Gilligan’s Island, which ran from 1964 until 1967, has gone down in history as one of the most beloved television comedies of all time. Behind the scenes of the show, however, it appears that it was not all fun and games.
Alleged Feud On Gilligan’s Island Set
A TV Guide article from 1965 alleges that there was a major feud on the Gilligan’s Island set between Bob Denver (Gilligan) and Tina Louise (Ginger Grant). This situation reportedly escalated to the point where the two of them ignored one another on the show’s set.
Which you’d never know, viewing the final product!
“[Bob] Denver will not say why he and the glamorous Tina [Louise] do not get along, nor will any of the castaways—they just ignore her, and she ignores them,” the article claimed.
“Between scenes, while the other six principals chat and tell jokes together, she sits off by herself,” it continued. “And recently when Denver was asked to pose for pictures with her, he adamantly refused.”
While it remains unclear what exactly caused this turmoil, it appears that Louise may have been dissatisfied with the entire production, not just Denver.
“Part of Louise’s dissatisfaction with the series was that she had expected to be the star of the show,” the article explained.
Which is strange, because let’s be honest: Ginger was the star of the show!
Louise Spoke Out After Denver’s Death
However, Louise’s views on Denver appear to have softened over the years. After he died back in 2005 at the age of 70, Louise spoke out to pay a touching tribute to him.
“Bob’s mind was very quick — as an actor he talked very fast. But as a person, he was shy and introspective. He was my favorite person to work with,” she told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “It was a joy for me to flirt with him, to try to charm him to do whatever I wanted — to help me get my way on the island or certainly to help me get off the island, which, of course, I never did.”
“It’s amazing, the way the show has lasted and the pleasure we’ve brought to so many people — it has taken a while to really grasp how much pleasure,” she continued. “Bob’s comedy was clever and fun, and will live forever.”
That’s quite the turnaround for Louise, if we take the original reporting at face value.
Related: Dawn Wells Loved Playing Mary Ann on ‘Gilligan’s Island’
Louise Is Last Surviving Gilligan’s Island Star
When Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) died in 2020 at the age of 82, Louise officially became the last surviving cast member of Gilligan’s Island. Afterwards, Louise spoke out to express her gratitude to fans for the love they’ve shown her over the years.
“We brought a lot of joy to people and still do,” she told The New York Post at the time. “This show is an escape from so many things going on. Fathers share it with their children now. I get letters all the time about that.”
Now 90 years-old, Louise is still going strong. In fact, she just released a new audiobook of her memoir “Sunday.”
Watch Louise talk more about that and her life today in an interview from last week in the video below.
It’s nice to see that if Louise ever did have a problem with Denver and the Gilligan’s Island production, she seems to have come around. We’d like to wish Louise many years of health and happiness to come!
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