She Got the MOST FAN MAIL on Gilligan's Island!

[@jamescarter8421]

God Bless those seven castaways.

[@jdsundstrom]

They were pretty awesome!

[@nickelliott1174]

I would have guessed Mary Ann. But the way you worded it I thought you were going to say Mrs Howell. 😂

[@kenlompart9905]

I thought the exact same thing.

[@joracer1]

Me and the wife said Mary Ann or Mrs Howell...

[@easttexasnomad5981]

Mary Ann was my favorite. She seemed so wholesome and down to earth.

[@jdsundstrom]

My favorite as well. 🙂

[@robertthomas5196]

Hopefully her mind wasn't. If you know what I mean?

[@patrickfennell6372]

All growing boys seemed to like her best. Older men Ginger. Ironically Raquel Welch was the runner-up to play Mary-Ann.

[@DeMan59]

And absolutely rocked a pair of shorts and a halter top. Lol.

[@brentz3]

One of the best sitcoms ever.

[@billthompson5644]

Dawn Wells was ABSOLUTE PERFECTION, so cute.

[@jaspr1999]

My experience was at a Star Trek fan get-together in Corpus Cristi Texas... There weren't really conventions back then... And I got to meet a few of the cast members. I met James Doohan and showed him my popsicle stick/match and toothpick model of the Enterprise that I had spent a long time on. He looked it over and signed it on the bottom of its primary hull, "Approved by Scotty" and signed it with his name. He gave me the biggest bear hug and I was SO happy I just cried. Little boy me was never happier. Oh, and Nichelle Nicoles is as gracious and lovely in real life as she is in the show.

[@jdsundstrom]

That’s a story that is worth mentioning in a future video. Do you mind?

[@jaspr1999]

I'll be glad to. I've shared it once before on a memorial video for James Doohan, but that was the only other time I've shared it.

[@AgnosticProle]

In 2016 at the Minnesota state fair me and my friend waited in line to get a autographed picture signed by Dawn Wells. She still looks good for being in her 70s. I have the picture framed and hung on the wall.

[@jdsundstrom]

She really does look good!

[@praktikalnurse504]

Ahhhhhh Mary Anne...Wholesome, Brunette, GORGEOUS, next door country girl. Did any of us young boys back then NOT like her?? Oh did I mention Brunette and GORGEOUS?? 💞❤😍

[@doggreensector8401]

PrAKtikal Nurse absolutely!

[@wb3381]

I remember watching this after school in Reruns during the 1970's as a child I really wanted them to get rescued

[@belindacat]

Gilligan's Island was a staple in syndication around my house! My dad would roar with laughter so hard sometimes I thought he was going to fall out of his chair! The professor was my favorite. His inventions were awesome! I always thought if I were ever stranded on an island, I'd be like the professor. Inventing ways to make life easier on the island, and also possibly escape the island. Even as a young child, I realized the things they would do on the island were impossible. But I let that go and let myself be purely entertained by this marvelous show.

[@heedmywarning2792]

I EASILY predicted Dawn Wells. She was a beauty contest winner as I recall.

[@boogerie]

Ditto

[@BX138]

She was 1959 Miss Nevada. She was in the 1960 Miss America pageant, but didn't win.

[@kenjett2434]

I loved Gilligan's island growing up but sadly never wrote wished i had. However i did write on more than one occasion to a very popular local celebrity. He had a afternoon cartoons show and he went by his showname Mr. Cartoon. Over the years and a great many letters i believe it was at about 4 or 5 times on air he actully read my letters. Talking about making a young man happy. I am almost 60 now and Mr. Cartoon still to this day holds a very special place in my heart. He gave so much to the fans. His real name was Jules Huffman the weatherman for WSAZ News Huntington and Charleston WV. He was beloved for many years on air but he is gone now but never forgotten.

[@martinoliver8536]

I subbed to your channel a couple weeks ago and have been watching a bunch of your backlog videos I just love this channel we must be the same age Thanks for the Memories

[@jdsundstrom]

Yep, I bet we are roughly the same age. Thanks for subscribing, Martin!

[@billthompson5644]

I like the way you said "from the 60s 70s and 80s you know, the good stuff". You could not have said that any better, so much of the stuff nowadays is just pure garbage. A lot of the shows were before my time, but I still do get a kick out of them. I'm very glad I subscribe to your Channel.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for subscribing, bill thompson!

[@OnePurplePrincess]

Bob Denver did an appearance at Greenspoint Mall in the Houston Area of Texas in the 80's. He answered questions about Gilligan's Island. He answered mine about the episode with the giant spider. He was very nice as well as funny. He and Mary Ann and The Professor were my favorites. Thanks for sharing.

[@kenlompart9905]

I'm not the least bit surprised, every guy I've heard comment about the show over the years always chose Mary ann over Ginger just like Bailey over Jennifer on WKRP.

[@kennethwilkinson8244]

when I was younger, I used to write fan letters. I almost always got a response. I used to attend science fiction conventions. I have a lot of autographed pictures. I have some from figure skaters. I have one of dawn wells.

[@boatingman11]

Holy coconut pie, Batman...!!! That cracked me up because several years ago I went to the Myrtle Beach Pelican's baseball game in SC. The biggest reason for me to attend was that both Dawn Wells and Adam West were there for a meet and greet, including pictures and autographs. Both of them were very friendly. I'm not usually impressed with celebrities but this was a real treat for me.

[@willmack5909]

Several years ago I sent an e-mail to legendary game show host Wink Martindale and he responded in kind, and it was quite a long response at that. I still have the printed out reply from Wink to this very day, and I'm honored that he and I share not only the same birth month (December), but the same initials as well! And Bob Denver and Alan Hale (Gilligan & Skipper) both seemed like they were genuinely nice guys so it's none too surprising to hear that Bob replied to that fan's letter.

[@willmack5909]

Oh and I also met Mark Goddard circa around 1992 at a Sci-Fi convention. He portrayed Major Don West on "Lost in Space". The line was pretty long, but he was kind enough to sign a picture and to thank me for being a fan. The only other "celeb" I ever met up close and personal was Garry Maddox, centerfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies back in the mid 1970s. I got an autographed baseball from him, sadly though through moving it was misplaced.

[@jdsundstrom]

Great memories, Will. Thanks for sharing!

[@willmack5909]

You're most welcome sir. Thank you for these great posts!

[@Clell65619]

Only wrote two fan letters back in the day, one to Grandpa Munster (and got a photo of Herman in a cowboy hat back along with a form letter from someone on staff that obviously didn't actually read my letter), and another to Gene Roddenberry that netted me another form letter with an autographed photo of Deforest Kelly.

[@youtoo2233]

Some of my favorite episodes are the dream sequences, especially when Gilligan is a vampire

[@LindaMerchant-bq2hp]

Mary anne personality was magnetic and charming and she looked younger than her mid 20s

[@frostyboyken]

Gilligan's Island was my absolute favorite show in the mid-70s. My sister and I would play in our backyard like we were stuck on a tropical island. I lived in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore metro areas and was blessed with multiple independent stations that would all air their own 3-year line-up (three different stations). My Mom was happy because we'd sit there, (mostly) do our homework and stay out of her way for two straight hours while she made dinner. In the late '70s when they announced the castaways would be rescued, my sister and I announced to the family well in advance that she and I would commandeer the living rooms tv for those nights. LOL. Even though I am a gayboy, I must say that I still had somewhat of a crush on Ginger. I liked Maryanne a lot, but I already lived in a rural/country area, and Tina Louise was something different, glamorous. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Sundstrom. ETA: How about Starsky and Hutch and Soap? These were another two of my favorites from that time period.

[@jdsundstrom]

I’ll add them to my list. Both shows are worthy topics. 🙂

[@eljay345]

Wow how wonderful that Bob Denver replied to cha5 personally with a handwritten letter. Maybe Dawn Wells got the most Fan mail because more women and girls watching could relate to her portrayal of Mary Ann Summers more than Tina Louise's portrayal of movie star Ginger Grant. Sadly according to Google they are the only two living cast members remaining of Gilligan's Island's original crew of seven. I still think reruns/repeats of Gilligan's Island are very entertaining and memorable.

