We’ve all read interviews with actors who lament about being typecast, and that list includes some of the folks who worked on Gilligan’s Island. Interestingly enough, Bob Denver almost didn’t get the title role because series creator Sherwood Schwartz couldn’t picture Denver as anyone but the bearded beatnik Maynard G. Krebs from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The actor that Schwarz thought would be perfect for the part of Gilligan was Jerry Van Dyke, who had perfected the art of playing a hapless goofball. Van Dyke, in a typically savvy career move, turned down the offer, describing the script as “inane.”

Instead, he accepted the lead on a different sitcom, My Mother the Car. Hmmm… stranded castaways, or mom reincarnated as an automobile?

Which one ranks higher on the inanity meter?

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Bad move for Jerry. Good move for Bob ;)

Would GI have been as popular with someone else in the lead role? Bob Denver gave his characters endearingly childlike qualities without making them childish. Maynard could be just as wide-eyed as Gilligan, just as excited over say, Santa Claus, as Gilligan was over anything that washed up in the lagoon. Would JVD have played Gilligan differently?

Who knows, but it wouldn't be the same show without Bob, or any of the cast members that it ended up with. I can't imagine anyone else in any of the roles.

I, for one, am thrilled that the role went to Bob Denver. I think it would have been played much differently with Jerry Van Dyke. VD is a fine comedian and probably would have done a good job with the role, but it wouldn't have been the same. Jerry was no where near as adorable as Bob Denver.

Jerry went on to play other career-defining roles such as his involvement on Coach. Bob Denver never escaped the identity of Gilligan. I would say Jerry made a smart choice.

Much as I like Jerry Van Dyke, an incredibly funny man, I can't picture anyone other than Bob Denver playing Gilligan. And, everything turned out well for Jerry too, so the decision was good all around I think.

Jerry went on to play other career-defining roles such as his involvement on Coach. Bob Denver never escaped the identity of Gilligan. I would say Jerry made a smart choice.

I think Bob was cool with that, though. Except he had to wear that darned hat everywhere, even when he was in his sixties. It looks fine on a 20/30 something, but a little silly on an old guy :crazy: We love him though. He won't ever be forgotten, that's for sure.

Bad move for Jerry, good move for the show. Although, he loosened up a bit by the time of "Coach", his style at the time seemed a bit too restrained for the manic, goofy nut that Gilligan was.

I don't think Jerry Van Dyke would of had the same chemistry with Alan Hale Jr. (The Skipper) that Bob Denver had so it all worked out for the best.

The reason I liked Gilligan's Island was sure not for the scripts, but rather the extrordinary chemistry that exsisted among the cast members. This show had a terrific cast all the way down the line, and this overcame the silliness of the scripts. More than one person has likened the rapport between Bob Denver and Alan Hale as similar to Laurel and Hardy. I have nothing but respect for Jerry Van Dyke's considerable talent, but can see no one but Bob Denver as Gilligan.