Gilligan (fictional character)
Encyclopedia
Gilligan is a fictional character played by Bob Denver
on the 1960s TV show Gilligan's Island
and its many sequels. It starred Bob Denver as "Gilligan", the bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone crewman (affectionately known as "Little Buddy" by the "Skipper") of the S.S. Minnow. None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name or clearly indicated whether "Gilligan" was the character's first name or his last. In the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz states that he preferred the full name of "Willy Gilligan" for the character. Denver, on various television/radio interviews (The Pat Sajak Show; KDKA radio), said that "Gil Egan" was his choice. The actor reasoned that because everyone yelled at the first mate, it ran together as "Gilligan." In the unaired pilot episode, it is unclear whether Lovey Howell refers to Gilligan as "Stewart" or steward. In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the writers artfully dodged Gilligan's full name when the other names are announced.
Gilligan wears a trademark red shirt, pale trousers and white navy cap. He was the first mate on the S. S. Minnow
when, during a storm, he threw an anchor overboard without a rope attached, which left the boat shipwrecked on an "uncharted" desert island with all aboard. The enduring popularity of the series has made him a cultural icon
.
with Jonas Grumby
, and saved the latter from being struck and killed by a runaway depth charge
. Upon retirement, Grumby used his savings to buy the Minnow, and as the Minnows captain (or "Skipper" as he was nearly invariably addressed), Grumby hired his "little buddy", Gilligan, as first mate.
Gilligan's past and family are not mentioned during the series, except for his older brother, from whom he swiped his ever-present red shirt, a sister whose best friend was broken up by her boyfriend, and an uncle who was apparently illiterate. He once mentioned he was born in Pennsylvania
, but no city was specified. He would sometimes mention his childhood friends, Skinny Mulligan and Fatso Flannigan, possibly implying that he came from a predominately Irish-American neighborhood.
, often with his friend the Skipper in the role of a straight man. Continuing gags
of the show involve Gilligan's seduction by Ginger
, eating Mary Ann
's coconut cream pies, joking about the Skipper's weight and inadvertently undermining any attempts and efforts of the castaways to get off the island. He would often interject discussions with pointless anecdotes about his childhood or with seemingly useless advice. Though he was often chided by The Skipper for interrupting, on more than one occasion Gilligan's seemingly random nonsense would actually trigger The Professor
to remember a useful fact or suggest a course of action to the academic.
Despite his bumbling nature, Gilligan has an innate innocence of character that causes the others to forgive his mistakes. He occasionally saves the others when an escape plan goes awry. He performs virtually all manual labor on the island, mostly without complaint; in the episode The Hunter
, the Skipper notes that Gilligan can "run as fast as a rabbit [and] climb a tree like a monkey."
Gilligan also makes several discoveries, but they often have disastrous results, and Gilligan is usually faced with big decisions. Often Mr. Howell will attempt to bribe him with money, or Ginger
with seduction or fake crying. Examples include who to give the last orange
on the island, or who to give hot water from a hole in the ground (which the Professor later discovered to be an active volcano
). On one occasion, Gilligan found seeds
which gave people the ability to read minds
, but when the seeds proved to have disastrous results, he gathered up all the seeds on the island and burned
them.
Despite frequently ruining plans to get off the island, his fellow castaways (the Skipper included) ultimately harbor affection for him. When Gilligan was bitten by a potentially fatal insect
and showed all the symptoms following the bite, everyone tried to find a cure, only to get bitten themselves (although the insect was later found to be harmless). Upon hearing this, Ginger and Mary Ann burst into tears, and the Skipper attempts to cheer them up by having them envision everyone getting off the island. This temporarily works, until Mary Ann says, "Except for Gilligan," before she and Ginger start crying again.
icon; he ranked at 122nd place in the July 2003 list of 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons compiled by VH-1 and People
magazine.
for the series reveal that Gilligan's full name was to be "Willy Gilligan". But that rendition failed and was not aired. The documentary also reveals that Schwartz found the name "Gilligan" by flipping through an Iranian phone book. Despite the creator's choice of first name, no name but Gilligan is used in any of the three seasons, animated series, TV movies, or even the first episode, which includes the names of the Professor and the Skipper (in the unaired pilot, Lovey Howell addresses Gilligan as "steward," as in a ship's steward, not Stewart as some devotees allege). So, just as "Columbo" is never "officially" given a first name on air, neither is Gilligan.
