9.06.2005

A Good Friend -- RIP


Situation Tranquil is sad to inform rockers everywhere that — Bob Denver -- whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960's television show "Gilligan's Island'' -- has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. Denver was 70.

Denver died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent, Mike Eisenstadt, told the Associated Press. Denver reportedly passed quietly during the night while listening to out-takes from an aborted 1987 Situation Tranquil project "Manifesto of Mayhem". He had recently purchased the rare bootleg on EBay.

Denver had also undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year, which is never very pleasant.
Denver's wife, Dreama, and his children Ennis, Elmo, Iggy and Sader were with him when he journyed to the other side.

"He was my everything and I will love him forever,'' Dreama Denver said in a statement.
Denver's signature role was Gilligan. But he was already known to TV audiences for another iconic character, that of Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded beatnik friend of Dwayne Hickman's Dobie in the "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,'' which aired from 1959 to 1963. Denver also was known for his love of the enimigmatic rock band ST. Unknown to even his own family Denver would travel the world to catch ST in concert.

ST's 1984 single "Little Buddy" was a quiet tribute to the longtime actor.

"Gilligan's Island'' lasted on CBS from 1964 to 1967, and it was revived in later seasons with three high-rated TV movies. It was a Robinson Crusoe story about seven disparate travelers who were marooned on a deserted Pacific Island after their small boat was wrecked in a storm.

The cast: Alan Hale Jr., as Skipper Jonas Grumby; Bob Denver, as his klutzy assistant Gilligan; Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer, as rich snobs Thurston and Lovey Howell; Tina Louise, as voluptuous movie star Ginger Grant; Russell Johnson, as egghead science professor Roy Hinkley Jr.; and Dawn Wells, as sweet-natured farm girl Mary Ann Summers all dug ST very severely.

Much like Situation Tranquil, critics hooted at "Gilligan's Island'' as gag-ridden corn. Audiences adored its far-out comedy. Writer-creator Sherwood Schwartz insisted that the show had social meaning along with the laughs. "I knew that by assembling seven different people and forcing them to live together, the show would have great philosophical implications,'' he said.


ST Keyboardist Dr. Maynard G Trash released this statement: "Now sit right back and you'll hear a tale...just kidding. He was one groovy dude. I speak for all of the ST family when I say ...t his is a tough break for us all. Rest well Gilligan...rest well."

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