Die-hard fans of Sherwood Schwartz’s 1964 sitcom Gilligan’s Island will probably be able to tell you all about the show’s original pilot episode, “Marooned.” Considered the series’ “dry run,” “Marooned” had the same premise – seven oddly mismatched castaways trapped together on an uncharted desert island – but the characters were reshuffled a bit. Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Skipper (Alan Hale), and the Howells (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer) were present, but the Professor (Russell Johnson), Ginger (Tina Louise), and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) had not yet been invented.
In their place, completely different characters were played by different actors. The original Ginger was played by Kit Smythe and was a sarcastic secretary. Mary Ann was originally a character named Bunny, Ginger’s goofy best friend, played by Nancy McCarthy. The Professor, on the other hand, was originally a high school teacher, played by actor John Gabriel, who is probably best known for his appearances in 726 episodes of the soap opera Ryan’s Hope. The original theme song for Gilligan’s Island was also not the great sea shanty we all know and love, but an upbeat calypso number by John Williams.
Schwartz felt the show needed some polishing and made the necessary changes, redesigning certain characters and using the (frankly better) new theme song. The new professor (real name: Roy Hinkley) was played by Johnson and gave the show an honest man who offered clear thinking and good judgment among other characters who often seemed silly. Having an “adult” involved was important to the dynamic of Gilligan’s Island.
This could be a big reason why Gabriel was replaced. It seems that the young actor was far too energetic and youthful for his own good.
The network didn’t like Gabriel
Consider that Russell Johnson was significantly older than John Gabriel. In 1964, Johnson had just turned 40, while Gabriel was a young kid of just 33. You can become a professor at a much younger age, but Gabriel was probably best known at the time for his numerous roles in 77 Sunset Strip, and he exuded a kind of “romantic leading man” energy rather than a professorial aura. Gabriel was anything but boyish – he was big and strong and striking – but he wasn’t exactly “professorial” either. He was more like the gruff jock in your science class who you have a not-so-secret crush on, or an assistant who distracts you. You can’t accuse Gabriel of sex appeal, but… well, he was just wrong for the role.
The original pilot of Gilligan’s Island is easy to find online, and Gabriel’s presence is actually a little odd. And it’s not just because we’ve seen Johnson as the professor in reruns for decades. Gabriel’s character didn’t add to the comedy of the show.
Johnson, who appeared as a serious man in the series, clearly had better comedic chops than Gabriel and came across as a more affable, wiser and approachable character. Johnson also had a more successful film career than Gabriel, which made him a more flexible actor. The replacement was the right choice.
Today, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than the seven main actors in any of the roles, which proves that Sherwood Schwartz knew what he was doing. Gilligan’s Island had a deeper ingrained place in pop culture than any other sitcom of its time, and Johnson can be credited with helping to make that happen.
