Tina Louise Reveals That She Barely Made Any Money Working on 'Gilligan's Island'

WideOpenCountry ^ | 3/15/25 | Caleb Catlin

[DallasBiff]

Well Tina, being bitter is not a good look at 90. You had a role that made you a star and icon.

All the rest of the cast embraced their roles, anyway I was a Mary Anne guy.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Not surprising.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Well, sure.

Look at who she was competing against!

(Why pay for “a movie star” when you could go out with MaryAnn?)

[T.B. Yoits]

Well now we know who sabotaged the SS Minnow.

[Farmerbob]

I read somewhere that Mary Ann negotiated for lower pay but withresiduals and did well.

[enumerated]

Her plastic surgeon needs to take an art class or two.. that’s not what people look like.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

No money at all from residuals? She must have had the worst agent in the world, by a considerable margin.

[Magnum44]

I was a Mary Anne guy

+1

[Jamestown1630]

$1500 in 1965 amounts to $15,127.19 today, according to my search.

Pretty good money for basically dressing up and looking nice.

[sit-rep]

Guilty!!

[albie]

Mary Anne was super hot! Her and Ellie May were my fantasy babes!

[Hildy]

That is an urban legend. (I just looked it up because I was going to post it! :)

[Hildy]

Residuals were not a “Thing” at that time. Actors, as well as musicians got royally (royalty) screwed.

[Fledermaus]

Residuals were rare in those days.

[sit-rep]

X 98 thats almost 1.5M... not bad considering a journeyman in the trades was making about $7-8 an hour...

[Jamestown1630]

And back then a million WAS a million.

[scouter]

Those "of a certain age" will appreciate this: Stairway to Gilligan's Island

[packrat35]

Tina actually had a career in movies, that literally screeched to a halt after Gilligan.

I know where she is coming from. Also, the earlier shows like this were notorious for cheating the people in them out of residuals.

[Seruzawa]

$1500 an episode was really good money back then. A week of groceries was about $7 per person.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I read that Dawn Wells was the only one with enough foresight to ask for and receive royalties on reruns.