In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the returning castaways' names are announced. The writers, heightening the folklore surrounding Gilligan, omitted the first mate's name despite providing the names of the others.
In the end of A Very Brady Sequel
, a movie based on the Brady bunch characters also created by Sherwood Schwartz, Carol Brady reveals that her first husband was a professor lost on a boat. Dr. Whitehead (played by John Hillerman) says "and my son Gilligan was first mate on that boat". A father would not typically refer to their son by the last name. Given that Schwartz was involved in the making of the movie, its very likely that this is strong evidence that Gilligan's full name is Gilligan Whitehead.
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
on the 1960s TV show Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
and its many sequels. It starred Bob Denver as "Gilligan", the bumbling, dimwitted, accident-prone crewman (affectionately known as "Little Buddy" by the "Skipper") of the S.S. Minnow. None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name or clearly indicated whether "Gilligan" was the character's first name or his last. In the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz states that he preferred the full name of "Willy Gilligan" for the character. Denver, on various television/radio interviews (The Pat Sajak Show; KDKA radio), said that "Gil Egan" was his choice. The actor reasoned that because everyone yelled at the first mate, it ran together as "Gilligan." In the unaired pilot episode, it is unclear whether Lovey Howell refers to Gilligan as "Stewart" or steward. In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the writers artfully dodged Gilligan's full name when the other names are announced.
Gilligan wears a trademark red shirt, pale trousers and white navy cap. He was the first mate on the S. S. Minnow
S. S. Minnow
The S. S. Minnow is a fictional charter boat on the hit 1960s television sitcom Gilligan's Island.The ship ran aground on the shore of "an uncharted desert isle" , setting the stage for this popular situation comedy....
when, during a storm, he threw an anchor overboard without a rope attached, which left the boat shipwrecked on an "uncharted" desert island with all aboard. The enduring popularity of the series has made him a cultural icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
.
Background
Gilligan served in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
with Jonas Grumby
The Skipper
The Skipper is the title and nickname of Jonas Grumby, a fictional character from the 1960s situation comedy Gilligan's Island. Played by Alan Hale, Jr., the Skipper was the owner and captain of the S. S...
, and saved the latter from being struck and killed by a runaway depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
. Upon retirement, Grumby used his savings to buy the Minnow, and as the Minnows captain (or "Skipper" as he was nearly invariably addressed), Grumby hired his "little buddy", Gilligan, as first mate.
Gilligan's past and family are not mentioned during the series, except for his older brother, from whom he swiped his ever-present red shirt, a sister whose best friend was broken up by her boyfriend, and an uncle who was apparently illiterate. He once mentioned he was born in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, but no city was specified. He would sometimes mention his childhood friends, Skinny Mulligan and Fatso Flannigan, possibly implying that he came from a predominately Irish-American neighborhood.
Personality
The character of Gilligan is noted for physical comedyPhysical comedy
Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.Physical comedy, whether conveyed by a pratfall , a silly face, or the action of walking into walls, is a common and rarely subtle form of comedy...
, often with his friend the Skipper in the role of a straight man. Continuing gags
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
of the show involve Gilligan's seduction by Ginger
Ginger Grant
Ginger Grant is a fictional character in the 1964 to 1967 television sitcom Gilligan's Island.-Career:...
, eating Mary Ann
Mary Ann Summers
Mary Ann Summers is a fictional character in the television sitcom Gilligan's Island which ran on the CBS network from 1964 to 1967, and has run more or less continuously since in reruns.- Role :...
's coconut cream pies, joking about the Skipper's weight and inadvertently undermining any attempts and efforts of the castaways to get off the island. He would often interject discussions with pointless anecdotes about his childhood or with seemingly useless advice. Though he was often chided by The Skipper for interrupting, on more than one occasion Gilligan's seemingly random nonsense would actually trigger The Professor
The Professor (Gilligan's Island)
- External links :*...
to remember a useful fact or suggest a course of action to the academic.
