What Happened to the Cast of ‘Gilligan’s Island?’ ArticlePure

Bob Denver as Gilligan

Before Bob Denver played the lovable yet dimwitted titular character on Gilligan’s Island, he landed his breakout role in The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis. Denver played the “beatnik” sidekick Maynard G. Krebs on the CBS sitcom for four seasons. Just as the show was wrapping, Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz began casting. Schwartz was charmed by Denver’s portrayal of the “first mate.”

After Gilligan’s Island wrapped, Schwartz set out to create a new show with similar success; although the series was almost too similar to gain any traction. Dusty’s Trail premiered in 1973 and followed almost the exact plot of Gilligan’s Island, but this time, set in the Wild West. What’s more, Bob Denver once again played the titular character of Dusty, who steered his wagon of seven pioneers off the trail to California. The western lasted for one season. 

Denver returned for each of the Gilligan’s Island TV movies and animated series. After two leading roles in TV sitcoms, Denver had enough. “I left Los Angeles in the ’70s because I was TV’d out,” Denver told PEOPLE in 1995 at a fan convention.  

Throughout and after Denver’s run on Gilligan’s Island, he appeared on various iconic TV shows including The Andy Griffith Show, I Dream of Jeannie, The Love Boat and Alf. He even wore the iconic red sweater and bucket hat synonymous with the character for a season 2 episode of Baywatch in 1992. 

In September 2005, Denver died at age 70 at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina, from complications related to his cancer treatment.

Alan Hale Jr. as “The Skipper” Jonas Grumby

Alan Hale Jr., son of Western film actor and director Alan Hale, played the warm-hearted and caring “Skipper” of the S.S. Minnow, Jonas Grumby. As a natural leader, the Skipper was quick to step up and protect the castaways. 

“I always knew that the most difficult person to cast would be the Skipper. I always knew that, and it proved to be the case,” Schwartz told the Television Academy Foundation in 1997. “I wanted a big guy — a physically big guy — bellowing at Gilligan, who was going to be a smaller, thinner person. And you need a teddy bear. Not a bear. A teddy bear.” 

Two weeks before filming was set to begin in Hawaii, Schwartz spotted Hale in a Los Angeles restaurant and called his agent the next morning. The rest is history. 

Hale followed a similar path to Denver following the Gilligan’s Island finale. He reprised his Skipper role in each of the spinoffs and appeared in one-episode stints on shows like Alf, Growing Pains, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote. 

Unlike his costars, Hale opened a restaurant in his post-television career. In the ’70s and ’80s, he held ownership of Skipper Alan Hale’s Lobster Barrel on Hollywood’s restaurant row. Hale was actively involved in the operation until 1982. 

In 1989, Hale was diagnosed with cancer of the thymus. He was hospitalized in late 1989 and died on Jan. 2 1990 at age 68. Alan Hale’s Lobster Barrel, as it was later renamed, closed its doors that same year.

Jim Backus as “The Millionaire” Thurston Howell III

Jim Backus was the only actor Schwartz had in mind when casting for Gilligan’s Island, as they had worked together on I Married Joan. He was by far the most successful member of the cast when the show began. He starred alongside James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and already voiced the popular cartoon character Mr. Magoo. 

After the show, Backus continued to voice Mr. Magoo and scored roles in films like Disney’s live-action Pete’s Dragon in 1977.

Backus returned for each of the Gilligan’s Island spinoffs, although his declining health due to Parkinson’s disease limited his appearance in 1981’s The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island to only a cameo. On July 3, 1989, Backus was the first Gilligan’s Island cast member to die. He was 76 years old.

Natalie Schafer as “The Millionaire’s Wife” Eunice Lovey Howell

Natalie Schafer played the proper and dignified Eunice “Lovey” Wentworth Howell, wife of Thurston Howell III. Before Gilligan’s Island, Schafer played many similar roles as rich, elegant, poised socialites in films like Payment on Demand (1951), Female on the Beach (1955) and Bernadine (1957).

In later years, Schafer returned for each of the Gilligan’s Island spinoffs. She also followed suit and appeared on classic shows like The Brady Bunch, Three’s Company, The Love Boat, CHiPs and more. Her last acting role was in the 1990 horror thriller I’m Dangerous Tonight as the grandmother. 

Schafer died in 1991 from liver cancer in Beverly Hills at 90 years old. She reserved $2 million from her estate to go to the Motion Picture and Television Hospital, which used the money to renovate an outpatient wing.

Tina Louise as “The Movie Star” Ginger Grant

After playing the beautiful yet self-obsessed movie star Ginger Grant, Tina Louise wanted to distance herself from the Gilligan’s Island role. Following the finale, Louise did not return for any spinoffs or sequels. 

Louise later appeared on the big screen in films like The Stepford Wives (1975) and Hell Riders (1984). She also had a fair share of TV appearances including Dallas, CHiPs, Married… with Children and Roseanne. Her most recent on-screen appearance was alongside Stephen Baldwin in Tapestry in 2019. 

Today at 90, Louise is the only living cast member of Gilligan’s Island. Last year, she made the rounds promoting her audiobook memoir Sunday, which was re-released in 2023. 

Russell Johnson as “The Professor” Roy Hinkley

Before Gilligan’s Island, Russell Johnson was known for playing villainous characters in movies like For Only Men (1952) and The Space Children (1958). But his reputation changed when he landed the role of “The Professor” Roy Hinkley. 

After the finale, Johnson returned to play the Professor in each of the reboots. Like his costars, he made many one-time appearances on shows like Hawkins, Wonder Woman, Dallas, Newhart, Alf and more. By the mid-’90s, he left Hollywood to live out the rest of his life in Washington state with his family. 

In 2014, Johnson died at 89 years old from kidney failure. He was with his wife Constance Dane and daughter Kim Johnson. 

“He died at home, peaceful, in his sleep at 5:21 am today,” Dane told ABC News the day of his death. “[He was] a very brave guy who knew what he wanted, and he wanted to be at home.”

Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers

Before Dawn Wells became known as the typical “girl next door” on Gilligan’s Island, she was crowned Miss Nevada in 1959 at 20 years old. Her role on the show was her first real foray into the acting world. But she was able to sustain a career in Hollywood after the series wrapped.

“Mary Ann wasn’t just a silly and sweet ingenue,” the actress wrote in her 2014 book What Would Mary Ann Do?: A Guide to Life. “She was bright, fair-minded and reasonable, and I like to think that’s what I brought to her. She was a little more of a Goody Two-Shoes than I am.”

Wells returned for each of the Gilligan’s Island spinoffs and made many TV appearances on shows like The Love Boat, Alf, Growing Pains, Baywatch and Roseanne. She even landed a leading role in the film The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976). 

After the recession of 2008, Wells fell on some hard times financially, having amassed nearly $200,000 in medical debt. In 2018, Wells’ friend Dugg Kirkpatrick launched a fundraiser to help the former Gilligan’s Island actress. In the end, the fundraiser reached $205,510. 

“She was very upset with me, probably still is a little upset with me because she’s a little bit embarrassed,” Kirkpatrick told PEOPLE in 2018. “But being her dearest friend, I know that this is the best thing.”

On Dec. 30, 2020, Wells died at the age of 82 in Los Angeles from complications related to COVID-19.