January 4–11, 1996

20 questions

Bob Denver

By Howard Altman

Background: Bob Denver didn't set out to be the world's most famous First Mate.

After graduating from high school in Brownwood, Texas, Denver enrolled as a pre-law student at Loyola University. But somewhere along the line, he stumbled upon the Del-Ray Players and, hi-diddle-dee-dee, found the actor's life was for he, er, him. However, Denver's first thespian gig was as house manager for the troupe.

His first role was perhaps a harbinger of things to come. Denver played comic relief in the Caine Mutiny, a play about things that go wrong on the high seas — a topic Denver grew to know intimately as goofy gob Gilligan.

Ah, but first there was the stage, where Denver once appeared with Jack Haley, Jr. And between gigs there was a stint, believe it or not, as athletic director at Corpus Christi School in Southern California.

Finally, Denver made it to the small screen as Maynard G. Crebs, the beatnik foil to Dobbie Gillis. But it was not until he weighed anchor for the world's longest three-hour tour that Denver became the icon he is today, known the world over as a nitwit in a sailor cap.

You can meet Denver Jan. 6 at the Philadelphia Boat Show in the Convention Center, 12th and Arch Sts. The Boat Show runs Jan. 3-7. For more info call (610) 449-9910.

Why should anyone buy a boat from someone so closely associated with the world's most famous nautical disaster?

I don't sell boats, I just sign autographs. But I'll also be checking out a few of the boats myself.

How often do you get out on the water these days?

Not often. Whenever I rent a boat, I hear all the bad lines. Oh, you must be renting this for three hours, right? Renting a boat is really hilarious. That's why I haven't been out for over 10 years. But now I am looking for a flat bottom row boat. I need a boat so I can clean out the cattails in my pond before it becomes a meadow.

After 31 years, do you ever get sick of being Gilligan?

No. I think for most people it has been a great childhood memory, many years of watching the same thing over and over again.

But has it become a burden?

No. There is nothing you can do about it, so I sit back and enjoy it.

So, we won't see Bob Denver doing himself in like George Reeves of Superman fame?

No. No Superman, no groupies, no Trekies...

Gilligan. First name or last?

I never thought of it, but people kept asking me. So one day, I called the writer and he told me it would have been Willie Gilligan. We're still fighting that one out.

Ok, everyone always asks you whether you preferred Ginger or Mary Ann. But say the girls stayed home. Would you have preferred the Skipper or the Professor. Or Mr. Howell?

Oh please.

No, really.

What are you trying to say?

Well, all that time alone on an island with just you and those three. I imagine you'd get a hankering...

No, it doesn't matter how long you are on an island.

Well, speaking of sex, do you think you could sell a show like Gilligan's Island in today's twisted Melrose Place culture?

It would be very difficult to imagine it being done. But from all the grown-ups I hear from, they wish they had shows like Gilligan's Island on at 8 p.m.

So what do you watch?

I like Home Improvement. They don't try to make Tim Allen do anything he's not capable of.

Anything else?

I liked American Gothic, but it didn't make it. It must have had a bad time slot.

Why is there so much bad TV out there?

I think because the writers hear the audience laugh [in the studio], the writers think they are being funny. But the audiences laugh because they want to hear their laughter on the soundtrack. If you made them pay five bucks a head, you would hear a different kind of laughter.

If you could write a pilot, what would it be about?

I always wanted to do a series about a guy that bought a used blimp that he could live in. He kind of got cranky and takes off. From the side of the blimp he could advertise and he travels around the country, very slowly, making a living that way, supporting a cause.

What cause?

I have no idea. But it would be a fun show to do. Sort of like Route 66 in a blimp. He would have wicker furniture in the cab, which is nice and light and we would give him a pet.

What kind?

He should have birds. Pigeons that come home to the blimp. Hunting hawks.

Now that you live in mountainous West Virginia, how often do you get mistaken for John Denver?

Never.

What do your children think about growing up with Gilligan for a dad?

My son Patrick, who's 35 now, had a real fun experience. He did one of the episodes, when he was five and played a young Gilligan. He did a real good job. When he showed up on the day he was working, they painted out my name on the dressing room door and painted his name in. My chair disappeared, but they had a chair for Patrick. They treated him like a star.

But how did he and your daughter Megan react to having a famous father?

For a while, it was what every dad does for a living. The teenage years were hard. And after a while, they got used to it. You can't avoid it or make believe it didn't happen.

What about your 11-year-old Colin?

For him, it was something I did a long time ago. It's not even like watching me anymore, it's like watching my son.

I remember you talking about going into the miniature golf business. How's it going?

We are going to have one built in Charleston, West Virginia. It will be called Bob Denver's Putt-Putt and have 18 holes set in a jungle, with special effects. If you get a hole in one on the 18th hole, a volcano goes off. Plus, there will be a video arcade and two computer-generated golf courses so that you can play the world's top courses.

Why golf?

I want to build them all over the country. In every city. All the money raised will go to the handicapped. The money stays in the community where the course is located.