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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.
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.
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.
As the Denver Nuggets face a win-or-go-home battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, a potential loss could have a major effect on what happens to the Nuggets’ core moving forward. For Jamal Murray, there’s the potential of the sharpshooting guard becoming an NBA star to keep an eye on in the trade market.
Recently, Bleacher Report listed a handful of star-caliber players who could be seen as having “negative trade value.” Murray’s name pops up with Bradley Beal, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Jerami Grant, and Lauri Markkanen.
If Murray indeed becomes a buy-low candidate on the market this summer, should the Detroit Pistons kick around the idea of attempting to strike a deal with with the Nuggets?
If you’re the Pistons, you don’t make a deal without running it by Cade Cunningham, the team’s starting point guard. The main question is whether Murray feels more comfortable running the point or playing off the ball.
This year, Murray played two-guard for 44 percent of his minutes after seeing more than 80 percent of his minutes played at the point guard position over the past two seasons. The ball needs to be in Cunningham’s hands, no question. Fortunately, Murray is a consistent shooter no matter where he is.
The veteran had an effective field goal percentage of 58 throughout the 2024-2025 NBA season at both positions. He showed efficiency from all areas of the floor, making 65 percent of his shots at the rim, 46 percent of his shots in the mid-range, and 40 percent of his threes. If you can shoot—you can play alongside Cade Cunningham.
Although the Pistons might struggle to enter the championship conversation ahead of the 2025-2026 NBA season with a similar roster as this past season, they still have a good thing going. There are several homegrown players on affordable rookie deals, who could take another notable step in the right direction.
Acquiring a seasoned veteran, who played a pivotal role on a 2023 title team, would cost a key player like Jaden Ivey. Would the Pistons be comfortable with making that kind of move?
Recently, anonymous NBA executives and scouts went on record to advise against speeding up the process, resembling an Atlanta Hawks team that attempted to jump the line to championship-contender status just to end up being Play-In candidates for several consecutive seasons.
Jaden Ivey isn’t Jamal Murray, but 18 points per game on 41 percent shooting from deep and 46 percent shooting from the field at age 22 is nothing to overlook. To compare, Murray averaged 19 points on 35 percent shooting from three during his age-22 season.
Trajan Langdon’s public messages suggest the Pistons aren’t going to go star hunting this summer. Of course, plans can always change, and messages could strategically lead everybody to believe a team is going in one direction while they are actually going in another.
Murray was reportedly on the Nuggets’ trade block last summer. Clearly, there wasn’t much traction. If Denver’s new leadership decides a fresh start for the 28-year-old could be good for all parties, then the Pistons should make the call. A little due diligence won’t hurt. If the price is too good to pass up, then get something done. If not, keep on moving. The Pistons don’t need to rush anything.
More Pistons on SI
After taking a 3-2 series deficit, the Denver Nuggets picked up a huge Game 6 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to keep their season alive and force a Game 7.
The Nuggets are in a challenging spot heading into Game 7, as they have played more games than any other team this postseason, and it is starting to show. Heading into Sunday’s Game 7, the Nuggets have listed two key players on their injury report.
The Nuggets have listed both Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook on the injury report for their win-or-go-home Game 7. Westbrook has been listed as probable for Sunday’s game due to a right hand sprain.
Westbrook came out firing in the second round against his former team, scoring 18 and 19 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively. Since then, Westbrook has cooled down, averaging just 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists through the last four games with 25.7/16.7/62.5 shooting splits.
Even through his offensive struggles, the Nuggets have desperately needed their 36-year-old point guard as a bench spark with hustle plays and defensive intensity.
Many fans have taken to social media to react to Westbrook’s new status for Sunday’s Game 7.
“No way Russ sits out this game,” one fan commented.
“We know Russ playing until he physically can’t,” another fan said.
“He not missing this,” a fan replied.
The Nuggets and Thunder are set to face off in Oklahoma City for Game 7 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, and Denver is certainly hoping that Westbrook is good to suit up.
After their win against the South Pittsburgh Hooligans, the Denver Highlanders are advancing to the final four in the DIII USA Club Rugby XVs National Championships.
CBS Colorado caught up with Derek Smith and the rest of the team at practice this week as they prepare to face off against the Scottsdale Blues Saturday at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis.
CBS
“Once we won the championship for Rocky Mountain Rugby, I was like [exhale] ‘There’s a chance,’” said Smith. “I didn’t work this hard just to get second.”
He said there are a lot of great teams in Colorado, but the Highlanders’ mix of younger and more experienced players has been doing particularly well this season. Smith himself is a seasoned rugby player.
“I played football in high school. I played football at a small college,” said Smith. “But then I found the sport of rugby, [and] I’m like, ‘Oh, I can still hit people, and legally, and don’t have to play American football anymore? I can just play rugby? All I need’s a mouthpiece? That’s great!’”
CBS
There are a lot of reasons he loves the game. Smith said rugby combines the continuity of soccer with the contact of American football. American football and rugby have more in common than some might realize.
Smith explained, “So, historically, the reason it’s called a touchdown in football [is], in rugby, you have to touch the ball down to score a ‘try.’” A try is scored when the ball is grounded in the opposition’s in-goal area.
Another thing Smith loves is the respect the players have for each other.
He said, “The most respect, typically, [is given] to the referees. We don’t talk back. We say ‘thank you, yes sir, no sir,’ and that’s what I love about it. It’s the idea of respect for us and the other people playing the sport. Because we pay money to beat each other up.”
CBS
After certain infringements, or when the ball is unplayable, players will pack closely together with their heads down in what’s called a ‘scrum,’ attempting to gain possession of the ball. Smith said it’s important to have a good ‘sir’ to keep things safe.
“Sometimes the older guys that have been doing it a while, they try to get away with some stuff to be cheeky, if you will. So, you have to have a good ‘sir,’ or referee, that’s really kind of watching that scrum to make sure we keep it up and they keep it safe,” he said.
“And the scrum. They call it the ‘dark arts.’ It’s one big man hug. So, those guys in the front, the ‘props,’ they’re just trying to push each other back straight,” Smith explained.
CBS
Smith said this may be his last year, and he’s been training hard.
“I’ve been training for this, you know, working out in my classroom as a school teacher, and the kids think I’m crazy. I guess I am a little bit,” he said with a laugh. “Forty-two years old, two small kids, this is my last go full-time, so I’d love to go out on top.”
Saturday’s game starts at 8:30 a.m. MST and will stream live on the Mid-America Rugby Union YouTube channel. The winner of Saturday’s match-up will face the winner of the game between the Columbia Rhinos and the Rocky Gorge on Sunday.
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