Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001)

A fun behind-the-scenes look into the 60's television series, "Gilligan's Island."

Director:

Paul A. Kaufman

Writer:

Duane Poole (teleplay)

Stars:

Dawn Wells, Russell Johnson, Bob Denver

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dawn Wells	...	Self
Russell Johnson	...	Self
Bob Denver	...	Self
Kristen Dalton	...	Tina Louise
Samantha Harris	...	Dawn Wells
Dwayne Hickman	...	Network Executive #1
Eric Allan Kramer	...	Alan Hale Jr.
Aaron Lustig	...	Sherwood Schwartz
E.J. Peaker	...	Natalie Schafer
Steve Vinovich	...	Jim Backus
Jon Wellner	...	Bob Denver
Michael Wiseman	...	Russell Johnson
Jerry Van Dyke	...	Self
Christopher Neiman	...	Network Executive #2
Terry Davis	...	Friend's Sister

Storyline

The complete recapping adventure of the seven idiots trapped on a deserted island. No phones, no lights, no motor cars. Not a single luxury. Like Robinson Crusoe, it's primitive as can be. People portray not only Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells but also portray them as their world famous characters. We also get behind the scenes looks at how Sherwood Schwartz attempted to put his show on the air, and how they did casting, and how everyone dealt with the publicity, like people thought Jim Backus and Natalie Scahfer were really married, and when they took a picture of Gilligan, Ginger and Mary Ann for the cover of TV Guide and cut off Mary Ann, and about Tina Louise taking a dislike to her character. The trials and tribulations are explored too, even to the moment when Jim Backus was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and the deaths of he, Alan Hale and Natalie Schafer. The real life Bob Denver, Russell Johnson and Dawn ...

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Plot Keywords:

behind the scenes | television | television series | reference to raquel welch | clip show | 

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Taglines:

The Scandals. The Egos. The Fights. Find out what when on when the cameras went off.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Dwayne Hickman, who appears here as a network executive, was the star of the earlier TV series "The Many Loves of Doby Gillis", in which Gilligan star Bob Denver had appeared as regular character Maynard G. Krebbs.

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Goofs

As Dawn Wells, Samantha Harris says she won the 'Ms. Fitness' contest, but there was no such thing at the time "Gilligan's Island" was being filmed. The first fitness contest was held in the mid-nineties.

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Connections

References The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979)

User Reviews

Interesting but biased?

I loved this documentary but kinda got the impression it was somewhat biased against Tina Louise. She is portrayed as selfish and self-centered in the show and the documentary states incorrectly she never participated in any reunions and cut her ties to the show because she thought it hurt her career. She did on several occasions appear in reunions the most famous was the 1988 Gilligan's Island reunion on the David Letterman show which was the last time the entire cast was together before the passings of Jim Backus in 1989, Alan Hale Jr in 1990 then Natalie Schafer in 1991. Tina has also appeared at a few others reunions the most recent was the TV Land awards. Still this documentary sheds light on a great deal of what went on behind the scenes and a must have for anyone who grew up on this show. The story of Jim Backus' battle with Parkinsons is compelling as is the story of Natalie Schafer's battle with breast cancer.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Surviving Gilligan's Island

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Entertainment Production, Landscape Entertainment, The Kaufman Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1