34

Almost everyone knows Gilligan's Island. But can anyone tell me his full name?

I do not think "Little Buddy" counts!

Can someone possibly provide a reference with Gilligan's full name?

Improve this question
1
  • 1
    if he's really named Little buddy Gilligan, could it be worse than Chandler Muriel Bing? oh, of course yes.
    – Vishwa
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 6:31

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
53

When the first season of "Gilligan's Island" was released on DVD in 2004, it included a short documentary called "Before the Three Hour Tour." That piece featured materials from Sherwood Schwarz's first attempt to put the show together that indicated Gilligan's full name was to be: "Willy Gilligan." Schwarz purposely dropped that from the finished product. So, in the official "Gilligan's Island" universe, we never know.

Low quality clip from "Before the Three Hour Tour:"

Improve this answer
4
  • 24
    And, as stated above, his name is purposely omitted in the finished product. Just saying "no" is not much of an answer.
    – Chico the Friendly Monkey
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 9:00
  • Was his name given in the movie? I can't 100% recall because I've not seen it in over 20 years, but if feels like it might have been mentioned.
    – RLH
    Commented Jun 11, 2019 at 1:18
  • This might be improved by a title saying something like "Name was officially dropped." It's easy to read this as saying "Willy" is the answer, rather than just the name that was cut before production.
    – trlkly
    Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 12:53
  • Gilligan being the fist mate, would make sense that “Gilligan “ is his last name. Navy personal are always called by their last name. Thus “Willy Gilligan” makes more sense than “Gilligan Whitehead”.
    – Ken Graham
    Commented Jun 18, 2019 at 0:57
31

"Gilligan Whitehead" might be his name, according to another's of Sherwood Schwartz's TV shows.

Gilligan’s Name (Wikipedia)

At the end of A Very Brady Sequel, a movie based on The Brady Bunch characters also created by Sherwood Schwartz, Carol Brady reveals that her first husband was a professor lost on a boat. Dr. Whitehead, played by John Hillerman, says, "and my son Gilligan was first mate on that boat."

Improve this answer
5
  • 5
    Uh, God? Is that a writer or something?
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 22:48
  • 1
    @AzorAhai tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WordOfGod (Beware TV Tropes!) "A statement regarding some ambiguous or undefined aspect of a work, the Word of God comes from someone considered to be the ultimate authority, such as the creator, director, or producer." Sherwood Schwartz was the Producer of both GI and The Brady Bunch.
    – RonJohn
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 22:52
  • 11
    Yeah, I know what "Word of God" is, but that's definitely a confusing way to write it! haha
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Commented Jun 10, 2019 at 22:56
  • I don't think you can count a movie made 30 years after the fact to be the source for anything official.
    – Johnny Bones
    Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 20:03
  • @JohnnyBones it was written (or at least approved) by God in the form of Sherwood Schwartz. That's IMO more authoritative than a scrapped pilot.
    – RonJohn
    Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 20:07
-3

Bob Denver is his real name. My source is:

Gilligan's Island (1964–1992) IMBd

Improve this answer
1
  • 3
    Bob Denver is the name of the actor who played Gilligan. Gilligan's actual full name is listed in the very same FAQ, two questions down (see "What are Skipper's and Professor's real names, and Gilligan's last name?")
    – F1Krazy
    Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 11:12

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .