Quezi

Bob Denver's Handprints (photo by Neelix - PD)

Gilligan’s Island was a popular television sitcom in the 1960s. The premise was that seven people (five tourists plus the skipper and his first mate) had become marooned on a desert island after being shipwrecked during a storm.

Bob Denver played Gilligan, the loyal but disaster-prone first mate. After Gilligan’s Island he performed in several minor productions, and ran an “oldies” radio station in his hometown. He died at age 70 in 2005 from pneumonia and throat cancer, having earlier had quadruple heart bypass surgery.

Alan Hale, Jr. played the Skipper. After Gilligan’s Island he performed in several minor productions, and co-owned a seafood restaurant. He died in 1990 at age 68 from cancer.

Jim Backus played the millionaire Thurston Howell, III.  After Gilligan’s Island he had a smattering of performances (including on The Brady Bunch). He also co-wrote books, performed voiceovers, released a few records and starred in advertisements for popcorn, furniture and electricals. He died in 1989 at age 76 from pneumonia after having suffered Parkinson’s disease.

Natalie Schafer played Lovey Howell, Thurston’s wife. She continued acting after Gilligan’s Island, and guess starred on various TV series as well as appearing in the movie The Day Of The Locust. She died in 1991 aged 90, from cancer.

Tina Louise played the glamorous movie star Ginger Grant. She has continued to star regularly in TV series and TV movies. She’s still alive, as of January 2009.

Russell Johnson played The Professor. He continued to act in TV shows and movies, and has also provided narration and been a panelist on the game show Pyramid. He has participated in the presentation of the Ig Nobel Prize awards. He’s still alive, as of January 2009.

Dawn Wells played the sweet and naiive Mary Ann. She continued to act regularly after Gilligan’s Island, on TV and in movies. In addition she has starred in commercials and published a cookbook. She’s still alive, as of January 2009.

They were all heavily typecast following the successful run of Gilligan’s Island. Most of them accepted this gracefully, and were happy to return for reunions and retrospectives. The exception was Tina Louise, who refused to join in.

Related questions:

• What happened to the cast of Hogan's Heroes?
  Hogan's Heroes was a sitcom that aired from 1965 to 1971. It was set in a WW2 German POW camp, where the American POW Colonel Hogan led a group of Allied prisoners in an ongoing series of escapades a...
• What happened to the cast of The Brady Bunch?
  The Brady Bunch was a saccharine-sweet television series originally aired from 1969 to 1974. It featured a family formed by the marriage of a widowed architect (Mike Brady) to a previously-married...
• What happened to the cast of the original Star Trek TV series?
  When NBC started airing Star Trek in 1966 few could have imagined the cultural icon it would become. Here's what happened to the leading characters of the show after it ended: William Shatner (...
• What happened to the cast of My Favorite Martian?
  My Favorite Martian was a sitcom that ran from 1963 to 1966. Tim O'Hara, newspaper reporter, rescued a martian from his crashed spaceship and pretended to the world that it was his "Uncle Martin"....
• What happened to the cast of Lost In Space?
  The Lost In Space TV series was screened from 1965 to 1968. It featured the Robinson family marooned in space with their spaceship Jupiter 2 unable to return to earth. Together with the robot and ...