe real estate I'm serious you guys drink it here hey last time it was like this I sold vacuum cleaners I was pretty good at it too huh should be a piece of cake sure would had a hunch that Alan Hale was the guy but the network's insisted on a screen test the problem was Alan was doing a Western on location in Utah and the producers would not let him leave [Music] hey listen I'll be back tonight before anybody even knows I'm gone on the day of the test he and a friend borrowed some horses and rolled off to the nearest main road the hitch to ride to Vegas caught a plane to Los Angeles and took a cab to the studio we went through four states to get to that screen just that anyone up for a screen test today Ellen I'm glad you could make I hope it was no trouble no not at all hey I love the script by the way classic nobody's doing this kind of comedy anymore it's about time I say I like your attitude you like my attitude I like your show hey and as we're playing the skipper of a cruise ship I'm a Pisces a waterside it's faith I hope you're right you'll be doing this scene today and you'll be reading with Bob Denver a Bob Alan Hale jr. we're looking for that elusive thing called chemist Cooper there was no question he was the skipper and before we knew it we were on our way to location o ye to get the right look this was going to be an expensive shoot [Music] I can't wait to read the script Oh Jim you haven't read it yet it's good enough for sure what it's good enough for me you might want to take a look I mean it's just dreadful it's a comedy yeah it's broad but it's fun matter of opinion I suppose it may not be Shakespeare it certainly isn't and I played Shakespeare come on mache fur if you didn't like the script then why'd you sign on well it's a free trip to Hawaii and I know I'll never have to move from my home in New York because there isn't a chance that this is going to be a series so I'm here for vacation lovely attitude Natalie you'll agree as soon as you read the pages she had a point I suppose but it takes a little while for a cast to become a family that was the point of the whole series too so with some division in the ranks we went to work filming the network hired writers to add four minutes of material to the script and Sherwood was hard at work trying to make those new scenes fit into his concept and the rest of us we all just did the best we could good lord you were right in my part the wine list of the hotel is longer next time maybe you'll listen to me yeah still yeah I mean it's a check we'll get Sherwood to fix it up but he doesn't do we'll do ourselves we'll fix it hello jobs that live a little I don't know how to ad-lib Oh better for me what oh nothing nothing to worry about how teach you you'll be out doing me in no time the whole world a joke being funny is the most important thing in the world to me no without laughter it's nothing all right what do you use those things to look at various I use them to see you know they're good for the character you should leave them in love you ginger grant somehow we got through it right down to the last couple of days the castaways that salvage their radio and found that the search for them had done it all you mean we're stuck here forever this is no time to panic Gilligan it's not forever it's just we can figure away off going to that but it was another real one that brought the production to a halt the United States John we have word that the Vice President Lyndon Johnson is being sworn in at this time [Music] no question we all remember where we were when we heard the news [Music] we finished shooting as best we could but no one was in a comic mood flying home [Music] [Music] well it's rough of course but it gives you the idea doesn't it uh-huh yeah it was rejected not once but three times but sure would never took no for an answer and that ending was just the beginning [Music] sure would wouldn't give up with only two weeks to go before the fall schedule was announced he called in some favors he got the original film's footage back began to read it his way without the scenes the network added we cut out the opening you're gonna be short and nobody's gonna know those people got on the island oh they don't know I've already figured a way to handle that Sherwood wanted an opening sequence that told the audience every week what the setup was and he realized the way to do that was with a song so he called on George while a friend and composer okay let's try it again George with a new lyrics right just sit right back and you'll hear a tale that's better that's better but where does it go from there just sit right back and you'll hear a tale I'd say you love a beat trip that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship the maid was a mighty sailing man a skipper brave and sure five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour a three hour tour armed with this re-edited version of the pilot complete with new title sequence and song he had the courage to take Gilligan's Island back to the network come in come in nice to see you have you been oh you're only making it worse Gilligan how could it be worse oh I see Gilligan they still didn't get it but they figured they might as well do a test screening well the test audience loved it the network was puzzled they figured there had to be a mistake okay so they had another group in it was the highest testing pilot of the season we don't understand it sure would but the audience seems to we're sure it won't last past the first thirteen but the bottom line is you've got a series great if if we need to do some recasting ginger Bunny and the high school teacher they didn't score well with the audience but if you can find us the right new