Bob Denver
Encyclopedia
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island
and the beatnik
Maynard G. Krebs
on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
.
, and raised in Brownwood, Texas
. He graduated from Loyola University (predecessor to today's Loyola Marymount University
) in Los Angeles, California
. After attending the Sylvia Herpolscheimer Academy for Performance Arts, he first found work as a mailman. He would later coach physical education
and teach mathematics
at Corpus Christi School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in Pacific Palisades, California.
. He co-starred with Dwayne Hickman
on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
in 1959, playing Maynard G. Krebs
. While he was on Dobie Gillis, Denver also appeared on the NBC
interview program Here's Hollywood
. He also had a one time role in which he replaced the original actor that played Dudley A. "Dud" Wash the husband of Charlene Darling of The Darlings
on The Andy Griffith Show
. The episode was aired March 30, 1964. This was done by the network to promote Denver's face and make him more familiar to the viewing audience since Gilligan's Island was about to go on air. He only appeared in one episode.
He landed a small role in the 1963 Jimmy Stewart
film, Take Her, She's Mine
, playing a beatnik poet working at a coffee shop, and was credited as "Robert Denver". Denver also appeared in the 1964 beach film For Those Who Think Young
with Tina Louise
prior to the development of Gilligan's Island. He also appeared in the 1967 comedy film Who's Minding the Mint?
.
He is remembered primarily as a comic actor, yet Denver also appeared in one dramatic role on television, as a physician (Dr. Paul Garrett) in one episode of Dr. Kildare
, telecast on October 10, 1963. The episode, "If You Can't Believe the Truth ...", also featured Barbara Eden
and Ken Berry
.
After Dobie Gillis ended in 1963, Denver landed the title role on the sitcom Gilligan's Island
, which ran for three seasons (1964-67) on CBS
, and became a staple of later syndication. His role as the well-meaning, but bumbling, first mate among a small cast of shipwrecked castaways became the one for which he is most remembered.
and Dusty's Trail
(1973) (a facsimile of Gilligan's Island, with the basis of a lost wagon train). He also starred as "Junior" in the Sid & Marty Krofft children's program Far Out Space Nuts
(1975). In 1976, The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West was a feature movie compiled of several episodes from Dusty's Trail
. A decade after CBS left the castaways in limbo, he returned to the role of Gilligan – along with many of his former co-star castaways – lending his voice to the animated The New Adventures of Gilligan
series and its sequel Gilligan's Planet
. He also played four separate guest roles on Fantasy Island
, on ABC
from 1978 to 1980. In 1983, he starred in the television pilot, The Invisible Woman
, as the bumbling mad scientist
father of the title character, a journalist.
Later in his life, Denver returned to his adopted home of Princeton, West Virginia
, and became an FM radio
personality. He and his wife, Dreama, ran a small “oldies
format” radio station. He also earned a small income making public appearances, often costumed as Gilligan. During the 1980s, he re-created the character of Gilligan for numerous cameo appearances, including episodes of ALF
, Meego, and Baywatch
, as well as a bartender in the 1987 film Back to the Beach
. In 1992, he again re-created the Gilligan character in order to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation for a West Virginia fundraiser for the organization.
delivered to his home. He originally said that the box had come from Dawn Wells
who had played "Mary Ann" on Gilligan's Island, but later refused to name her in court and testified that "some crazy fan must have sent it." The police reportedly found more of the plant and related paraphernalia in Denver's home. He pleaded no contest
and received six months probation
.
and was subsequently diagnosed with throat cancer. He died on September 2, 2005, from pneumonia
and squamous cell carcinoma
of the larynx
at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
. With him at the time of his death were his wife of twenty-six years, Dreama Peery Denver, and his four children from three of his four marriages: Patrick, Megan, Emily, and Colin. Denver was cremated
and his ashes were given to his family.
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
and the beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs was the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis....
on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
.
Early life
Denver was born in New Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
, and raised in Brownwood, Texas
Brownwood, Texas
Brownwood is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,813 at the 2000 census.-History:The original site of the Brown County seat of Brownwood was on the east of Pecan Bayou. A dispute arose over land and water rights, and the settlers were forced...
. He graduated from Loyola University (predecessor to today's Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
) in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. After attending the Sylvia Herpolscheimer Academy for Performance Arts, he first found work as a mailman. He would later coach physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and teach mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Corpus Christi School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in Pacific Palisades, California.
Television and film career
Denver's first film appearance was in the service farce A Private's Affair with Sal MineoSal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
. He co-starred with Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
in 1959, playing Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs was the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis....
. While he was on Dobie Gillis, Denver also appeared on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
interview program Here's Hollywood
Here's Hollywood
Here's Hollywood is an American celebrity interview program which aired on weekday afternoons on NBC at 4:30 Eastern time from September 26, 1960, to December 28, 1962.-Overview:...
. He also had a one time role in which he replaced the original actor that played Dudley A. "Dud" Wash the husband of Charlene Darling of The Darlings
The Darlings
The Darlings were a fictional family of musically-inclined hillbillies in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.The Darlings lived in a mountain shack somewhere in the mountains neighboring Mayberry...
on The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
. The episode was aired March 30, 1964. This was done by the network to promote Denver's face and make him more familiar to the viewing audience since Gilligan's Island was about to go on air. He only appeared in one episode.
He landed a small role in the 1963 Jimmy Stewart
James Stewart
James Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
film, Take Her, She's Mine
Take Her, She's Mine
Take Her, She's Mine is a 1963 comedy film starring James Stewart and Sandra Dee. The film was written by Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron, and Nunnally Johnson, with Dee's character based on the then 22-year-old Nora Ephron, and directed by Henry Koster...
