Bob Denver Compared His Gilligan’s Island Friendship With Alan Hale Jr. To A Classic Duo

Sherwood Schwartz’s 1964 sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” is a zany slapstick comedy series, yes, but there’s something undeniably classical about it. Although its characters were trapped on an uncharted desert island, and there seemed to be little hope for escape, there was an undercurrent of oblivious optimism at the show’s core. The seven stranded castaways were depressed by their plight yet chipper and upbeat on a daily basis. They resembled Voltaire’s Candide in this regard. They are living in the best possible world.

One can also easily compare “Gilligan’s Island” to “The Myth of Sisyphus,” Albert Camus’ treatise on the philosophical pleasures of futility. The castaways may be trapped in an unending loop of hope and despair, often poised to be rescued only to see the effort fail once again, but there is a whimsical joy to accepting the absurdity of their plight. One may also compare “Gilligan’s Island” to the characters in Commedia Dell’Arte, the ancient Italian comedy tradition that relies on familiar stock characters for their scenarios. The castaways are the modern versions of Pantalone, il Dottore, et al. Gilligan (Bob Denver) is clearly Arlecchino.

One can see the Commedia influence in the interactions between Gilligan and the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.). Gilligan is an innocent, largely oblivious, and always clumsy. He may foil rescues and wreck widgets with his carelessness, but it’s hard to stay mad at Gilligan because he’s so feckless and guileless. All our anger is concentrated through the Skipper, who often bears the brunt of Gilligan’s clumsiness. It is the Skipper who gets thwacked in the face with Gilligan’s ladder. It is the Skipper who falls out of his hammock when Gilligan screams. They are a perfect comedic duo and one that comedy historians will remember in perpetuity.

In an interview with The Birmingham News (handily transcribed by MeTV), Denver once said he also felt his comedic chemistry with Hale was classical, stating that their dynamic was very akin to the relationship of Laurel & Hardy.

To provide some context as to when Denver gave the interview, he actually had to describe the premise of “Gilligan’s Island” to readers. This, then, was before the series had blown up in popularity in 1964, and its characters hadn’t yet embedded themselves in American culture. It’s unusual hearing the elevator pitch for “Gilligan’s Island,” but Denver does an exemplary job, saying:

“It’s a sort of ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ with laughs. I think it’s funny. In fact, it’s pretty weird … We shot the pilot in Kauai … we’re on our fourth episode now … they’re coming off well, I think. […] Jim Backus is one of the funniest men I’ve ever seen. He and Natalie [Schafer] play a rich man with his wife stranded on this island. They are constantly changing clothes, dressing up. These two really come out of left field. They’re doing comedy in comedy.”

One has to use a bit of imagination to envision discovering “Gilligan’s Island” for the first time. Backus’ presence was certainly a selling point, as he was likely the biggest star that Schwartz landed for the show’s cast. As for him and Hale, Denver wanted to assure readers their antics would be funny and accurately compared himself and Hale to a known comedy duo. One was large and angry, the other was small and meek. It reads great. Denver wisely described it as follows:

“Alan Hale, Jr. and I are a team, a little like Laurel and Hardy. […] Hale is the skipper of the boat chartered for a fishing trip which gets marooned, and I’m Alan’s sole mate and crew … I’m continually frustrating the marooned party.”

Denver couldn’t have predicted how massive “Gilligan’s Island” would become, much less that it would remain in reruns for generations after its cancellation. The fact that millions have been raised on “Gilligan’s Island,” and that its silly comedy remained popular for so long, is just a testament to its classical underpinnings.