Did You Know: Gilligan's Island

Here are some interresting tidbits about the TV show Gilligan's Island.

The Skipper and Gilligan are supposed to have served in the Navy together. The Skipper rescued Gilligan when he fell overboard the ship they were stationed on.

Gilligan's first name is rumored to be Willie according to the show's creator Sherwood Schwarz. Bob Denver (Gilligan) say's he wasn't aware of this until after the show was already off the air.

Shapely actress Jane Mansfield turned down the role of Ginger.

In the show's opening credits (season one) a flag can be seen flying at half mast in the background; this is because JFK had just been assassinated.

The props on the show were limited to materials that could be scavenged on an island. Later, though, the coconut cups were replaced with plastic repplicas because the real ones leaked.

The S. S. Minnow was named after a man...not a fish. The creator of the show disliked the boat and named it after Newton Minow, whom he also disliked. Minow refered to television as "America's vast wasteland."