[@tirmyta]

Interesting that you put this video on KZbin today (9-2-2018). Bob Denver passed away 13 years ago today, on 9-2-2005. I once sent a fan letter to Sherwood Schwartz. He sent me a photo of the cast of “Gilligan’s Island” that he autographed, and also a cast photo of “The Brady Bunch” that he autographed.

[@tonette6592]

I never wrote a fan letter as a kid. Our older sister led the way in what we watched and so 77 Sunset Strip was on religiously. SHe loved Kookie, (Edd Byrnes). My brother sent drawings to him and he got an autographed photo back. Even though I was very young, I thought the Stu Irwin was so charming! Have you done a video on 77 Sunset Strip?

[@markgnacinski9666]

Mary Ann....!!!!!!!

[@Lisa-qn7vf]

In the third grade we had to write to a celebrity. If we got a response we got extra credit. I wanted to write to Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of the West), but she had just passed. I went with Bob Hope instead. He sent me an autographed picture. Still have it.

[@Rometiklan]

Sweet video! Both Bob Denver and Dawn Wells seemed/seems incredibly nice and down to earth. If I were to have written a fan letter to one of the cast, it would have been to one of these two. I love the way they conduct themselves during interviews, with humour and humility, and a sincerity that they were grateful for the fans and for the opportunity to entertain us. For that, I will always have a special place in my heart for the cast of this show. Thanks for sharing!

[@jdsundstrom]

Totally agree!

[@rparl]

I liked the Professor, as I was a nascent engineer / scientist.

[@DaddyOfTheSugarVariety]

I'm both surprised and not surprised. The question was always, would you go for Ginger or Mary Ann? So I assumed they got a lot of mail but I thought you were going to come out of left field and say Mrs. Howell, haha! She was amazing on the show too & I assume got tons of mail as well.

[@jdsundstrom]

Now that would have really been a surprise!

[@spliceoncharlie]

Thanks for the video, Dave. Like many shows of the 60's, it started in B&W and finished in color. I did not know they went back and colorized the first season. I think you can get season one in color and or B&W. I bought the DVD's for the show so I could go back and watch and was surprised that there were only 3 seasons. This used to be one of several classic afterschool TV shows that I really, really looked forward to watching. I always wondered what mess was Gilligan going to make. It seems Mary Ann made a coconut cream pie in every single episode either to lift Gilligan's spirits or "bribe" Gilligan into performing some kind of task. Looking back on the show, it's amazing the amount of show content and ideas the producers came up with only having 7 castaways stuck on the same island. You'd think after one year your show topic ideas would grow thin but they kept on cranking out the shows. I remember Gilligan's Island had 2 or 3 made for TV movies after the show cancelled and I don't remember any other shows getting movies like that after they were cancelled. Goes to show you that there was a big audience and lots of fans for this show. Gilligan's Island will always be one of my favorites.

[@jdsundstrom]

Great memories! Thanks for sharing, spliceon charlie!

[@ctinsley77]

I subscribed to your channel because you asked so politely, I've been checking out your channel though so far so good. Best of luck and keep those great videos coming thank you.

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks for subscribing, Nova Caldera!

[@wesleyAlan9179]

Hahaha, thats the same reason i subbed too!

[@jdsundstrom]

Thanks to both of you for subscribing!

[@ctinsley77]

@@wesleyAlan9179 lol!

[@BX138]

When I was 13 that show "Cosmos" with Carl Sagan was being aired, and I wrote to him with a bunch of science questions. A couple of months later I got a response from his secretary saying he read my letter and he suggests I go to the library and do my own research.

[@jdsundstrom]

Okay...that's pretty funny!

[@BX138]

Yeah, not exactly the response I was looking for.

[@heygetoffmylawn1572]

Growing up in the mid 60's Gilligan's Island was our favorite TV show. Saturday night was our bath night and none of us kids wanted to take our bath until Gilligan's Island was over. It was a much simpler time for all. The reality of really being stranded on a deserted island didn't really sink in back then for us. They all made it look so easy that being marooned was actually doable. Our children were raised watching DVDS of Gilligan's Island. In fact when one of them would do something Gilligan would do...We say...Don't be a Gilligan.

