So long, little buddy!

I have always adored Gilligan’s Island. In no small part because I adored Gilligan, portrayed brilliantly by the late, great Bob Denver. Gilligan was a complete doofus who, every episode, somehow managed to fuck-up any hopes he and his fellow castaways had of being rescued from the island where they had been shipwrecked when bad weather struck the high seas during a 3-hour tour.

(a 3-hour tour)

Gilligan also wasn’t the sharpest bamboo stick in the straw hut, which was one of the main reasons for his ability to foil the group’s attempts to get off the island. He was the exact opposite of the brainy Professor, the unwitting occasional romantic interest of Ginger the Movie Star and Mary-Ann, the perfect first mate/gofer for the Skipper.

Gilligan was cute, though, and for all his blunders, it was difficult to get too mad at him because he was incredibly sweet. He was the guy all the castaways could count on to help them, no matter what the task. He was the perfect anti-hero.

: )

I had an opportunity to see Bob Denver a few years ago at the Du Quoin State Fair. It was a rather warm day, and I had no desire to stand in line and wait for his guest appearance, but I kept thinking how cool it would be to get Gilligan’s autograph.

The longer I waited, though, the more I started to worry: What if he’s all “Hollywood” or something? What if he’s grouchy or impatient or rude or ... too un-Gilligan-like? (I already knew, from watching countless Gilligan’s Island movies, that he was going to look MUCH older than he did during his original Gilligan days!)

I decided not to wait any longer. I wanted to have the image of the perfectly imperfect Gilligan in my mind forever. I left the line and headed over to get a corn dog and a lemon shake-up.

R.I.P., Mr. Denver.

: )