How Tina Louise Really Felt About Gilligan's Island

Sherwood Schwartz's 1964 sitcom "Gilligan's Island" occupies a strange space in popular culture. Thanks to decades of reruns, the series became deeply embedded into the American subconscious, becoming one of the bedrocks of 1960s television. There was a time when everyone in a certain age bracket learned all about "Gilligan's Island" without even trying, and no Gen-Xer worth their weight in clove cigarettes couldn't sing the show's theme song. At the same time, however, "Island" was widely derided by critics and audiences alike for being silly "low art" entertainment, reliant on silly slapstick over any sense of realism. "Gilligan's Island" was ubiquitous, but it wasn't necessarily respected.

The cast of "Gilligan's Island" were victims of their own popularity. Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Dawn Wells, Russell Johnson, and Tina Louise all continued to work after the series — and they all have broad, decades-long careers in entertainment besides — but they also became best-known for their roles on "Island." If a reporter spoke to one of them, "Gilligan's Island" would likely come up first. Only Jim Backus had a broad enough career to be associated with multiple other notable roles.

One might assume that the cast resented their association with "Island." Actors, after all, want to prove they have range and continue to work, not be pigeonholed as Mary-Ann or the Professor. For many years, some TV fans assumed that Tina Louise, who played the glamorous movie star Ginger Grant, hated that she was best-known for the one role. It seems, however, that Louise was at peace with Ginger. Indeed, in a 2020 interview with the New York Post, Louise confessed she was still very fond of the role.

Deep-cut "Gilligan's Island" fans will know that Ginger and Mary-Ann (Wells) were very different characters. Ginger was still named Ginger, but she was a ditzy secretary played by Kit Smythe. Mary-Ann, meanwhile, was merely another secretary named Bunny, played by Nancy McCarthy. It wasn't until after a major overhaul that Ginger became a movie star and Louise was hired to play the role.

Louise famously didn't participate in any of the post-cancelation "Gilligan's Island" spinoff movies, happy to be done with the gig. Dawn Wells once told Forbes that "We're not enemies, but we're not close." Wells also said, however, that Louise did come over for one of her family's Thanksgiving dinners. When Wells passed away in 2020, Louise wanted to set the record straight, saying that there was no animosity or strain between her and Wells, and she only had affection for Bob Denver and her other co-stars. She loved playing Ginger. In her own words:

"Never true — I loved doing my part, especially after they really started writing for my character, originally billed as a 'Marilyn Monroe' type of character. [...] A different director took over and really started to write for my character. [...] I really loved my character."

Louise once expressed consternation about being typecast as Ginger and apparently felt that the series ruined her acting career. At 90, Louise is the only surviving cast member of "Gilligan's Island" and seems to have long ago come to peace with her place in popular culture. Only the happy memories remain.