<Li> Bob Denver is Gilligan, the inept, accident - prone First Mate (affectionately known as "Little Buddy" by "the Skipper") of the SS Minnow . Denver was not the first choice to play Gilligan; actor Jerry Van Dyke was offered the role, but he turned it down, believing that the show would never be successful . He chose instead to play the lead in My Mother the Car, which premiered the following year and was cancelled after one season . The producers looked to Bob Denver, the actor who had played Maynard G. Krebs, the goofy but lovable beatnik in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis . None of the show's episodes ever specified Gilligan's full name or clearly indicated whether "Gilligan" was the character's first name or his last . In the DVD collection, Sherwood Schwartz states that he preferred the full name of "Willy Gilligan" for the character . Denver, on various television / radio interviews (The Pat Sajak Show; KDKA radio), said that "Gil Egan" was his choice . The actor reasoned that because everyone yelled at the first mate, it ran together as "Gilligan ." In the unaired pilot episode, whether Lovey Howell refers to Gilligan as "Stewart" or steward is unclear . On Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the writers artfully dodged Gilligan's full name when the other names are announced . Little is revealed about Gilligan's past, except his occasional reference to best friend Skinny Mulligan and a one - time reference to his older brother . </Li> <Li> Alan Hale Jr. is The Skipper / Captain Jonas Grumby, the captain of the S.S. Minnow . Alan Hale Jr. was a longtime actor in B - Westerns and the look - alike son of Alan Hale Sr., a legendary movie character actor . Hale so loved his role that, long after the show went off the air, he still appeared in character in his Los Angeles restaurant, Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel . Although the Skipper was a father figure to Gilligan, Hale was only 14 years older than Denver . Gilligan pushed the Skipper out of the way of a loose depth charge when they were both serving in the United States Navy . Skipper is a World War II veteran, and served in the Seventh Fleet . In one episode, he describes his participation in the Battle of Guadalcanal . In the episode "They're Off and Running" (season 1 episode 28), Ginger is reading from a horoscope magazine and asks the Skipper his birthday, to which he responds, "May 5th ." In moments of exasperation, the Skipper would swat Gilligan on the head with his cap . Just as often, the Skipper endearingly called Gilligan "Little Buddy". While everybody else called him "Skipper", the Howells usually called him "Captain". In addition, Hale wore his Skipper outfit when four other Gilligan's Island cast members and he appeared on a few celebrity Family Feud shows . </Li> <Li> Jim Backus is Thurston Howell III, the millionaire . Backus was already a well - known character actor when he took the part . The origin of the super-rich Howell character dates back to 1949 radio when Backus portrayed "Hubert Updike III" on The Alan Young Show . Also, in the inaugural 1962--1963 season (episode 31) of The Beverly Hillbillies, Backus basically plays the same character, this time as the eccentric millionaire Martin von Ransohoff . In the classic 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Backus played another Howell - like character, Tyler Fitzgerald, a boozy and rich airplane owner who briefly gets caught up in the race for the stolen money . Backus was perhaps best known as the voice of cartoon character Mr. Magoo . He reused some of the voice inflections and mannerisms of Magoo in the Howell role . He was well known for his ad - libs on the set . The character Howell was a Harvard graduate, a Republican, and a multibillionaire until his losses in the Great Depression left him a mere multimillionaire . </Li> <Li> Natalie Schafer is "Lovey" Wentworth Howell, Thurston's wife, whom he affectionately called "Lovey". Schafer had it written into her contract that no close - ups would be made of her, but after a while in the series it was forgotten . Schafer was 63 when the pilot was shot, although reportedly no one on the set or in the cast knew her real age and she refused to divulge it . Originally, she only accepted the role because the pilot was filmed on location in Hawaii . She looked at the job as nothing more than a free vacation, as she was convinced that a show this silly would "never go". </Li>

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