actors then you've got a show congratulations thank you thank you very much [Music] about this time natalie schafer was in Puerto Vallarta with some friend Oh it'll do you good to get out of New York for a while you need the rest oh I know it but I just have this terrible feeling leaving my mother this way she hasn't been feeling well okay think about it you are just a few hours away by plane she'll be fine Oh No is that for me now Natalie come on it could be good news telegram is never good news and you know it oh no no no no oh is it your mother don't worry because we will get you back [Music] here's where I came in they had to recast ginger the professor and Mary Ann formally bunny I'm sure glad they changed that name [Music] so there I was me three hundred other girls hoping to get one of the two open rules one of them believe it or not was for Kell Welch and she wasn't up for ginger she was up for Marianne my part [Music] you were Miss Nevada I see in the Miss America pageant yes and a dancer well I always wanted to be a ballerina I trained for it I bet I have this trick knee Oh trick knee so you fell back on acting literally that's right yeah that's funny I like that you can happen my gift it's actually very impressive list of credentials for only having been Harry here you've got Burke's law wagon train and it says here that you played a treasurer no I was a treasurer of my student body in school and a member of the debate team I majored in chemistry at Stephens College I was going to go into medicine but then I discovered the drama club so I went to the University of Washington so that I could that's really more than you needed to know isn't it you just might be too smart for this role well no I'm not I mean I can play not so smart not so smart I talk too much and too fast it could work for us I like it well II didn't like it quite so much later Bob and I talked so fast the show kept coming in short I didn't even want to audition at first I was working in films I mean let them hire Dabney Coleman a wonderful actor he auditioned for the professor too but this part of this one of seven just wasn't for me but my agent finally convinced me to at least read for it what could that hurt I figured this island earth attack of the crab monsters it came from outer space yeah I did a few science fiction pictures and some westerns yeah I caught you in the one with Ronald Reagan you were very good thanks look I don't want to waste your time I'm really only here because my entry Hitchcock Ben Casey Gunsmoke a couple of Twilight zones you know I caught those you were amazing Russell quite a talent yeah and exactly the look for the professor handsome strong well thanks again how about reading a scene for us sure mr. Schwartz I've been waiting to get a series of my own but there are some people you just can't say no to and he was one of them my original conclusion was correct the network wanted me to take my shirt off for them before they'd approve me and we settled on a photo and you thought they wanted me from my mind oh this certainly brings back old memories so now they had Mary Ann and the professor now they had a fine ginger movie star Tina Louise was co-starring in a Broadway musical at the time it's from Hollywood's the island thing and it's everything we asked for somebody out there definitely wants you it is still a TV show you can always come back to the theater and movies there's plenty of time for that listen to your agent Tina this is the kind of thing that can make you a household name your own series I'm definitely the star it's about an actress who gets stranded in the middle of the Pacific with I don't know some other people nobody important you play the actress sexy glamorous here I'm starring on Broadway with Carol Burnett the difference is that in this show everybody else is starring with you my own series mm-hmm I'd like to have heard the conversation she had with her agent after she read the script but I remember the first day around the table at CBS ginger grant is barely in the script at all and she doesn't give any of the laughs Sherwood well they keep in mind there are seven of you on the island yes but I was told this was my island my show on this daughter you're the star of Gilligan's Island Tina he's Gilligan didn't you find that odd dear might that have been a clue I have to come I don't know she might make a better Gilligan and you would make a lovely ginger bond no the right way right dress I think Tina regretted taking the show but to give her credit she was a total pro the perfect ginger and we all got on with the job at hand if I'm going to be just another castaway I'm going to make sure all eyes are on me can't we lower these necklines a little more you can try sweetheart but it'll never get past network censors they want glamour this is glamour maybe so but I don't think televisions ready for those yet oh you look great Tina Oh lose the bangs huh excuse me ginger where's bangs find something else it's not like anyone would really ever confuse the two of us just lose him okay thanks what is she talking about that won't do that outfit barbara eden will have the same problem when I Dream of Jeannie what problem is that the navel no one on television has one oh you've got to be kidding oh she's not it was a big deal way back then believe it or not excuse me I don't mean to be interrupting but I just can't stand there and watch this know navel no now you can deal with it besides she'll make you appear little cover it ah Tina was right about the hair oh but this is the way I've always worn it oh you don't have to tell me you took quite a while to figure out that look way back then this is a two-hour movie the week and I got coconut