Bob Denver Passes Away :(

[Pavan]

Terrible news! Shocking, too. I'm sure there will be tributes for him in the coming days. Will let everyone know.

LOS ANGELES -
Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island," made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.

Denver died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Associated Press. Denver's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

Denver had also undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year.

Denver's wife, Dreama, and his children Patrick, Megan, Emily and Colin were with him when he died.

"He was my everything and I will love him forever," Dreama Denver said in a statement.

Denver's signature role was Gilligan. But he was already known to TV audiences for another iconic character, that of Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded beatnik friend of
Dwayne Hickman's Dobie in the "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," which aired from 1959 to 1963.

"Gilligan's Island" lasted on CBS from 1964 to 1967, and it was revived in later seasons with three high-rated TV movies. It was a Robinson Crusoe story about seven disparate travelers who are marooned on a deserted Pacific Island after their small boat was wrecked in a storm.

The cast: Alan Hale Jr., as Skipper Jonas Grumby; Bob Denver, as his klutzy assistant Gilligan; Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer, as rich snobs Thurston and Lovey Howell;
Tina Louise, as bosomy movie star Ginger Grant; Russell Johnson, as egghead science professor Roy Hinkley Jr.; and
Dawn Wells, as sweet-natured farm girl Mary Ann Summers.

TV critics hooted at "Gilligan's Island" as gag-ridden corn. Audiences adored its far-out comedy. Writer-creator Sherwood Schwartz insisted that the show had social meaning along with the laughs: "I knew that by assembling seven different people and forcing them to live together, the show would have great philosophical implications."

[Pavan]

Read SitcomsOnline.com's Tribute: http://sitcomsonline.blogspot.com/20...sses-away.html

[Sal]

Although many generations of fans will remember him as Gilligan, it is as Maynard on "Dobie Gillis" that Bob Denver first made his mark on TV and I believe that this part of his career has been overlooked for far too long. I would love to see "Dobie Gillis" on TV just to see how funny Maynard really was and to see how good Bob Denver was playing a different character. The series might even get fast tracked to DVD, although the circumstances surrounding it will be very difficult. While we wait, and hopefully it won't be for too long, I will look forward to watching any tributes that might air in the next week or so. Bob Denver deserves them!

[flagman]

I hated to hear this too. Only a few castaways left. I watched this show on Nikelodeon in the '80s. I looked forward to it each night.

Denver was great in this show as a beatnik.

For some reason Dobie's hair changes colors in later episodes.

I hope this will spur the release of Dobie on DVD so every can enjoy it.
The show Titus seemed to remind me of a more modern version of Dobie.

Also would like to see Denver's work from the show Good Guys, Far Out Space Nuts (wasn't that the Saturday morning show he was in?)

I bought Dusty's Trail DVD and had not seen that show since it aired originally.

Of course Gilligan will live forever.

[GingerGilligan]

I'm the saddest girl in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[howilu]

Somwhere in heaven, you'll hear Maynard G. Krebs famous line "You rang?" and hear him shudder at the mention of the word "Work.: