Gilligan’s Island was back in the news recently with an animated remake scheduled to be released by Netflix this month. That hasn’t happened yet and comes on the heels of an aborted Fox remake of the series back in 2019. Since the pilot and first episode were both filmed on Kauai back in the 1960s at Moloaa Beach, it remains a part of our island history.
The new Gilligan’s Island will be a computer-animated comedy-adventure film based on the original TV series. The new film was written and directed by Jon Favreau. Stars are said to include Seth Rogen, James Franco, Ben Kingsley, Meghan Trainor, Emily Blunt, Jonah Hill, Amy Adams, and Andy Samberg. The film’s plot follows the castaways following their island shipwreck.
For those of you old enough to remember, the iconic comedy TV show starring Bob Denver, comprised of nearly 100 episodes, and which has amassed an enormous fan club, ran from 1964 to 1967 and is widely associated with Hawaii.
Be sure to watch the opening of the vintage Gilligan’s Island pilot episode we have featured at the end of this post. If you were a fan of the show, it’s really weird to see!
The theme song with which we became familiar, the plot, and the words, “The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, With Gilligan, The Skipper too, the millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor, and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan’s Isle, is for many of us, indelible.
And now I have a trivia question – is Tina Louise the oldest cast member living?
Remember that Gilligan’s Island actress Dawn Wells died of COVID in 2020. A former Miss America contestant, Wells played Mary Ann Summers, the youngest in the cast of four men and three women. That leaves only one cast member remaining, Tina Louise, who played Ginger and is now 87 years old, or does it?
Actually, the actor who played a dictator for one episode in the second season, Nehemiah Persoff, is still alive at 102 years of age. Persoff appeared in more than 200 television series, plays, and films in his 50-year career.
What was to have been Jane Mansfield’s role?
Tina played Ginger on the show, and is the only surviving regular actor of the original cast, following Dawn Wells’ death. It has been more than 50 years since she starred in the role that had been offered to Jane Mansfield who turned it down for fear it would end her career.
Since then, Tina Lousie has, in addition to her family, remained an actress, and an author. Even before the popularity and fame associated with this show, Tina was an accomplished stage and screen actress. That has continued. She performed in shows including The Stepford Wives, Dallas, and The Wrecking Crew. She co-starred with Stephen Baldwin in the 2019 film Tapestry.
Gilligan’s Island | On Oahu and Kauai.
The opening scene of the series was filmed at Coconut Isle in Kaneohe Bay. Also known as Mokuoloe, and pictured below, the small island serves as a research facility for marine biology and is a short swim off of Oahu.
The island, now about 28 acres in size, was previously just 12 acres. In the 1930’s owner and Fleishmann yeast heir, Chris Holmes II, created more islands using sand, coral rubble, and other landfills. He housed many pets. Later, during WW2, the island was a rest station for US Navy flyers. In the 1940s, it was purchased by a group wishing to create an exclusive and private resort for visitors, Coconut Island Club International. The concept failed, and in 1950, the 32-room Coconut Island Hotel opened. Part of the island had already been donated to the University of Hawaii for marine research.
Series pilot and the first episode of Gilligan’s Isle filmed on Kauai.
Many think of the show being filmed here on Kauai, but that is not the case. Only the pilot was filmed on Kauai, at Moloaa Beach. The remaining episodes were at CBS in Studio City, California. Before settling on the Kauai location, Catalina Island was under consideration, but ultimately they chose Kauai for its tropical splendor and palm trees.
A rumor has existed that star Natalie Schafer, who played Lovey Howell, said she would only play millionaire Thurston Howell’s (played by Jim Backus) wife if she could have a free trip to Hawaii. In her later years, Dawn Wells was Natalie’s caretaker.
The crew arrived here on the tropic island Kauai in November 1963, when the crew stayed at the iconic Coco Palms Hotel one of the best places to stay at that time. They later also stayed at the Hanalei Plantation Resort, which was the location of Club Med Kauai.
The boat used for the SS Minnow and its 3-hour tour was towed to Kauai from Honolulu for the filming.
Alan Hale. The skipper.
The tough and curmudgeonly boat captain who was host to the passengers, later became a restauranteur, owning the LA based The Lobster barrel. He died in 1990 at age 68.
If you ever watched the pilot episode, see below. There is a different theme song with a Calypso melody, and the roles of Ginger, Mary Ann, and the Professor did not exist. Instead, two secretaries and a high school teacher were played by different actors than in the series.
And so it went. From 1964 to 1967.
A tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure. five passengers set sail that day, for a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost. The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle, with Gilligan, the Skipper too, the millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor, and Mary Ann, here on Gilligan’s Isle
If you have any Gilligan’s Island trivia, be sure to comment.
Updated 2/23/22.