pie in the other let's cut to the chase [Music] you're sure trust me it's gonna grow on you the guys didn't have the same problems hair navels not even what to wear [Music] must've been a sale to Marina so what'll it be today [Music] blue shirt Lucia we were finally a group the seven of us and we all gathered for our first official publicity shots we took some of them around the lake in the Hollywood Hills and if you look closely at those photos you can see the pine trees in the background not exactly a typical tropical island the California beaches were too foggy and too unreliable for shooting so CBS built a silicone on the back lot a half a mile from the freeway Oh did you know it was only four feet deep and in the winter it was freezing oh poor Bob poor Bob is right because it was usually Gilligan who ended up doing the water gags [Music] there wasn't always as fun as it looked I think I spent more time underwater than flipper okay Bob Alan we need you both in the water what are you doing this tip is from the prop car I think they want us to know how cold it really is I'm Bob it's California how cold could it be it's 42 degrees it's not that cold for a penguin maybe or for you you got a couple inches of insulation remember guys in the lagoon please yeah I tried wearing a wet suit under my clothes once but even that didn't help and in the summer that Lagoon got so funky that one day when we put a fish in it just to see what this time I don't blame you no it's okay I'm going in you're joking right after one of those Network big shots goes for a swim [Music] do I need to tell you how quickly that water got changed anything for our star Hollywood I was like a kid around all of this I've done several roles on television by then but I was still just a girl from Reno and I guess from time to time it showed like after the first episode aired variety says judging from the opening episode there was some difficulty in seeing how to make this one joke go as far as one episode listen to this one from the LA Tribune Gilligan's Island is not the worst show of this television season it's the worst show of any television season it is difficult for me to believe that Gilligan's Island was written directed and filmed by adults hey dawn you okay are you the reviews are awful but the ratings are great didn't you see them these are good haven't you ever seen ratings before no well trust me everybody hated us but the audience there's just so much to learn about this business you'll figure it out in no time I did and you know how I started I played a nervous officer in a college play but the nerves were real I was terrified the more I shook the more they laughed and I was hooked my first TV show Dobie Gillis that was your first right place at the right time I'm almost as new to all this as you are Bob dawn we've been picked up for 23 more episodes this season the network loves us you kidding they hate us they don't understand us they think we're a fluke but they can't deny that we're a hit [Music] improbable as it seemed we were a hit but that doesn't make it any easier behind the scenes the network still didn't understand us and kept trying to fix the show well you won't believe this one Bob they think Gilligan should have a pet a dinosaur a dinosaur where would I get a dinosaur I don't know I guess it's been living on the other side of the island or something are they kidding couldnt get us on the same two-shot look you got to talk a lot of it trust me they'll talk themselves out of it when they see what it would cost I just got the figures huh it would have cost them $75,000 a minute bye-bye dinosaur but no question sure would still had his hands full we're waiting Tina the cast the crew if ginger grant is a movie star and I'm playing her then shouldn't her makeup be perfect is that a shadow and did you get my new eyelashes the mink one's mink mink eyelashes it's not for me Sherwood it's for the show I just wanna look my best doesn't everybody okay here's how it'll go Tina ginger runs in from camera laps we all know the natives are out there no one else has any idea until Tina tells him the headhunters are coming - headhunters are coming so she's sort of all Paula Revere maybe we should stick up today Jim honestly he should have told him that ten episodes ago hey comedy is a serious business I mean without look I can't do what you're asking it's not my good side I need to enter from camera right Tina everything set up the lights the cameras gonna take us a week to relight I mean come please come on we've talked about this I only want my left side on screen look just please do it this way I promise you look great run it once for me please please thank you and action everybody happy shoot it I thought it was good nice work fellas we all had our idiosyncrasies Natali Schafer's contract specified no close-ups ever but once we got into the series she never paid much attention to it she didn't have this thing about her age though until the day she died no one knew how old she was not even me please even my doctor doesn't know you're near doctor before I should eat if he asks I tell him to refer to the choice for my last visit by the time he realizes that I hadn't told him then either I'm gone it's actually pretty well people talk too much about age these days when you go in for a part it's always is she 20 never is she good I was married once - Lewis Calhoun wonderful Oh wonderful husband but even he didn't know my real age no on his deathbed his last wish was that I would tell him how old I was I said never quite frankly too many people are just too nosy these days there's no one's business so you have a husband or you dawn yes Oh lovely it's the sex God oh don't pay any