Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)
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Gilligan is a fictional character played by Bob Denver on the 1960s TV show Gilligan's Island and its many sequels.
Gilligan is always seen in his trademark red shirt, pale trousers and white navy cap. He was the first mate on the S. S. Minnow when, during a storm, he threw an anchor overboard without the line attached, which left the boat shipwrecked on an "uncharted" desert island with all aboard.
In the U.S. Navy, Gilligan served with The Skipper, and saved the older man (likely a Chief Petty Officer) from being struck and killed by a runaway depth charge. After retirement, The Skipper used his savings to buy the Minnow, and hired his "little buddy" Gilligan as first mate. The pair follows the stereotypical pattern of the fat-man/skinny-guy team first employed by Laurel and Hardy.
Gilligan's past and family were not mentioned during the series, except for his older brother, from whom he swiped his ever-present red shirt. He once mentioned he was born in Pennsylvania, but no city was specified. He would sometimes mention his childhood friends, Skinny Mulligan and Fatso Flannigan, possibly inferring that he came from a predominately Irish-American neighborhood.
The character of Gilligan is noted for frequent physical comedy, often using his friend the Skipper in the role of a straight man. Continuing gags of the show involve Gilligan's seduction by Ginger, eating Mary Ann's coconut cream pies, joking about the Skipper's weight and inadvertently undermining any attempts and efforts of the castaways to get off the island. He would often interject discussions with pointless anecdotes about his childhood or with seemingly useless advice. Though he was often chided by The Skipper for interrupting, on more than one occasion Gilligan's seemingly random nonsense would actually trigger The Professor to remember a useful fact or suggest a course of action to the academic.
Despite his bumbling nature, Gilligan has an innate innocence of character that causes the others to forgive his mistakes. He occasionally saves the others when an escape plan goes awry. Other ensemble stories have had similar characters somewhat lacking in wit but with big hearts, such as Mater in the movie Cars.
Today Gilligan is widely recognized as an American popular culture icon; he ranked at 122nd place in the July 2003 list of 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons compiled by VH-1 and People magazine.
Gilligan's full name has been a subject of debate among fans of the series for decades, which was finally resolved by the release of Gilligan's Island — The Complete First Season on DVD in 2004. In a documentary called Before the Three Hour Tour, excerpts from Sherwood Schwartz's original treatment for the series reveal that Gilligan's full name was "Willy Gilligan," a name that Bob Denver had sometimes given during talk-show interviews. The documentary also reveals that Schwartz found the name "Gilligan" by opening the phone book to a random page. Bob Denver stated on a KDKA radio interview in May 1989, that "Gil Eggan" was his choice for the character's name. Denver reasoned that the nickname Gilligan developed as everyone screamed at Gil Eggan, and it ran together. No first name is used in any of the three seasons, films or animated series. In Rescue from Gilligan's Island, the returning castaways' names are announced. The writers, heightening the folklore surrounding Gilligan, omitted the the first mate's name despite providing the names of the others.
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