Five passengers (and one skipper and one first mate) set sail that day for a three-hour tour, but where are they now?
With the passing of Professor Russell Johnson Thursday, there are now two living cast members remaining of Gilligan's Island's original crew of seven 75-year-old Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann Summers, and 79-year-old Tina Louise, who played Ginger Grant.
Here's a look at what the cast did after the wildly popular 1960s show ended:
Bob Denver (Gilligan): The actor, who played the show's titular character, died in 2005 at 70 in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he was being treated for cancer at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital. After leaving the island, he was in the film comedy Who's Minding the Mint? and did more TV work, starring in The Good Guys; Love, American Style and Dusty's Trail. He reprised his role with his voice as Gilligan in TV movies and the animated series New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan's Planet (along with much of the original cast). He later moved to Princeton, W.Va., and worked as a radio personality alongside his wife.
Alan Hale, Jr. (The Skipper): Hale died in 1990 at 68 after a battle with thymus cancer. After Gilligan's, the Los Angeles native stayed in Hollywood, where he owned a restaurant, Alan Hale's Lobster Barrel. He also teamed up with Denver briefly in The Good Guys, which had a short run on CBS, and guest-starred on a slew of other TV shows. He also had numerous film roles in the years that followed.
Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III): The actor, who had an extensive acting career before getting stuck on the island, died in 1989 at 76 of pneumonia in Santa Monica, Calif. He was well-known for his voice work for the cartoon Mr. Magoo.
Natalie Schafer (Eunice Lovelle Wentworth Howell): Schafer died at 90 in 1991 of cancer in Los Angeles. The actress guest-starred on many TV shows afterward, including Mayberry RFD, The Brady Bunch and Phyllis. She was also a regular on CBS' Search for Tomorrow.
Russell Johnson (Professor Roy Hinkley): Johnson died Thursday at 89 of kidney failure. After starring on the show as the Professor, he continued to act in movie and TV roles, including the TV movie Vanished and in two episodes of Dynasty on ABC.
Tina Louise (Ginger Grant): Louise is 79. After Gilligan's Island, she didn't join her castmates in reprising their roles in spin-offs and sequels, instead opting to take on more serious roles. She's still active in the industry, currently working on a Ken Kushner film, Tapestry, alongside Stephen Baldwin and Burt Young.
Dawn Wells (Mary Ann Summers): Wells is currently 75, and has gone on to a successful theater career. I didn't want to be famous. I didn't want to be one of these celebrities that don't do anything, she told Nashville Scene in May last year. I wanted to act. So I went back on the road playing in national theatrical tours to hone my craft. She's currently living in Driggs, Idaho, where she's taught acting classes. In 2007, she was busted for marijuana when police pulled her over for reckless driving (to which she eventually pled guilty). Wells runs Wishing Wells Collections, a clothing line for disabled people.