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Robert says
She did not die of Covid
Dawn Wells died on December 30, 2020, at the age of 82 in Los Angeles, due to causes related to COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
Will F says
Uh, well yes she did… you said so yourself. If she did not get the covid, then she would not have died of covid caused complications. Well, then anyways, we all die sometime.
michael says
Four men and three women. Be nice if you could have found a picture with the entire cast.
Julie A. says
Thank you so very much! What a treat! Reading your article, comments and watching the link.
What a blessing! Thank you again!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Julie.
Thanks. We’re glad you enjoyed the Gilligan’s Island post.
Aloha.
Guy C says
On every Holo Holo cruise we have done for the last17 years at some point they play the theme song to Gilligans Island and most everyone sings along.
Mark G says
My wife and I went on a movie excursion tour in Kauai in Dec 2015, We visited the spot where they filmed the pilot. Trivia – the filming of the pilot started on November 22, 1963, however the film crew noticed a US Flag in the distance lowered to half staff. Once they heard about what happened in Dallas they halted production.
Mark G says
Fun fact – Dawn Wells’ father owned a rock excavation company in Las Vegas Nevada, which supplied builders with crush stone and other stone products in order to build houses, commercial buildings and roads in LV for years. The name was Wells Cargo, look it up.
Kristine says
I really enjoyed all the Gilligans Island trivia! I loved the show as a child. I haven’t seen the pilot and look forward to watching the link! Thanks for positing it!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kristine.
Thanks. We weren’t sure how much people would relate to it but they do.
Aloha.
Jim says
We spent many hours watching Gilligan’s Island, along with Hogan’s Hero’s. They brought so much fun into our lives.
Thank you for remembering the Gilligan’s crew.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Jim.
Thank you too. We may have to start watching it again. Lol.
Aloha.
Marci says
Thank you – I never saw the pilot, and it was fun to see the similarities and differences from the show. I’ve been out to ‘Gilligan’s Island’ in Kaneohe Bay, and was told the show’s original scene (not the pilot) of the shipwrecked boat was filmed there, in a little bay near where you dock. I wonder if that’s true. Anyway, it was a fun tour of the marine research facility and history on the island.
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Marci.
Thanks. It was hard to piece together the trivia we did.
Aloha.
Reg Y says
As I was growing up, I used to watch Gilligan’s Island with my brothers. I liked Mary Ann more than Ginger because Ginger was more sophisticated, sultry and worldly. It was intimidating; whereas, with Mary Ann, you could be normal and act like yourself! Just a goofy kid!
I remember the radio; bicycle and other things that the professor made. How come they never thought about using the palm trees to patch the holes? And I’m sure that the SS Minnow had a compass and with checking the stars, the skipper should have been able to figure out where they were. Just thinking😅
Kim F says
My mom cleaned Gilligan’s teeth, LOL. 😆 She worked as a dental hygienist in the LA area and periodically cleaned different famous peoples’ teeth, but Gillian is the only one I remember because I liked this show so much when it was in reruns. Interested to watch the pilot, thanks!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Kim.
Thanks. That’s so funny. You’ll see in the comments other interesting relations to the show.
Aloha.
patricia L says
Loved reading and going back in time to Gilligans island! The Opening song was fun! Can’t believe there is only one remaining from the show. Are we really that old?
kauaidoug says
This is why there are no “3 hour tours” on Kauai. LOL
Will F says
Interestingly there was a pre-pilot episode and the SS minnow and castaways were in the Caribbean…
Steven S. says
I used to love that show (old enough to see it first run). I laughed so loud when the aliens on Galaxy Quest were worried about those shipwrecked humans from the SS. Minnow.
Wendy M. says
My daughter and I have gone to Coconut Island a couple of times for science field trips. It’s so beautiful there! Thanks for this article, and for including the clip from the beginning of the pilot episode. I’ve never seen that before, and I had no idea that originally, there was a totally different song than the iconic “Three-Hour Tour” one!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Wendy.
Thanks. We didn’t know about that ourselves. The music was such a surprise.
Aloha.
Maureen L says
Thanks for sharing
Andy S says
Aloha- Did Kauai make them quarantine when they shipwrecked😂 Mahalo
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Andy.
Thanks for the levity.
Aloha.
Suzy A says
I have enjoyed your Beat of Hawaii feeds for many years now… I live on Maui, but always learn from you guys. Yes I remember Gilligan‘s Island… My dad was the producer. His name was William Froug. I will wait for my husband to return from golf, and we will watch the pilot together. Thanks for sharing the trivia!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Suzy.
Thanks for saying that and for being a long-time reader. We appreciate your comment and that’s so interesting about your dad being the producer.
Aloha.
Doug E says
Finally something fun. Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann was the only actor in the show that had residuals written into her contract in case there were reruns of the show later in life. Smart woman and smart agent. Helped her have a comfortable life until she passed.
Jeff C says
Thanks for sharing that. It was very interesting.