Tina Louise separated from the Gilligan’s Island cast
Louise’s dissatisfaction with her role and subsequent squabbles with production staff soon spilled over to relations with her fellow cast members. During breaks in shooting she isolated herself from the rest of the cast, remaining distant and aloof. During production of the show star Bob Denver intervened with the producers several times for the benefit of his fellow performers, including having the theme song rewritten to include the names of the “Professor and Mary Ann”. Despite Denver’s efforts to ensure all of the actors were treated equitably, Tina’s Ginger quickly became more of a supporting role, contrary to her perception she would be the main focus of the show’s plots. Worried she was in danger of becoming typecast by the show, Tina became increasingly withdrawn, irritating her fellow cast members as she argued for more prominent roles.
Gilligan’s Island was canceled following the 1966-67 season, without giving the producers an opportunity to resolve the issue of whether the castaways were ever rescued from the island. In 1978 the first of three follow-up, made-for-television movies was broadcast, in which the castaways were rescued only to find themselves once again marooned on the same island. Of the original cast members, only Tina Louise refused to participate in the reunion, nor did she join the cast for the subsequent sequels. Despite her absences, she has frequently downplayed the on-set tensions and her differences with cast and crew. With the 2020 death of Dawn Wells, Tina Louise became the last surviving member of the original cast of Gilligan’s Island.