[@charleskuckel3173]

Everyone writes or speaks very highly of Dawn Wells. She apparently is like that character she played on Gilligan's Island. Dawn is kind, down to earth, friendly and soft spoken. Interesting how she left Hollywood behind and became a real estate agent to the stars!

[@nickhill8612]

I really liked that show. My favorite character was Gilligan. I could relate to him. We were always trying to do good but somehow made things worse lol. I never sent any fan mail to him.

[@ChapmanFilms]

Wrote William Shatner once back in the 80’s and though he never wrote a letter he did send this little boy an autograph picture of him in his Captain Kirk uniform. Still have it to this day. Now I heard people paying him money for his autograph at comic cons and stuff like that. My how times has change.

[@poolboyinla]

When I was a little kid, I wrote to Jean Claude Van Damme and asked for an autographed photo. 2 years later, I received one in the mail and framed it. Many years later, I nervously approached him in Gold's Gym. He was a lot less happy to meet me than I was to meet him.

[@jdsundstrom]

That’s weird. Between you and JCVD, I would have been more happy to have seen you Travis! 🙂

[@poolboyinla]

Haha...You are probably in the minority on that one, my friend.

[@patrickperalta59]

Mary-Ann was my choice as well for the most fan mail. Dawn Wells did a great job playing Mary-Ann. she also was the youngest cast member on the show. in her early 20's when the show was on the air.

[@AmericanActionReport]

I sent one (or two) fan letters in my life. I sent one to Nick Adams, star of "The Rebel." He sent me a post card with his picture and autograph on it.

[@dadoctah]

If you asked us which castaway got the *least* fan mail, I'll bet we'd all come up with the same answer.

[@bobdavis4848]

I liked Dawn Wells best too! Yes, I sent fan mail to Kate Bush, Sachiko Suzuki, Shoko Aida, Miho Kinouchi, Seiko Matsuda and Junna Morishita. Kate and Junna were the only ones who replied.

[@boogerie]

[@bobdavis4848]

boogerie: I once subscribed to a Kate Bush fan magazine called "Breakthrough," in which someone criticized the editor for saying Kate is only human, adding "You should have figured out by now she is a goddess."

[@josephking5411]

You'll never guess? That threw me off, because Dawn Wells is the one I would think.

[@jdsundstrom]

I would have guessed Bob Denver.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti1663]

From what I always heard, the one that got the most amount mail was the US Coast Guard informing them about seven people stranded on a marooned desert island way out in the Pacific Ocean... 😕

[@nrkgalt]

I thought it would have been Russell Johnson who got the most letters from people asking science questions because they thought he really was a professor.

[@InformationIsTheEdge]

When I was a kid I found an address for Lou Ferrigno, The Incredible Hulk himself, in a body building magazine and I sent him a letter. Never heard back from him.

[@jdsundstrom]

That's a bummer.

[@InformationIsTheEdge]

@@jdsundstrom Meh. I blamed the magazine since I much later reasoned it must have been an ad to invite Lou to events for paid appearances. Since my letter didn't include a check or an invitation, I suspect Lou never saw it. But thanks for the note! Hearing back from you was very cool!

[@kali3665]

Heck, Dawn Wells admitted it. Because Mary Ann appealed to men AND women AND kids. For kids, she was the mother figure we wanted. For women, she was your best friend. And for men, well, you know.... And, frankly, Ginger was WAY too obvious. Tina Louise HATED the show, and she thought it was the primary reason her movie career went ka-put, so, you really wouldn't want to approach her and remind her of the show. Given a choice between Mary Ann and Ginger, I would choose Mary Ann every time.

[@vannshuttleworth4738]

I always wanted to write Danny Bonaduce and ask him about playing Danny on "The Partridge Family ". I decided against it because I thought the network would throw fan mail in the dumpster. "Gilligan's Island" is an early version of...."Lost"??

[@mistergrandpasbakery9941]

I sent a fan letter to Elizabeth Sherrill at Guidepost Magazine and told her she was my favorite ghost writer (The Hiding Place) and she sent me a very sweet handwritten reply.

