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What Happened To Bob Denver After Gilligan’s Island? – SlashFilm

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What Happened To Bob Denver After Gilligan’s Island? – SlashFilm


The culture at large seems to be very ambivalent about Sherwood Schwartz’s 1964 sitcom “Gilligan’s Island.” On the one hand, it was massively popular and, thanks to plum syndication deals, remained in the pop culture consciousness for literally decades, feeding its goofy reruns to multiple generations. The seven stranded castaways are all easily recognizable by millions, and kids grew up chuckling to Gilligan’s antics. On the other hand, “Gilligan’s Island” is often lambasted, critically, as the nadir of television. The series takes place in a lightweight, cartoonish universe, and it doesn’t ever reach deeply into the souls of the characters to analyze how they adapt to being stranded on a tropical island. There is no madness or deterioration, just shenanigans. 

Anything as popular as “Gilligan’s Island” at least deserves a robust and healthy regard, however. Its seven stars may have been playing broad, slapstick archetypes, but their performances certainly struck a chord. At the center of the show was Bob Denver, a comedic actor who had been performing professionally since the 1950s. Indeed, prior to “Gilligan’s Island,” Denver already had a hit sitcom under his belt with “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” on which he played the character Maynard G. Krebs for 144 episodes. He also appeared in the feature films “For Those Who Think Young” (which also starred his future “Island” co-star Tina Louise), “Take Her, She’s Mine,” and “A Private’s Affair.” 

“Gilligan’s Island” made Denver a household presence, although, as an actor, Denver merely continued to work at an average clip. After “Gilligan’s Island,” Denver would reprise the role multiple times on a few spinoffs, and play himself in many “Island” retrospectives. This was while also taking many notable TV jobs, mostly as a guest performer on some of the biggest shows of the day. 

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Bob Denver’s post-Gilligan career

Denver kept busy during “Gilligan’s Island,” also appearing on episodes of “I Dream of Jeannie.” As soon as “Island” went off the air in 1967, Denver already had another leading role lined up on “The Good Guys,” a show about a cab driver (Denver) and a fry cook (Herb Edelman) who were constantly trying to get rich. “The Good Guys” lasted for 42 episodes over two seasons, getting canceled in 1970. At about the same time, Denver also appeared in three feature films, “Who’s Minding the Mint?,” the biker flick “The Sweet Ride,” and the Phyllis Diller vehicle “Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady?” 

From 1970 to 1973, Denver appeared on three episodes of “Love, American Style” before landing the title role in the Western sitcom “Dusty’s Trail,” also created by Sherwood Schwartz. “Dusty’s Trail” was more or less a Western retooling of “Gilligan,” as it featured the same seven archetypal character as its tropic island counterpart. The series only lasted 26 episodes over one season. Four episodes of the show were re-edited into a feature and it was released in theaters as “The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West.” 

“Trail” then led directly into the animated series “The New Adventures of Gilligan” in 1974. It was the first time Denver would return to the role. 

In 1975, Denver took another leading role in Sid and Marty Krofft’s kid-friendly sci-fi series “Far Out Space Nuts.” One can admire Denver for always managing to play lead characters and title characters. He frequently played bumbling characters and slapstick boobs, but he did an exemplary job. “Space Nuts” only lasted 15 episodes, ending in 1976. From this point forward, a lot of Denver’s acting career would begin to calcify around Gilligan, and he would return for other shows and TV movies. 

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Gilligan Rising

By the late 1970s, reruns of “Gilligan’s Island” became ubiquitous, and there was seemingly a public demand for the show’s return. Rather than merely reboot or revive the series, however, Sherwood Schwartz put out a series of TV movies and animated shows that featured most of the original cast (Tina Louise bowed out) in the same roles. 1979 saw the release of “The Castaways of Gilligan’s Island,” and in 1981, the seminal American classic “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” hit the airwaves. Denver also played Gilligan in all 13 episodes of “Gilligan’s Planet,” an animated series that moved the castaways to an abandoned planet, many lightyears from Earth. They were able to build a spacecraft out of wood, you see. 

Denver also returned to the role of Maynard G. Krebs a few times, once in 1977 in “Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?” and again in 1988 in “Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis.” Denver would also appear as Gilligan in several other sitcoms, usually there to visit characters who were fans of “Gilligan’s Island.” Gilligan showed up in “The New Gidget,” “ALF,” and even in an 1992 episode of “Baywatch.” Denver entered a “resting on his laurels” phase in his career, mostly appearing on TV to play Gilligan, or to play himself. One of his last acting jobs was on the 1997 sci-fi series “Meego,” also playing Gilligan. His last role was playing himself on a 1998 episode of “The Simpsons.” 

Denver passed away in 2005 at the age of 70, having left a deep mark in popular culture, even if he never was heavily awarded as a comedic actor. His “Island” fame was seemingly a blessing and a curse, bringing him national attention, but also pigeonholing him into a series of Gilligan-like roles, or constant revivals of the part. He seems like a decent, hardworking, funny fellow. All credit to Denver for creating a silly, but memorable character.

