Bob Denver, TV's Gilligan, Dead at 70

AP via Yahoo! ^ | 09/06/05 | AP

[conservative in nyc]

Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island," made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.

Denver, who underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina, according to agent Mike Eisenstadt. Denver's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

[Redleg Duke]

Oobity-Wah-Wah!

[Redleg Duke]

No, that's Work...WORK!

[Redleg Duke]

I am 58 and I never missed either The Lives and Loves of Dobbie Gillis ("I gotta kill that boy...I just gotta!") and Giligan's Island!

[Oztrich Boy]

There are 2 kinds of guys in the world:

Those who can choose between Thalia and Zelda, and those who find it difficult.

Farewell Maynard, may you watch them knock down the Endicott Building in the Great Beyond.

[NavyCanDo]

What would a 4th season of Gilligan have been like? This is from the Gilligan's Island Fan Club web site - which I'm not ashamed I'm a frequent visitor of.

Gilligan's Island ran for three seasons totaling 98 episodes. The audiences followed the show and it easily won its time slot every year. During the first season, January 1965, "Gilligan's Island" was #1 in the Neilson ratings, beating out the previous #1 slot "Bonanza". The second season, Gilligan's Island held #22, and its third season was #49, which was three ratings better than "Star Trek" (which ran for two more seasons).


With this success, Gilligan's Island was scheduled for a fourth season, and TV Guide even announced that the show was going to start off with a 'one hour special'. THEN - suddenly - at the last minute, Gilligan's Island and Run Buddy Run (two 1/2 hour shows) were cancelled to make room for "Gunsmoke!"


Decades later, "The Original Giligan's Island Fan Club" purchased a script copy of the last episode "Gilligan The Goddess", and discovered several forth season proposals which were yellowed and deteriorated.

1)"Proportional Potions": Gilligan finds a drink which makes him miniaturized.


2)"Another Start Is Born" or "Bye Bye Birdy": Ginger climbs aboard a rowboat (Titanic Jr.) and gets rescued.


3)"An Eye For An Eye": Ginger Grant is replaced by Miss Krissy and Miss Sally.


4)"No Bill For This Tab": Guest star portrayed by Tab Hunter appears.


5)"Ahoy Matey": Modern day pirate 'Silver Long-Johns' comes to the island.


6)"Eye Detect You": Gilligan thinks he's Dick Tracy and ruins rescue.


7)"Who's The Dodo?": Professor tracks what he thinks is the rare Dodo bird while Gilligan finds a lamp which when rubbed brings forth a genie.


8)"Laugh until It Hurts": Comedian Paul Lynde guest stars to 'test' jokes on the castaways.


9)"My Favorite Alien": A silly alien lands on the island.


10)"I Hear You": A singer (Bobby Vinton?) guest stars as Mary Ann's, Miss Sally's, and Miss Krissy's favorite singer.

[Desron13]

Thanks for all the laughs bob. You helped shape some of the fondest memories from my child hood. Catch up with you later.

[Desron13]

Thanks for all the laughs bob. You helped shape some of the fondest memories from my child hood. Catch up with you later.

[NavyCanDo]

As a young boy in the 1960's with hormones working overtime, Ginger was my favorite of the two. She came across as much more sexier of the two. Marry Ann was to much like my older sister, where Ginger was like one of the pin-up girls in those girlie magazine in my Dad's nightstand come to life. When Ginger wore the leopard one piece bikini - good lord I was in heaven. Years later someone figured out how to bottle that feeling up and they called it Viagra.

Looking back all these years later both girls were quite pretty, and both have aged well.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

I thought he was already dead, he was an ex-professor.

[RightWingAtheist]

That reminds me. If any of you guys growing up in the early sixties had crushes on Leslie Gore...well, let's just say it's now Johnny's turn to cry.

[RightWingAtheist]

He was also in some classic 50s SF films: "It Came From Outer Space", "This Island Earth" and "Attack of the Crab Monsters".

[tubebender]

I'm an old 72. Gilligan, aka Bob Denver, will be forever young in my mind...

[Fishrrman]

Same for WKRP - are you a Jennifer/Loni guy or a Bailey guy? I was the latter type

A lot of folks don't know it, but Jan Smithers (Bailey) had her picture snapped 'way back in the fall of 1965, riding on the back of a motorcycle when she was a teenager - which was featured on the cover of Newsweek (headline story was about teenagers of that time)....

[quietolong]

If you want to play along.

http://bobdenver.com/Ask_Bob/FAQ_Archives/Theme_Song_Sheet_Music/theme_song_sheet_music.html

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

Yup! I knew that. And here it is ---

[JCEccles]

Anybody remember Maynard G. Krebbs?

I was only five when Dobie Gillis was winding down. There was an episode co-starring Jimmy Durante. He's strolling across the campus with Maynard and Dobie in tow and they pass a replica of Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker." "What do you think he's thinking about?" asks Maynard or Dobie. "Probably trying to remember where he left his pants," says Durante. I have never laughed so hard then or since.

Of course it seems lame today. But to a fresh wide-eyed five year old, it was gut buster of a quip.

Sadly, today, Bob Denver passes at the ripe age of 70, but fully half of those years were spent frozen at some indeterminate age between 18 and 27.

[quietolong]

From his websight

http://Bob Denver

Link at his sight

[RightWingAtheist]

Johnson still acts once in a while. Much of his time is spent work for various AIDS-related charities, as his son died of the disease several years back.

[SAMWolf]

Maryann :-)