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Ginger Grant was a character in the 1960s
television sitcom Gilligan's Island. Grant was a
movie star, and would casually mention names of some
of the biggest movie stars of the day, as co-stars
or acquaintances, suggesting that she too was a
great star.
Ginger Grant was portrayed by actress Tina Louise.
The character name was taken from two stars of
Hollywood's "Golden Era", Ginger Rogers and Cary
Grant. Louise has stated that the character as
originally written was somewhat abrasive and
sarcastic, however she argued that such a character
would be out of place. She suggested the final
characterisation which she described as a blend of
Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball, and with a visual
style inspired by Myrna Loy.
Ginger appeared in several episodes to be the desire
of The Skipper (Alan Hale, Jr.) but as this was
1960s series television, the "relationship" was
never allowed to develop beyond a mild flirtation.
Ginger's fellow single female on the island and
hence companion and rival was Mary Ann Summers (Dawn
Wells), a simple, innocent farm girl from Kansas who
was in many ways her opposite.
Miss Louise for many years regarded her casting as
Ginger Grant as having largely destroyed her
subsequent career through typecasting her solely as
a retro glamour queen.
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Mary Ann Summers is a fictional Kansas
farm girl who is a character in the television
sitcom Gilligan's Island which ran on the CBS
network from 1964 to 1967, and has run more or less
continuously since in reruns.
Mary Ann was portayed by actress Dawn Wells. She was
an ingénue and a foil, as well as a friend, to
glamorous Hollywood star Ginger Grant, played by
Tina Louise. She is apparently regarded with some
desire by both the title character of Gilligan (Bob
Denver) and The Professor (Russell Johnson), but
this is never allowed to develop into anything
beyond mild flirtation (this was, after all, 1960s
series television!).
Unlike Miss Louise, who in retrospect for many years
felt that her casting as Ginger Grant had largely
destroyed what until then had seemed to be a
promising career, Miss Wells has always, at least in
public, expressed gratitude for the opportunities
that the role has presented her.
Gilligan's Island was an American TV sitcom from the 1960s. Early episodes were filmed in black-and-white; later episodes in color. The theme tune for the show 'Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip...' is familiar to many.
The Gilligan of the show's name is the hapless deckhand. Other characters are the 'Skipper' (referred to as Jonas Grumby in the pilot), the 'Professor' (referred to as Roy Hinkley in the pilot), millionaires Mr. and Mrs. Thurston B. Howell III, movie star Ginger Grant, and farm girl Mary Ann Summers. The show's plots revolved around the characters' failed attempts to get off the island that they have been shipwrecked on.
One of the astounding things about the show is that the Professor is a genius able to construct practically anything from palm fronds and coconuts, but he is unable to build a boat. Another strange and puzzling fact is that the S.S. Minnow was on a three hour tour—so why did the passengers carry all of their luggage on the trip?
According to the show's creator and cast the name "S.S. Minnow" was actually named after Newton Minow, who was chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1961. In a much-publicized speech, he called television a "vast wasteland." The boat was named after the man who, Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz insists, "ruined television." Minow gave networks authority and placed the power of programming in the hands of the networks. He did this after Gilligan's Island was started.
The last new episode of the show aired on September 4, 1967.
Cast
- Gilligan - Bob Denver
- The Skipper - Alan Hale
- Thurston Howell III - Jim Backus
- Lovey Howell - Natalie Schafer
- Ginger Grant - Tina Louise
- The Professor - Russell Johnson
- Mary Ann Summers - Dawn Wells