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Denver, CO

Denver man gets 48 years in prison for murder of teen in 2022

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Denver man gets 48 years in prison for murder of teen in 2022


A Denver man was sentenced Friday to 48 years in prison for the murder of a 14-year-old boy in 2022, according to court records.

Denver District Court Judge Karen Brody sentenced Diego Lopez, 19, on Friday to 48 years in prison, with a credit of two years and 293 days for time served, court records show.

Lopez was 16 years old when he shot Josiaz “JoJo” Aragon in the back and then pistol-whipped, beat and stabbed the 14-year-old. Aragon was days away from celebrating his 15th birthday.

Lopez was also ordered to pay $10,000 to Aragon’s family during Friday’s sentencing hearing, according to court records.

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Aragon’s body was found at a baseball field near Denver’s Southwest Recreation Center on Aug. 8, 2022.

The two teenagers knew each other from school and had met at the baseball field for a gun sale, police said. Lopez shot Aragon in the back after they made the deal.



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Coloradan participating in this weekend’s Donor Dash in Denver says transplantation changed his life: ‘It saved me’

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Coloradan participating in this weekend’s Donor Dash in Denver says transplantation changed his life: ‘It saved me’


The 26th annual Donor Dash takes place this weekend in Denver, and among the participants will be a Coloradan whose life was changed drastically by transplantation.

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A dozen years ago Doug French, 74, was struggling with burning eyes and swelling. He was living with hepatitis C.

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CBS Colorado’s Michael Spencer interviews Doug French.

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“It didn’t stop me, but it surely slowed me down,” he said.

While he was holding out hope the newer treatments would assist with his situation, French went to meet with the hepatologist.

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“He said, ‘If you don’t get a transplant, you won’t survive.’ And I went, ‘Oh, I see. I got this.’ That changed everything.”

French was living in Colorado at the time and was put on a transplant list in Oregon. So he and his wife moved temporarily to Portland and lived in a hotel for four months before he got the call they were hoping for. A recently deceased organ donor had a liver that was a match.

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Doug French


“Waking up from that transplant was a miracle. For the first time in years, my eyes weren’t burning from hepatitis C,” French said.

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French recently celebrated 10 years since receiving his new organ, and with his body functioning at a higher level, he has lost 110 pounds.

He has always been an avid scuba diver, and in addition to making it easier for him to do one of his favorite hobbies, his new liver has allowed him to take other activity levels to new lengths. He completed his first half marathon in April. That was something he wasn’t even thinking about prior to his transplant.

“Was it even on the back of your mind: ‘One day I’m going to do a half marathon?’” CBS Colorado’s Michael Spencer asked French.

“Oh no, no, no,” said French, who jogged with his nephew-in-law. “During that particular time, I kind of like draw a blank about my life and about my future. I had no idea what was next. It saved me. And I’ve I can’t say enough about how grateful I am,” he said.

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Doug French


The Donor Dash takes place on Sunday at Washington Park. CBS Colorado is a sponsor of the event and Spencer serve as the emcee of the event. Find out how you can register for the event or help the Donor Alliance at donoralliance.org/donor-dash/.

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Mayors of Denver and Aurora discuss a possible truce as they face growing economic challenges

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Mayors of Denver and Aurora discuss a possible truce as they face growing economic challenges


The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce held its State of the Cities event Wednesday, just days after releasing a new report that shows a slowing economy in Colorado. 

The report, by economists at the Chamber and Boulder Leeds School of Business, finds unemployment and foreclosures are up year over year while consumer confidence and home sales are down. The one bright spot is jobs, which are up .1%.

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The mayors of Denver, Aurora and Northglenn say they are feeling the shift.

“Our sales tax in Northglenn is down,” said Northglenn Mayor Meredith Leighty. “In May, we’re looking at a decrease of 2%.”

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The mayors assured the Chamber’s small business owners they were doing what they could to help. They say the lack of affordable housing is among their biggest challenges.

“Right now, the cost of materials is going up, the cost of land is going up, and the cost of labor is going up,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

He says the city is giving tax breaks for middle income housing projects. Northglenn just opened a new townhome complex and senior living facility.

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Coffman says he’s focused on redeveloping 30 blocks of Colfax Avenue.

“Transitioning back from retail over to multi-family residential — a mix of market-rate housing and affordable workforce housing.”

Economists at the Denver Metro Chamber say while Colorado ranked among the top states in real GDP, employment, income growth, and home price appreciation from 2008 to 2023, it ranked among the bottom 10 states in 2024.

If a cooling economy isn’t troubling enough, an icy relationship between Coffman and Johnston is complicating things further.

Johnston shrugged off the year-long standoff.

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“There is no distrust, is no damage. My door is always open,” he said.

Coffman vehemently disagreed.

“There is an issue and there is distrust,” he said.

Aurora sued Denver saying it violated their mutual aid agreement during the George Floyd protests and then sent gang-affiliated migrants to Aurora.

Your Political Reporter Shaun Boyd, who moderated the event, ask the mayors what it would take to bury the hatchet. One suggested quarterly meetings that include the mayors and their top staff. The other agreed.

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The Chamber’s State of the Cities event included more than 400 business and community leaders and focused on collaboration — not only between cities but between local government and the business community.

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