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  3. 'Gilligan's Island': The Cast Through The Years

'Gilligan's Island': The Cast Through The Years

Lucas Anderson / April 8, 2025 - 10:00 pm

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Gilligan's Island: Cast Still Alive Today? 2020 age 2021 Tina Louise Dawn Wells
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

'Gilligan's Island'

Gilligan's Island was the popular castaway sitcom of the 1960s! It aired three seasons on CBS (1964-1967) with a cast of seven actors. The stars of the shipwrecked Minnow were: Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells.

It's now been over 50 years since Gilligan's Island went off the air, and today, the cast has sadly been reduced to only two surviving stars. This gallery looks at the cast through the years and the actors who are still with us today. Enjoy! 

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Gilligan's Island cast: Jim Backus as "Thurston Howell" age today death 1989
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

Jim Backus as "Thurston Howell"

On Gilligan's Island, "Thurston Howell III" was the wealthy castaway stuck on the island along with his wife "Lovey." Veteran actor Jim Backus played "The Millionaire." Sadly, he was the first cast member to pass away, a few decades after the show's initial run.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Jim Backus as "Thurston Howell" age today death 1989
(© Getty Images)

Jim Backus

Jim Backus lived to be 76 years old, passing away from complications of pneumonia in 1989. His health had been declining in the 1980s, which limited his participation in the final Gilligan's Island TV movie in 1981.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Alan Hale Jr. as "The Skipper" age today death 1990
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

Alan Hale Jr. as "The Skipper"

The beloved "Skipper," real name "Jonas Grumby," was played by actor Alan Hale Jr. The son of early film star Alan Hale Sr., he passed on the year following Jim Backus.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Alan Hale Jr. as "The Skipper" age today death 1990
(© Getty Images)

Alan Hale Jr.

Alan Hale Jr. lived to be be 68 years old, the shortest lifespan of the Gilligan's Island cast — all of whom lived (and continue to live) full lives.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Natalie Schafer as "Mrs. Lovey Howell" death 1991 age today
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

Natalie Schafer as "Mrs. Howell"

"Mrs. Howell" was the wife of The Millionaire, "Thurston Howell." She was portrayed by the cast's eldest member, actress Natalie Schafer, born in New Jersey in 1900.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Natalie Schafer as "Mrs. Lovey Howell" death 1991 age today
(© Getty Images)

Natalie Schafer

It became a sad three years for Gilligan's Island when Natalie Schafer passed away in 1991, following Hale Jr. and Backus in the two years prior. The actress with an impressive career made it to age 90.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Bob Denver as "Gilligan" actor age death 2005
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

Bob Denver as "Gilligan"

Comedy icon Bob Denver starred as "Gilligan," the "little buddy" and frequent source of laughs on Gilligan's Island.

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Gilligan's Island cast: "Gilligan" actor Bob Denver (1935-2005) age death
(© Getty Images)

Bob Denver

After a sad few years in the early '90s, the Gilligan's Island crew made it to the early 2000s without losing another original star. Sadly, it was Bob Denver who in 2005 passed on at the age of 70.

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Gilligan's Island cast: Russell Johnson as "The Professor" actor 2014 death age
(© imago images / Everett Collection)

Russell Johnson as "The Professor"

"Roy Hinkley," better known as "The Professor," was played by actor Russell Johnson, who was in his 40s while on Gilligan's Island in the 1960s. He was with us until just a few years ago, leaving only two surviving co-stars from the show. 

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Gilligan's Island was the beloved castaway sitcom of the 1960s. It aired three seasons on CBS (1964-1967) and featured a cast that worked almost only with seven actors.

Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were the main cast stranded after a shipwreck on the S.S. Minnow. Outside of these actors, Charles Maxwell received the most episode credits, as the radio announcer in nine episodes.

Gilligan's Island: Cast Members Still Alive Today?

It's now been over 50 years since Gilligan's Island went off the air, and today, the cast has sadly been reduced to only two surviving stars.

Backus was the first to pass on in 1989, followed by castmates Hale, in 1990, and Schafer, in 1991. Denver died in 2005, while Johnson lived to be 89 years old, passing away in 2014.

That leaves Tina Louise and Dawn Wells as the final two Gilligan's Island cast members alive today. Click through the gallery to see them today and revisit the stars of this wonderful '60s series.

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