[@antonmassopust4835]

yes I wrote a letter to Mel Blanc and fortunately he the letter received after he passed away but somehow I got an autographed picture what it said what's up and tell him for he was the voice of many cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny and many others because they mentioned in two of his cartoons my hometown

[@dadoctah]

I wrote a fan letter inviting Adam West to my eighth birthday party. It got intercepted by my parents before it went out in the mail.

[@jdsundstrom]

I met Adam way back in 1989 around the premiere of the first Tim Burton Batman movie. Adam was great!

[@donniebrooke-prowrestleruf6735]

Charles Nelson Reilly or Paul Lynde

[@kevinatwell9781]

its a shame critics carry so much weight, star trek was also cancelled after a few years

[@lancechaffin8009]

Ty for land of the lost still waiting on the bionic man or woman

[@jdsundstrom]

Working on a $6M Man and Bigfoot video. Soon, my friend. Soon.

[@grimreaper6557]

Dawn Wells was far sexier then ginger she could put on her little country girl look but she also had that warm sensuality as well

[@glennpagemusic]

Easy one! I guess the professor. Russell Johnson. Am I right? Watching the video now...

[@glennpagemusic]

Dawn Wells! Always liked Dawn.

[@clintonwatkins1070]

It's been my experience when someone is asked there opinion about who they think is hotter between Mary Ann and Ginger, most pick Mary Ann. Ginger was hot, no doubt about it, but she knew she was hot, and let you know she knew she was hot. This is what made her less hot, making Mary Ann the hotter of the two.

[@youtoo2233]

I usually liked Ginger the best but only when her hair was long and straight, I really didn't get into her Marilyn Monroe look

[@brinsonharris9816]

My favorite episode was that one when they almost got rescued, but Gilligan did something stupid that ruined the rescue and they stay marooned.

[@jdsundstrom]

Ha! You liked them all I see. 🙂

[@jecos1966]

In the Theme song Only MARY ANN is mention by her first name ( With Gillian first name Willy the skipper too ( Name Jonas Grumby The millionaire Name Thurston Howell iii and his wife Thurston would call her Lovey the Movie star name Ginger Grant The Professor name Roy Hinkley and Many Ann)

[@NymphoMofo]

Anyone can guess who got the most mail correctly.

[@marionmorgan5972]

Maynard G Krebs before he was Gilligan. Wooooork

[@fhuber7507]

Mary Ann > Ginger.

[@SteveTK420]

Mary Ann was super hot.

[@wayned.ashford577]

Mary Ann=HOT😍😘💌💟💥💣💦💨💝😃💞!!!!!!!!!

[@nickhill8612]

Name 2 other shows that Bob Denver was lost in.

[@johnblankenship2308]

Ya the tight shorts and sweet butt

[@johnferguson3026]

Wasn't the Professor a decorated War Hero? Maryanne was innocent and so beautiful but Maryanne was a knock out!

[@hanoc101]

Yes. Russell Johnson was a badass in WWII

[@johnferguson3026]

@@hanoc101 Yes that's what I heard. Thanks for clearing that up. Couldn't remember his name. Guess I could have googled.

[@stephenindc9102]

From Wikipedia: "...while flying as a navigator in a B-25 with the 100th Bombardment Squadron, 42nd Bombardment Group, 13th Air Force, his B-25 and two others were shot down during a low-level bombing and strafing run against Japanese military targets in the Philippine Islands. The B-25s encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire, and all three had to ditch in the sea off Zamboanga. Johnson broke both ankles in the landing, and his bomber's co-pilot was killed..." He received several decorations.

[@boogerie]

I did. Correctly. And I have yet to meet the heterosexual male who picked Ginger over Mary Ann.

[@MightyBiffer]

Actually, this was totally obvious as Mary Anne was the best character on the show. And why would anyone have written to the actress that played Ginger?

[@DeMan59]

As beautiful as she was how did Dawn Wells not become a bigger star? I mean, she’s not Meryl Streep but she could act. What happened?

[@jdsundstrom]

I don't get it either.

[@GeminiladyJackson-xq6hc]

She was typecast.

[@afterburner2869]

Maryann . There, I guessed it. Thumbs down for being presumptuous.