attention to me I can be something of a [ __ ] she became my mentor and I guess I became the daughter she never had just as sure would one of the castaways to do we were becoming a family sometimes a bit dysfunctional maybe but a family we actually had a lot of fun there was the day Tina had to shoot a shower scene hi boy and since the bamboo door would hide her from the shoulders down she announced she'd be shooting the scene news not a single cumin called in sick that day okay so you know take the place we'll get to shine hey guys why please [Music] and action [Music] [Music] tene outsmarted in that time when Jim and Alan realized they both love golf they became inseparable not bad for a duffer so I suppose you could do better all on my worst day I hear your hair let me show you how pro does it huh he'll talk is cheap and so is his club Bacchus I got 20 bucks says I can drive a ball farther than you with that quota what are you challenging me to a duel today at lunch even better I'll be awake for it yeah all right we're gonna need a referee Natalie would you do the honors Oh Alan I don't know anything about sports just heat it through the goalposts and be done with it you heard the lady batter up I'd be happy to it's only $20 just relax swing easy oh very nice beat that well in here I thought it might at least be a challenge yeah I think the winner is Claire house nice if you did minute I clearly I drove it out drove me what are you blind man yeah I think those years of playing Magoo have gotten to you Bacchus hey you hey Bob this be gentle and tell the man they look the same to me who can really tell from here look we're missing our lunch break there's a simple way to decide this just go track down your golf balls way over there it's a long hike hey I know why don't you just admit that I wanna Magnus I would if I did but you didn't just hand me my 20 bucks do the guys hitting golf balls well these aren't baseball bats what he asked somebody drove a ball through a car windshield in the parking lot that far he all drove me by a mine she so things were going along pretty well even Tina was happier on the set she was engaged at the time to less crane June thanks he was a talk-show host actually one of the pioneers of that kind of thing night boys he's small tonight there I nod thank you that's your boyfriend he's as beautiful as she is no wonder they're getting married but if they have a divorce we'll get custody of the mirror Natalie well you usually gone by now late date tonight a date oh dear you know I don't date anymore not romantically returned almost every night with one answer man or another but they're mostly all gay just good company that's all I need for now don't tell me you've given up on love after all the men you've known you're infamous I've had my day that's true but my romantic nights they're all in the past why would you give something like that up well that's a private matter shouldn't you be off to dinner yourself I was just gonna grab a hot dog a hot dog I think good I don't believe I've ever had one [Music] well my dear it's the best meal I've ever had at least tasted so far I think I'm wearing far more than I eaten people because of our eating because I think they recognize us mrs. Howell and Mary Ann out on the town I didn't get this much attention from all the movies I'd be mean but you've had a wonderful career but in this town you're only as good as the last thing you've done memories are sure really after all the great parts you play I had this meeting once some network boy who had just recently graduated two long fans I was up for some role and he wanted to meet me fine so he looked at my picture and said tell me miss Schaefer what have you done well I looked at him said you first did he tell you oh yes oh they love to talk about this school they went to in that job they had and this officer in oh he went on and on and I nodded politely and when he finished I said thank you and I left it's not like the old days excuse me ice cream my favorite but we didn't order these they're on me please I have such a big fan I've seen everything you've ever done everything oh my where's your husband tonight my husband well he's dead Jim Backus is dead oh no not Jim my husband we're not married dear it's pretend Thank You people honestly believe that Jim and Natalie were a couple on and off the screen Jim's wife Hannah always referred to Natalie as Jim's otherwise but that is not the strangest story the first year were wrong some people got so caught up in this show that they apparently thought we were all real people trapped in a real Island look at these mr. Schwartz does the telegrams and letters we're getting at military bases all around the Pacific with all the money we spent on foreign aid can we not spare one u.s. ship to rescue those poor souls before they starve to death they're serious about this they're all the same they're all worried about these castaways of yours don't these people wonder about the credits and how about the laugh track and how many castaways have their own theme song with Gilligan [Music] and stop please rewind that just the last part for the first season Russell Johnson and I were literally the rest oh we had our pictures up there true but no real billing I found out later how all that changed the credits what's wrong with him Don and Russell are just as much a part of the show as the rest of us they should get equal billing it's what's in their contracts it would cost too much to change it now well in my contract I get to pick my billing right and just put me at the end with Don and Russell make me part of the rest too but you're the star we need you at the top only one way to make sure it stays that way the