Influencing His Character
Since actor Alan Hale Jr. would refer to others as, ‘little buddy,’ the crew got an idea. They drew on this tic to make art imitate life. Thus, that’s why the character Skipper would always call Gilligan (Bob Denver), ‘little buddy.’ They saw it as very fitting for Skipper’s overall demeanor.
Influencing His Character
Equal Credit
Star of the show, Bob Denver was all about equality. In fact, he was very upset to see that Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were not named during the credits. So, he did everything in his power to change that. Speaking of Gilligan, legendary actor Jerry Van Dyke turned down the lead role, but later explained, “But that’s the joke: I turned it down and took My Mother the Car. But, again, it was really good, because I’d [have] been forever known as Gilligan. So that worked out, too.”
Equal Credit
