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Bob Denver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor best known for his role as "Gilligan" on the television series Gilligan's Island. Earlier, Denver had played beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the (1959-1963) TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a characterization that was similar to Gilligan in many ways.
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Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York and raised in Brownwood, Texas. He graduated from Loyola University (predecessor to today's Loyola Marymount University) in Los Angeles, California and worked as a mailman and a high school teacher.
He landed the role of Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis in 1959. His co-star Dwayne Hickman, who played Dobie Gillis, was also a Loyola graduate. Denver appeared in the 1964 beach movie For Those Who Think Young with Tina Louise prior to the development of Gilligan's Island.
When Dobie Gillis ended in 1963, Denver landed the role of Gilligan on Gilligan's Island. During the run, Denver proved a gracious and generous castmember; he insisted that Russell Johnson's and Dawn Wells' character names be included in the opening title sequence. In the first season, the two had merely been referred to as "and the rest" ("are here on Gilligan's Isle"). Denver had the power to decide where his name appeared in the credits (as he was the star). He used this clause as leverage to place Johnson's and Wells' names in the second and third season's credits.
After Gilligan's Island, he appeared in other television shows including The Good Guys (1968–1970) and Dusty's Trail (1973) (a virtual copy of Gilligan's Island, set on a lost wagon train). He also starred in a children's program, Far Out Space Nuts (1975), which was essentially Gilligan in space. Although appreciated by Bob Denver fans, none of these shows matched the wider audience success of his earlier roles.
In 1998, Denver was arrested for having a parcel of marijuana delivered to his home. He originally said that the parcel had come from Dawn Wells (who had played "Mary Ann" on Gilligan's Island) but later refused to name her in court, and testified that "some crazy fan must have sent it". The police reportedly found more of the drug and related paraphernalia in Denver's home. He pleaded no contest and received six months probation. [1] [2]
Late in his life, Denver worked in his adopted home state of West Virginia as an FM radio personality. He and his wife Dreama owned and operated a small "oldies format" station. He also earned a small income making public appearances, often costumed as Gilligan.
Denver underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery in May 2005, and subsequently was diagnosed with throat cancer. He died pneumonia and squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx[3] at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the age of 70, surrounded by his family — his last wife (of 28 years), the former Dreama Peery; and his children (from 4 different marriages) Patrick, Megan, Emily, and Colin. He passed away just two days before the September 4 anniversary of the airing of the last CBS prime time telecast of Gilligan's Island.
- ^ Gilligan's No Dope: Cops Plea Joal Ryan at eonline.com August 27, 1998
- ^ Gilligan's Dreams Dana Stevens at slate.msn.com, September 6, 2005
- ^ North Carolina Death Certificate (September 7, 2005) via Find A Grave.
- Bob Denver at the Internet Movie Database
- Bob Denver at TV.com
- Gilligan's Minnow no longer lost
- Bob Denver Halloween Pumpkin Carving
- Bob Denver's Gilligan Fan club** http://www.bobdenver.com/index.html
