By Kayla DeKraker
For decades, fans of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND have debated one of the sitcom’s most intriguing mysteries: what was Gilligan’s first name?
The beloved first mate, played by Bob Denver, spent nearly the entire series known simply as “Gilligan,” leaving viewers to wonder whether it was his first name, last name or just a nickname.
According to research by Snopes, many believed that his first name was “Willy.” Once the show aired, though, he only went by Gilligan.
Snopes reported, “TBS finally aired the pilot of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND (an episode that had never been broadcast) in 1992, and TV Guide announced in 1993 that it had discovered (from an early press release) that Gilligan’s first name was supposed to be ‘Willy.’”
The late Denver’s website even lists out all the character’s full names, including Gilligan’s:
1) Gilligan – Willy Gilligan
(Never used. Bob would have argued NOT to use Willy, preferring JUST Gilligan)
2) The Skipper – Jonas Grumby
3) Thurston Howell III – Thurston Howell III
Related: GILLIGAN’S ISLAND Could Have Been a Lot Different…
4) Mrs. Howell – Eunice Wentworth (Lovey) Howell
5) Ginger – Ginger Grant
6) The Professor – Roy Hinkley
7) Mary Ann – Mary Ann Summers
The fact that fans are still discussing Gilligan’s name more than 60 years after the show debuted speaks to the lasting popularity of GILLIGAN’S ISLAND. Despite running for only three seasons, the sitcom became a classic series and remains so today.
Gilligan’s name isn’t the only mysterious thing about the series.
The theme song, which describes the series’ plot of seven castaways on an island, only names five of the said castaways. The Professor and Mary Ann are excluded in the song, and Denver is said to have petitioned to have the theme song changed to include everyone.
Another interesting fact? Tina Louise, who played Ginger, thought she was going to be the main character.
“She signed in New York to do the show. Now they told her that GILLIGAN’S ISLAND was the story about a movie star who was stranded on an island with six other people,” Sherwood Schwartz, the show’s creator, recalled. “Well, I didn’t know that! But she arrives in Hollywood and reads the first three scripts, she comes storming into my office. ‘What are these three scripts?’ I said ‘why?’ And she told me what she had been told.”
Little mysteries like these keep fans coming back, but Schwartz’s son thinks the show’s surprisingly deeper meanings play a part in that too.
“Even now, when people dismiss it as simple or silly, you’ll find that GILLIGAN’S ISLAND is studied in TV and theater arts programs,” Lloyd J. Schwartz said. “There are academic papers written about it — I’ve read a few — and most of them assume Sherwood Schwartz never intended any deeper meaning. But he absolutely did. That said, it wasn’t about the Seven Deadly Sins. Some people insist that each character represents one of them, but that’s a bit of a stretch. Still, he appreciated that people tried to analyze and redefine his work in new ways.”
Whether or not Gilligan’s first name was actually Willy, his legacy continues to endure.
Read Next: How GILLIGAN’S ISLAND Keeps Fans Coming Back
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
Share:
- Content: +2
- Content: +1
- Content: +4
- Content: +1