The episode "Music Hath Charms" was on today and y'know it just got me to thinking, in this ep. or in any other ep. where Gilligan was supposed to play the drums for something, I wonder how many Maynard jokes that poor boy had to put up with on the set?

A couple of other thoughts on some recent episodes to have aired. In "Where there's a Will. . ." during Mr. Howell's "funeral" when the Skipper takes out his copy of the will, tears it up and says "Goodbye, Denver!" I wonder if on any one of the takes Bob took advantage of the straight line, jumped up and said "Alright, fine! Good-bye, Hale!" then stomped off the scene. That, I think, would have been hysterical to see.

Another golden moment for an impromtu bit of humor would be in the middle of "Gilligan, the Goddess" when King Killowea (or whatever) was going through the ceremony to make Gillina the Official Goddess, he puts the third necklace around Gilligan's neck and makes the proclamation "Goddess of Work" I so wanted Bob Denver to yell "WORK!!!!" in his best Maynard voice and take off running into the jungle.

You see this is why I need to get Bob's book and I need to get it soon. You know there was a whole lot more that went on during the run of the series than that which is immortalized on film and I and dying to know what that is!

Love,
Mary Ellen

Oh, and one more comment before I retire to bed. As demonstrated in "Lovely's Secret Admirer" and "The Invasion", Alan Hale looks surprisingly good in drag! You wouldn't think so to look at him. They must have had a fabulous make-up department!

Of course, one must also remember that he is the son of a man who looked suprisingly good in tights so maybe it's an hereditary thing!

OK, I'll stop talking now and let everyone go to sleep! :o

Love,
Mary Ellen

Hi, Mary Ellen. I have Bob's book, and you definitely have to get it. It's great. But I hate to disappoint you--he doesn't mention doing any of those things in those particular episodes. You're right though--those are great setups! :lol: He does list his favorite shows, though, and he tells funny behind-the-scenes stories.

Since I've known about Maynard, I always think about Maynard's "work!" proclamation when they tell Wrongway Feldman he has to help build the city in "The Return of Wrongway Feldman". Wrongway yelps "work!" :lol:

I think the thing that surprised me most about Bob Denver is his intellect. He is extraordinarily smart, and I didn't realize it until I read his book. Since then, I've seen lots of interviews with his wife, friends, and co-stars, and they all say he is so different from Gilligan (except for the honest, decent part of Gilligan). Russell Johnson described him as "a highly intelligent, well-read gentleman, who takes his work very seriously. He was not at all flip about the silly things he had to do as Gilligan. All of his actions, every nuance, every giggle, every gesture and movement, were well calculated and executed with unshakable confidence. Now, I ask you--does that sound like Gilligan?"

Have you seen Bob's website? His wife Dreama maintains it, and you can buy his book, and he'll personally autograph it. Plus there are a few (not as many as in the book, though) great stories on their site about being on the set of GI. Here's the address:

http://www.bobdenver.com/

:wave:

BTW Mary Ellen, Bob Denver and Russell Johnson come to the TV Land Gilligan's Island Message Board periodically and answer questions from the fans. The only problem is, if you ask a question, and they don't come around for a while and your thread gets down toward the bottom of the board, they don't seem to see it.

Thanks for the web address! Actually it was Bob's site that led me to this one! I was almost a daily visitor and then I began punching around other websites and tripped and landed here!

There is a saying my mother has regarding Gracie Allen that I think suits Bob to a "T". She always said that Gracie Allen had to be a genius to be able to play someone that dimwitted. If she really had been that dumb, she would never have been able to do as good a job as she did convincing people she was dumb. Therefore I am not at all surprised to find how intelligent Bob is in real life.

As to Wrongway, it strikes me that this scene you discribed happen in the ep. "The Return of Wrongway Feldman". Bob and Hans had already met and probably had built up a friendship. I'm sure at some point in this friendship, Bob must have commented to Hans about how much he admired his acting ability and how much Bob had learned about acting from just watching him.

I like to think that Wrongway's little "WORK!!!" outburst (which might well have occured while Bob was behind the cameras watching the scene take place) was Hans' way of saying to Bob "Hey, I've seen your work, too and your not so bad, yourself, son!

Love,
Mary Ellen

Yes, Gracie Allen is a good case-in-point. I guess I just never really thought about how Bob Denver would be in real life until I read his book. Back before the internet, it was really kinda hard to find out things about people, if you really think about it. So, when I was reading his book, I was like "hey, this guy is *smart*", LOL. Now I realize that a lot of people who play "dumb" characters are really smart. Steve Martin played "The Jerk", and he is brilliant. Cheech Marin played in "Cheech and Chong" druggie movies all those years, but when he was on Jeopardy, he blew everyone away. BTW, I'd love to see Bob on Jeopardy, LOL. Robin Williams plays zany characters (not really dumb ones), but he's absolutely a genius. I'm sure there are a lot more.

You really should get Bob's book--it's great. Lots of behind-the-scenes things and his feelings about his co-stars and such. He has nothing bad to say about anyone except Tina Louise (plus a couple of directors whom he didn't actually name), and I get the feeling he held back a little in saying what he really thought of her, LOL. So when she's saying that he only said those things to sensationalize and sell his book, well, I say, "Tina, why did he not dish any dirt about anyone else?" LOL.

OK--I'm writing a book, sorry. :wave:

Oh, don't worry about it at all! I love books!:)

I just bookmarked the page where one can buy Bob's book in my file called "Buy later on". I would love to get it right now but I'm right now kind of. . .well. . .eh. . .that is, I have my days kind of. . . eh. . .sort of. . .involuntarily free and we all know the old saying. Involuntarily free days gather no greenbacks! :(

Bob's book and a few (quite a few) other GI items are first on my list to obtain the very first minute I have discretionary income with which to obtain them.

Thanks for the response. As soon as I have the book in hand I'll have to see what he said about Tina. Sound veeerrryyy iiinnnteresting!

Love,
Mary Ellen