professor and Mary yet music to my ears you know I often wondered who got the most fan mail it was Gilligan right no question who got the most fan mail Mary Ann hands down this is just unreal you wouldn't believe the date this guy has planned for himself and ginger hmm I may save this one you get all the mash notes I get the kids their parents and Tony marriage proposals why not only want dates Mary Ann is safe the girl next door or someone you could bring home to mother while ginger is well ginger yeah we definitely get different fans for years men have engaged in the Mary Ann ginger debate ginger ginger Mary Ann Mary Ann still in my heart I'd say Mary Ann ginger Mary Ann Mary Ann Mary Ann ginger man ginger Oh Mary Ann hands down ginger Mary Ann definitely Mary Ann both Mary Ann ginger definitely ginger Mary Ann Mary Ann now most polls taken tend to favor Mary Ann but it was pretty clear who the magazine's were after they wanted Gilligan and ginger nobody else I had a problem with that I won't do it mr. Denvir this is a cover for TV Guide this could make your show a hit you should read your own magazine we're already a hit but you have a problem posing with Tina Louise yes I mean no I mean I'm working with Tina and Don wells everything I just think it should be the three of us so that's your bottom line three of you or or no photos and that's how we'll shoot it can we do this please be right there perfect Oh beautiful beautiful now if we can just get you in next to Bob nice and cozy hmm and what do you want me anywhere's fine whatever is comfortable if we could just lose the hands oh okay don't I need more makeup you'd have me take so much off oh you're fine kid you're Mary Ann sweet and natural they're all yours okay smile please very nice did you see the cover yet Lucy my first cover I'm sorry Don if I had any idea what they were doing this is all that's left of me corner of my ponytail they lied to us they used what they thought could sell magazines doesn't this make you mad well of course but you have to be careful how you react in public Bob look you're a family for the audience and they love the 7 of you so if you didn't get mad at one another you have to get mad with love it's a nice sentiment Sherwood but easier said than done did you read this interview with Tina what she said some of it I'd heard what a series is like but I really didn't know how it would be I found that I couldn't use my work at all in the show it was quite a shock what exactly do you mean acting is acting isn't it television is different in this medium you perform everyone performs there's no such thing as a real moment an honest reaction because the show is like a cartoon you're being a little hard on your hit series aren't you all I can say is this not acting not the way I studied it anyway I wouldn't watch it if I wasn't on it lucky for us a lot of people were watching and still are why did all the wardrobe come from I mean it was only a three-hour tour what sort of question is that why the Howells pack a dozen bags for an afternoon picnic at new form yeah we like to be prepared for any eventuality yeah and movie stars well it's not who you are it's how you dress so I never go anywhere without a couple of gowns but only the essentials of course I won this trip so I just had what I brought with me from Kansas my short shorts mugging him dressed fake Pisan and a few other outfits how come the professor can make anything out of bamboo and coconuts but he couldn't fix a hole in the boat I never thought of that did you Maryann what kind of professor are you anyway if you were trapped on a deserted island with ginger and Mary Ann would you want to fix the boat well when you put it that way you know the man has a point oh good answer professor professor speaking of answers I found at Gilligan's Island trivia is a big thing wherever I go the professor's real name for example professor Throckmorton professor Russell no that's his real name isn't it Russell Johnson Sean Steve Walter smiley Burnette it was Roy Hinkley and the skipper was skipper how Roy I don't write Aeryn not a clue skipper Adam Bruce don't know Jonas crumby but who knows what Gilligan's first name was Gilligan Gilligan I have not the foggiest notion he was just Gilligan I don't remember him having a first name buddy my little buddy I thought Gilligan was his first name his first name is Willy sure what's right he said if it ever came up Gilligan's first name would be Willy Bob Denver thinks his first name was Gilligan I say it's Willy and we argue about that to this day Willy Gilligan who knew [Music] Allen was probably the most excited about all the attention the series coffee he loved this part so much that he wore his cap everywhere even long after the show was canceled his wife trinket says that he even called her his little buddy who are all thrilled to be recognized well most of us excuse me I'm really sorry to interrupt but aren't you ginger no I'm Tina I mean from Gilligan's Island no I'm from New York oh I'm so sorry I I thought you were somebody else I'm not when my contract is up I am out of there and I hope I never hear the name ginger again for as long as I live now we can eat myself I was happy to be the professor although the speeches were a mouthful sometimes with all that scientific jargon what's this contraption professor some kind of Modern Art Oh careful gilding don't touch that it's very delicately tuned tuned or is it some kind of instrument then on a way it's a weather machine it's a device to warn us of another monsoon is approaching well it won't be caught unprepared excellent right last time skipper made me sleep outside for snoring and almost drown professor how does it work well it's quite