“Gilligan’s Island” is not precisely identified for its refined humor. The present was a light-hearted sitcom about castaways who one way or the other by no means managed to flee their remoted locale regardless of a number of company visiting them all through their three-season run. “Gilligan’s Island” was nonsense, however it knew what it was and absolutely embraced its silliness. Consequently, it turned a beloved TV basic, particularly because it turned extensively syndicated after its last season wrapped up in 1967.
However for all its absurdity and campiness, the present did not less than attempt to present considerably of a stability, most notably within the type of Jim Backus’ Thurston Howell III and his spouse, Natalie Schafer’s Mrs. Thurston. The billionaire couple had been envisioned as a approach to break up the slapstick humor offered by Bob Denver’s Gilligan and Alan Hale Jr.’s Skipper, and definitely introduced an air of refinement to an in any other case ridiculous sitcom. A lot of that was all the way down to Backus himself, who by the point he was forged on the present had develop into an illustrious star in his personal proper.
“Gilligan’s Island” creator Sherwood Schwartz was fortunate to have an actor of his pedigree onboard, particularly since Backus remained part of the “Gilligan’s Island” universe for many years after the unique present wrapped up. The actor not solely voiced his character in two “Gilligan Island” animated sequence that most individuals forgot about, “Gilligan’s Planet” and “The New Adventures of Gilligan,” he appeared on all three TV films based mostly on the sequence: “The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island,” “Rescue From Gilligan’s Island,” and, after all, “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island,” to which Backus contributed a short cameo attributable to his private well being deteriorating.
The significance of Backus to “Gilligan’s Island” definitely wasn’t misplaced on Schwartz, both. The present creator needed to leap by quite a few hoops with the intention to get his primary choose for the position of Thurston Howell III, and remained grateful for Backus’ presence.
Sherwood Schwartz wrote Thurston Howell III with Jim Backus in thoughts
Earlier than it made it to air, “Gilligan’s Island” was a unique present to the one audiences got here to like. For one factor, the unique “Gilligan’s Island” castaways included two very totally different characters. What’s extra, somebody aside from the nice Jim Backus virtually performed Thurston Howell III. Within the e-book “Inside Gilligan’s Island: From Creation to Syndication” Sherwood Schwartz explains how he wrote the position of Howell with Backus in thoughts — maybe as a result of Backus had made a reputation for himself taking part in such elitists. The actor landed his first main position when he performed millionaire named Dexter Hayes within the 1940 radio serial “Society Woman,” earlier than taking up one among his best-known roles because the voice of eccentric cartoon millionaire Mr. Magoo, starting in 1949. Regardless of the cause, Schwartz had seemingly selected Backus for the position of Thurston Howell III lengthy earlier than “Gilligan’s Island” reached the casting stage. Nevertheless, there have been some main points to beat to ensure that Schwartz to get his man.
The showrunner writes about how, since Gilligan and the Skipper offered “the broad slapstick comedy,” it was essential to stability their absurd antics with “wit and satire, comedy of a wholly totally different kind.” Thurston Howell III was the reply, and because the present creator recalled, Backus was the perfect man for the job. However the actor proved powerful to pin down. As Schwartz remembered it, “Jim had executed a pilot movie many months earlier and was nonetheless contractually obligated to maintain himself obtainable.”
What’s extra, cash turned a problem. Having develop into a well-established star in his personal proper, Backus was basically too costly for “Gilligan’s Island” and its modest CBS funds. That prompted Schwartz to briefly look elsewhere, with the present creator writing:
“We had discovered two good character actors who might play the a part of Thurston Howell III. Each had been good, however neither might give the half the form of perfection that Jim alone might convey to that position. Neither one had the Thurston Howell III voice I heard in my head, or the face I pictured on the display. However since I needed to assume Jim was merely unavailable, we started negotiating with the 2 alternate options.”
Fortunately, throughout these negotiations Schwartz and his present caught a break.
Securing Jim Backus for Gilligan’s Island got here all the way down to the wire
Although Jim Backus finally wound up taking part in Thurston Howell III in “Gilligan’s Island,” issues actually did come all the way down to the wire. In Sherwood Schwartz’s e-book, the showrunner defined how Backus all of a sudden turned obtainable throughout negotiations with different actors, however on the time the manufacturing was six days away from leaving for Hawaii to shoot the pilot. Schwartz wrote, “On that date, the choice on Jim for the opposite sequence ran out, and Jim’s agent, Tom Korman, phoned me. Was the position nonetheless obtainable? The reply was sure. Nevertheless it was a certified sure.”
Simply because Backus was all of a sudden free, did not imply CBS was going handy over the cash to get him, leaving Schwartz in considerably of a bind — particularly as he’d must double the wage hooked up to the position with the intention to safe his good friend. Fortunately, it simply so occurred that CBS programming govt Hunt Stromberg Jr. was a Jim Backus fan. Schwartz wrote:
“I phoned Hunt at CBS and informed him Jim Backus had all of a sudden develop into obtainable. Would CBS provide you with the additional cash? Cash above and past the decision of funds? With no hesitation, Hunt spoke for CBS ‘Jim is ideal. You’ve got acquired the additional cash.'”
That wasn’t the top of Schwartz’s Thurston Howell III points, nevertheless. As soon as he was forged on “Gilligan’s Island,” Backus’ presence compelled last-minute rewrites as his character had been given a minor half within the pilot script. “It turned a significant position solely after I came upon Jim was obtainable,” wrote Schwartz. As such, the present creator felt he needed to maintain the pilot script from his esteemed new recruit till he might rewrite it. “There was no means I’d present that script to Jim Backus,” wrote Schwartz. “He would not take the half. He was a person used to vital starring roles. I do not suppose Thurston Howell III had greater than ten or eleven strains within the authentic ‘Gilligan’s Island’ script.” How did Schwartz get round the issue? Effectively, based on the showrunner, it went like this: “‘Do you count on me to signal a contract to star in a sequence with out studying the script?’ requested Jim. ‘Sure,’ I answered. ‘Effectively,’ he mentioned, ‘since you set it that means, okay.'”
