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The seven lead characters in Sherwood Schwartz’s Nineteen Sixties sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” have turn out to be an indelible a part of the world’s pop consciousness, rising as a brand new canon of distinctly American Commedia del’arte archetypes. The Professor (Russell Johnson) is the up to date model of Il Dottore. Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) is the brand new Pantolone. The Skipper (Alan Hale) is clearly a contemporary Scaramuccia, and Gilligan (Bob Denver), nicely, he is Arlecchino. Moreover, Mary Ann (Daybreak Wells) is probably going Colombiana, Ginger (Tina Louise) is Gianduja, and Mrs. Howell (Natalie Schafer) is … I assume one other Pantolone.
It is laborious to think about a world the place the seven inventory “Gilligan’s Island” characters had been dramatically altered, because the seven characters audiences noticed had been downright good. One may at all times predict how one character may work together with any of the others.
In fact, it took somewhat trial and error to get the characters proper. Within the unique, unaired (till 1992) pilot episode, Gilligan, the Skipper, and the Howells had been the identical, however Ginger, Mary Ann, and the Professor had been totally different characters performed by totally different actors. The Professor was a extra flirtatious highschool instructor portrayed by John Gabriel. Ginger and Mary Ann had been initially a pair of gossiping secretaries named Ginger and Bunny, as performed by Package Smythe and Nancy McCarthy. It wasn’t till Schwartz did some retooling that the acquainted ensemble of seven would come into being.
It appears that evidently throughout the retooling course of, there was additionally nearly an eighth character. In response to Schwartz’s invaluable memoir “Inside Gilligan’s Island: From Creation to Syndication” one of many present’s producers, Hunt Stromberg, Jr., watched the pilot episode and felt that the seven castaways ought to wash up on the shores of their uncharted desert island … and discover a small, pleasant dinosaur already dwelling there.
Hunt Stromberg, Jr. felt that the castaways ought to stay with a pleasant dinosaur
Schwartz advised the next story (right here paraphrased for the sake of brevity):
It appears that evidently Stromberg was watching the unique pilot episode, explaining how the seven castaways got here to be stranded. There was a scene the place Gilligan, newly crashed, shimmies up a palm tree to get a greater look of the island. It appears that evidently Stromberg felt that Gilligan ought to spot a dinosaur in that second and enthusiastically advised the concept to Schwartz. “Simply image it!” he stated, “It is our reply to Mr. Ed!”
“Mister Ed” was a well-liked 1961 sitcom a few speaking horse, after all, after all. Stromberg wished to copy that present’s success with a cute animal of his personal. He even advised that the dinosaur be taught to stroll on a leash and turn out to be one thing of a pet to Gilligan. Schwartz, as a result of he was beholden to the whims of the CBS executives, could not outwardly refuse. Certainly, he and his artistic crew instantly started researching the means required to examine a dinosaur on “Gilligan’s Island.”
Schwartz evidently known as Disney’s animation studio in 1964, realizing they may insert an animated dinosaur into the sequence and mix it with live-action actors. It appears that evidently animating a dinosaur was actually inside Disney’s capabilities, so Stromberg may need gotten his want. Nevertheless, it seems that the concept was instantly shot down when Disney advised Schwartz how a lot an animated dinosaur was going to value. It was approach, approach too costly.
So, the dinosaur concept was deserted and the pilot was reworked with just a few new characters as an alternative. Stromberg would ultimately get what we wished, although. In Filmation’s animated Nineteen Seventies spinoff sequence “The New Adventures of Gilligan,” the castaways had been joined by an “lovable” monkey named Snubby (voiced by producer Lou Scheimer). Then, within the 1982 animated sci-fi sequence “Gilligan’s Planet,” Snubby was changed by a cute reptile alien named Bumper (additionally Scheimer). It is as shut as Gilligan ever received to having a dinosaur.