simple actually you see these pommes Lee's are stretched as since my new changes in barometric pressure and these shells rotate in response to the smallest deviation in wind fields and convection currents it's just everyday meteorological principles brilliant so if it rains we'll know Gilligan look what you've done how are we gonna know now if it rains maybe when we're getting wet the speeches weren't hard to memorize the real trick was looking it all up in the encyclopedia so I knew what the heck I was saying Jim Backus had his odd run-ins as well he told us all about her time in Rome when he and his wife Henning were staying at a fancy hotel [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hello ciao better minute gun no oh did you you want an autograph no it's not what I want it's what you want Senor our oh you're Italian si uh Oh No thank you but I'm not in the market 100 American dollars and all of this could be yours well you see I only have five dollars Cinque Cinque yeah well I was hoping you think so yeah America's nothing again [Music] to you my love thank you so where we going tomorrow we're gonna go throw some coins into the fountain of Trevi you see what you get for $5 who was that Jim what is so funny but the award for the artist fan experience goes to dawn wells I was once visiting the Solomon Islands were miles from anywhere heading for an island with no running water or electricity no modern civilization as we know it I was the first non-native woman allowed to set foot on the island of Ceuta they were met by the family of the chief it's very pleasant to this strangeness but then his wife came out to see what was going on [Music] [Music] as it turned out she was studying nursing on the island of Honiara and used to come home after school and watch me there really is no escaping it is there as for Bob Denver well he enjoyed the attention to a point bob has always been basically a shy person and when the cameras weren't rolling well he could be very quiet and very introspective hey Don kind of early for you isn't it you know me always first call him the makeup room it's a good thing I'm a morning person what are you doing here at this hour look tired hmm my kids and I built a spider farm less and I couldn't go to bed till we named all the spiders how are they the kids not the spiders but great I love him so much we had the best time and I was Maggie she's fine I think you think we divorced last week oh I'm so sorry it's a surprise things weren't going so well but it'll be okay you never said a word yeah I didn't want to bring it to work with me you men what men you Alan he broke his wrist falling from that palm tree and didn't tell any of us didn't see a doctor for three weeks because he didn't want to hold up production don't see your point I didn't think you would my point is I love you guys I just want you to be happy I wasn't now maybe I can be got some rest we can talk later if you want we all had things we kept to ourselves in fact as close as we were there was something I didn't find out about natalie schafer until years later she had plans to go to dinner with a friend and his sister one night you you two go on I I'm really not up for going out oh but it'll be fun dear all the right people will be there oh come anyway slip into something festive and join us I don't think so you you go on she's having an operation tomorrow and she doesn't know if she can go through with it what sort of operation mastectomy she has no idea what to expect I guess we're both a little on edge would you mind if I try talking to her I don't know what you might say to her but maybe I can think of something your brother just told me I'm so sorry I appreciate it Natalie I do just wish I didn't feel so all alone in this you're not you know and you must have this operation it could save your life but what kind of life can I have after how could I look in the mirror you could have whatever life you want to make of it think of all the other women who've gone through such a thing and this surgery has advanced so much in the last few years back in my day in the dark ages used to be so radical a thing they cut so deep there were women so scarred that they could never feel comfortable romantically again and they pulled deep inside themselves stop living for fear that another man might discover the truth about them but they survived and they went on and they could get through that you have nothing to fear I know what you're trying to do Natalie but what could you know about something like this [Music] [Music] she saved my life that night [Music] hey hey listen up folks listen up I just want to say that it's been a terrific three seasons but where do you see the scripts I got lined up for you next year they have a great hiatus everybody hey one want to grab a pizza before we run off I'd love to element I have plans oh me too skipper ah let's do it when we start up again and it'll be my treat next pad will be the day you still owe me a whole years worth of lunches that I picked up for you Oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] hello dawn its Sherwood I just got off the phone with the network they've changed their mind about a fourth season you've been canceled but but they promised well they took it back does Bob know I'm calling everyone hello Bob it's dawn you heard I can't believe it we've won every time slot they put us in we even beat the Monkees and they dropped her so they could put Gunsmoke back on the air something but the head of the network his wife's favorite show can I call you back I need to see if Alan's okay hello Alan its Bob you okay oh you can't do this to us can tonight why do they can or not it looks like they did didn't even