Despite his bumbling nature, Gilligan has an innate innocence of character that causes the others to forgive his mistakes. He occasionally saves the others when an escape plan goes awry. He performs virtually all manual labor on the island, mostly without complaint; in the episode The Hunter
The Hunter
The Hunter is a crime thriller novel, written by Donald E. Westlake under the pseudonym Richard Stark. It was the basis for three feature films, John Boorman's Point Blank , which starred Lee Marvin, Ringo Lam's Full Contact , which starred Chow Yun-fat, and Payback which starred Mel Gibson...
, the Skipper notes that Gilligan can "run as fast as a rabbit [and] climb a tree like a monkey."
Gilligan also makes several discoveries, but they often have disastrous results, and Gilligan is usually faced with big decisions. Often Mr. Howell will attempt to bribe him with money, or Ginger
Ginger Grant
Ginger Grant is a fictional character in the 1964 to 1967 television sitcom Gilligan's Island.-Career:...
with seduction or fake crying. Examples include who to give the last orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
on the island, or who to give hot water from a hole in the ground (which the Professor later discovered to be an active volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
). On one occasion, Gilligan found seeds
SEEDS
SEEDS is a voluntary organisation registered under the Societies Act of India....
which gave people the ability to read minds
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
, but when the seeds proved to have disastrous results, he gathered up all the seeds on the island and burned
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
them.
Despite frequently ruining plans to get off the island, his fellow castaways (the Skipper included) ultimately harbor affection for him. When Gilligan was bitten by a potentially fatal insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
and showed all the symptoms following the bite, everyone tried to find a cure, only to get bitten themselves (although the insect was later found to be harmless). Upon hearing this, Ginger and Mary Ann burst into tears, and the Skipper attempts to cheer them up by having them envision everyone getting off the island. This temporarily works, until Mary Ann says, "Except for Gilligan," before she and Ginger start crying again.
Intelligence
Despite an awkward exterior, Gilligan has shown some intelligence. He tenaciously guards his position, particularly when someone tries to use him. Gilligan has also proven his willingness to "step up to the plate" should leadership call – although, if Gilligan doesn't break the plate, it usually fractures. In the end, a double measure of fortune corrects his missteps. Gilligan, like Barney Fife, Gomer Pyle and other comic figures of the era, are termed unlikely or "backdoor" heroes, whose good intentions always win out over sheer stupidity.Cultural impact
Today Gilligan is widely recognized as an American popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
icon; he ranked at 122nd place in the July 2003 list of 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons compiled by VH-1 and People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine.
Name
Gilligan's full name has been a subject of debate among fans of the series for decades, which was somewhat resolved by the release of Gilligan's Island — The Complete First Season on DVD in 2004. In a documentary called Before the Three Hour Tour, excerpts from Sherwood Schwartz's original treatmentFilm treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
for the series reveal that Gilligan's full name was to be "Willy Gilligan". But that rendition failed and was not aired. The documentary also reveals that Schwartz found the name "Gilligan" by flipping through an Iranian phone book. Despite the creator's choice of first name, no name but Gilligan is used in any of the three seasons, animated series, TV movies, or even the first episode, which includes the names of the Professor and the Skipper (in the unaired pilot, Lovey Howell addresses Gilligan as "steward," as in a ship's steward, not Stewart as some devotees allege). So, just as "Columbo" is never "officially" given a first name on air, neither is Gilligan.
In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the returning castaways' names are announced. The writers, heightening the folklore surrounding Gilligan, omitted the first mate's name despite providing the names of the others.
In the end of A Very Brady Sequel
A Very Brady Sequel
A Very Brady Sequel is a 1996 comedy film and sequel to 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie. Both films are parodies-homages of the classic 1969–1974 television sitcom The Brady Bunch. The film was directed by Arlene Sanford and stars Shelley Long and Gary Cole as Carol and Mike Brady. The film was a box...
, a movie based on the Brady bunch characters also created by Sherwood Schwartz, Carol Brady reveals that her first husband was a professor lost on a boat. Dr. Whitehead (played by John Hillerman) says "and my son Gilligan was first mate on that boat". A father would not typically refer to their son by the last name. Given that Schwartz was involved in the making of the movie, its very likely that this is strong evidence that Gilligan's full name is Gilligan Whitehead.