, playing a beatnik poet working at a coffee shop, and was credited as "Robert Denver". Denver also appeared in the 1964 beach film For Those Who Think Young
For Those Who Think Young (film)
For Those Who Think Young is a 1964 beach party film directed by Leslie H. Martinson and featuring James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise, Bob Denver, Robert Middleton, and Woody Woodbury.-Plot:...
with Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
prior to the development of Gilligan's Island. He also appeared in the 1967 comedy film Who's Minding the Mint?
Who's Minding the Mint?
Who's Minding the Mint? is a comedy movie from 1967 with elements of a caper film. Howard Morris directed a cast that included Jim Hutton, Dorothy Provine, Walter Brennan and Milton Berle. It was produced by Norman Maurer for Columbia Pictures....
.
He is remembered primarily as a comic actor, yet Denver also appeared in one dramatic role on television, as a physician (Dr. Paul Garrett) in one episode of Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
, telecast on October 10, 1963. The episode, "If You Can't Believe the Truth ...", also featured Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
and Ken Berry
Ken Berry
Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.-Life and career:...
.
After Dobie Gillis ended in 1963, Denver landed the title role on the sitcom Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
, which ran for three seasons (1964-67) on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and became a staple of later syndication. His role as the well-meaning, but bumbling, first mate among a small cast of shipwrecked castaways became the one for which he is most remembered.
Later career
After the conclusion of Gilligan's Island, Denver performed in other shows, such as The Good Guys (1968–1970), Love, American StyleLove, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
and Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail is an American Western/comedy series that aired in syndication from September 1973 to March 1974. The series is set in the 19th century about a small group of travelers separated from their wagon train who become lost. Dusty's Trail stars Bob Denver as "Dusty" Boots, the assistant to...
(1973) (a facsimile of Gilligan's Island, with the basis of a lost wagon train). He also starred as "Junior" in the Sid & Marty Krofft children's program Far Out Space Nuts
Far Out Space Nuts
Far Out Space Nuts is a Sid and Marty Krofft children's television series starring Bob Denver as Junior, a seemingly dim-witted but uniquely clever maintenance worker employed by NASA, and Chuck McCann as Barney, his grumpy, short-tempered co-worker. Patty Maloney played Honk, their furry friend...
(1975). In 1976, The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West was a feature movie compiled of several episodes from Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail
Dusty's Trail is an American Western/comedy series that aired in syndication from September 1973 to March 1974. The series is set in the 19th century about a small group of travelers separated from their wagon train who become lost. Dusty's Trail stars Bob Denver as "Dusty" Boots, the assistant to...
. A decade after CBS left the castaways in limbo, he returned to the role of Gilligan – along with many of his former co-star castaways – lending his voice to the animated The New Adventures of Gilligan
The New Adventures Of Gilligan
The New Adventures of Gilligan is an animated series produced by Filmation and was aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It was based on the 1964-1967 CBS television series Gilligan's Island and featured almost all the actors from the show, except for Tina Louise, who was determined to distance...
series and its sequel Gilligan's Planet
Gilligan's Planet
Gilligan's Planet is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by the Filmation animation studio and MGM/UA Television which aired during the 1982-1983 season on CBS...
. He also played four separate guest roles on Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1978 to 1980. In 1983, he starred in the television pilot, The Invisible Woman
The Invisible Woman
The Invisible Woman is a science fiction, comedy film that was released near the end of 1940 by Universal. It is the third film follow Invisible Man and The Invisible Man Returns which had been released earlier in the year. The comedic writers Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo wrote the screenplay in...
, as the bumbling mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
father of the title character, a journalist.
Later in his life, Denver returned to his adopted home of Princeton, West Virginia
Princeton, West Virginia
Princeton is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 111,586. It is the county seat of Mercer County...
, and became an FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
personality. He and his wife, Dreama, ran a small “oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format” radio station. He also earned a small income making public appearances, often costumed as Gilligan. During the 1980s, he re-created the character of Gilligan for numerous cameo appearances, including episodes of ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
, Meego, and Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, as well as a bartender in the 1987 film Back to the Beach
Back to the Beach
Back to the Beach is a 1987 comedy film starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, directed by Lyndall Hobbs. The original music score is composed by Steve Dorff. The film generated a total domestic gross of $13,110,903...
. In 1992, he again re-created the Gilligan character in order to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation for a West Virginia fundraiser for the organization.
Legal issues
In 1998, Denver was arrested for having a box of marijuanaCannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
delivered to his home. He originally said that the box had come from Dawn Wells
Dawn Wells
Dawn Elberta Wells is an American actress known for playing Mary Ann Summers on the sitcom Gilligan's Island during its run from 1964 until 1967.- Early life :...
who had played "Mary Ann" on Gilligan's Island, but later refused to name her in court and testified that "some crazy fan must have sent it." The police reportedly found more of the plant and related paraphernalia in Denver's home. He pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
and received six months probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
.
Death
In May 2005, Denver underwent quadruple heart bypass surgeryCoronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
and was subsequently diagnosed with throat cancer. He died on September 2, 2005, from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma , occasionally rendered as "squamous-cell carcinoma", is a histologically distinct form of cancer. It arises from the uncontrolled multiplication of malignant cells deriving from epithelium, or showing particular cytological or tissue architectural characteristics of...
of the larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is a teaching hospital located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is the largest employer in Forsyth County with over 11,000 employees at its main location, and a total of 100 buildings on , including a 196-acre research farm and a research center downtown.The...
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. With him at the time of his death were his wife of twenty-six years, Dreama Peery Denver, and his four children from three of his four marriages: Patrick, Megan, Emily, and Colin. Denver was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
and his ashes were given to his family.