get a chance to say goodbye [Music] shows get cancelled these things happen when our boss wants Gunsmoke we want Gunsmoke but even cancellation wasn't the end of Gilligan's Island we had no idea that phenomenon Gilligan's Anna would become we all signed contracts that paid us for a few reruns but then nothing after the cancellation we all tried to find work but many of us were so typecast well jobs were just hard to find some of us went to extremes to recreate ourselves I played a sadistic killer lesbian in a stage piece not many laughs but actually it was thrilling Bob Ross come & get it coconut cream pie I haven't had this since we left the island yeah how about some pie for you buddy oh if you promise not to tell my darling wife you know the diet why don't you tell the folks about the series you got right after ours ah the good guys it came and it went and so did I ride out of Los Angeles after doing 11 years of series I felt I had to get away and get some perspective but we all went through changes I remarried and Alan opened a seafood restaurant in Hollywood I lost my dad and got a divorce the same year the series was canceled tonight must have been quite frustrating for Tina after all the dramatic roles she'd had earlier in her career weren't as easy to get and she often said that Gilligan's Island hurt her career what we hadn't known and didn't know at the time was one of our friends was facing the Battle of his life ha late again and you watch Gila forgot his wallet now have to pay again it's like old time we find that just a service stops spinning the room for a moment huh yeah okay he fell out of the car this morning he left it off but something's not right Natalie Oh I'm fine honey I'm fine Jim was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease he used to tell me not to worry you don't die from it you die with it music his condition worried all of us each of hi Bobby meanwhile the fans that would watch the show we're very confused [Music] even watch the show Gilligan's Island when your kid mm-hmm sure we didn't it's sort of like ended doing it I mean what do you think ever happened to those guys I guess they're still out there somewhere stranded it just doesn't seem right somehow they had a point so Sherwood came up with the television movie ten years after our last episode we shot rescue from Gilligan's Island we finally had the chance to tie up our characters stories put a nice little bow on the series and say a proper goodbye to one another my only disappointment was that Tina didn't join us she finally decided to separate herself from the series once and for all so they had to recast ginger the movie was so successful that we did - Gilligan the radio doesn't work Gilligan get the radio Jim was only well enough to do a cameo in the last one but his wife Henny thought the role would lift his spirits I stood with Henny as Jim gave his last reading miss Thurston Howell the third well that's what they do in Peru what then that's it I'm done oh no you know it'll never be done you know you take care of this guy thank you you were wonderful but was i funny absolutely [Music] [Applause] we all knew it would be the last time we'd work with him and it was they lost three of our dear friends from the island all in the space of two years when Nathalie died they listed her aged as 91 that meant she had to be in her 80s when we were splashing around in the lagoon mm-hmm after she kept her age a secret for so long I can't imagine how she let the word get out when I go and I don't plan on going any time soon mind you I want to make sure that they put my real age in my obituary you're joking why in the world because I want to imagine all my friends opening the paper reading it and saying she was how old darling we also lost a skipper and his final request was quite appropriate to be buried at sea Don went to represent all of us as we commit our brothers ashes and his soul to the sea which he loved so much it was meant to be a small private service just family in a few close friends [Music] but the reporters didn't let that hit I'd like to think that as much as Alan and joy playing the skipper and as much as he enjoy the recognition he really would have loved sharing the final moment with his fans [Music] so we won't be making another Gilligan's movie not with the original cast anyway but that's fine we had a wonderful time but now I share my memories with my family and the love of my life my wife dreama I live on an island near Seattle with my dear wife Constance I have a daughter named Kimberly and my son David was appointed the first stage coordinator for the city of Los Angeles before he died of the same disease he devoted so much of his time to fighting David was an extraordinary man I miss him I miss him and Tina has done several movies since leaving the island and is also working to promote literacy in grade schools she volunteers as a reading tutor in New York City acting is my first love and I've never been out of work since the series went off the air plus producing writing and teaching at my film actors boot camp but well the most important thing is the series gave us lifelong friendships and while none of us got rich off of it we certainly are rich with memories any time for this oh I didn't know you invented that neither did I in many ways we're all still there on the island lost in the Pacific waiting to be rescued but we're having fun in the meantime [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and

Channel: matking takl movie

Views: 187,922

Rating: 4.8579655 out of 5

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Id: 1n0qTI2Z8yo

Length: 86min 31sec (5191 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 02 2016