It's an indisputable fact that “The Ballad of Gilligan's Island” is one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time. It's light, catchy, and quickly explains the show's premise to any newcomers. The ballad introduces all seven of the show's main characters, letting viewers know that they're about to see a series with a lot of personality clashes. Gilligan (Bob Denver), the captain (Alan Hale Jr.), the millionaire (Jim Backus) and his wife (Natalie Shaffer), the movie star (Tina Lewis), the professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Don Wells) are there on Gilligan's Island.
What is interesting about the opening theme is that only two letters – the first and the last – are listed by name. You only have to watch the series to find out that the billionaires are named Thurston Howell III and Lovey Howell, and the movie star is Ginger Grant. The actual names of the Captain and the Professor are rarely mentioned, as they are usually referred to by their professions by other characters. It is also unclear whether “Gilligan” is the character's first or last name. Some early treatments listed Gilligan's first name as “Willie,” but that name was never used on screen or in the show's scripts.
However, in the reworked pilot episode of the show, both the Captain and the Professor are given names. The castaways can hear a rogue radio signal and hear the message that they are missing. The professor is called Roy Hinckley and the skipper is called Jonas Grumpy.
My name is Jonas
No one can say where “Gilligan's Island” creator Sherwood Schwartz came up with the name Jonas Grumpy, a fun name for a sprawling, cartoonish series.
“Jonas Grumpy” is heard for the first time in the second pilot, “Two on a Raft”, not the initial pilot. The original pilot, “Marooned,” did not air to the public until 1992, and featured a variety of characters, including an eccentric professor played by John Gabriel and two girls named Ginger and Bunny, played by Kit Smith and Nancy McCarthy. So, if they had been paying attention during “Two on a Raft,” viewers might have known that the captain was named Jonas Grumpy.
Remember that in 1964, there was no internet and few places to compile little bits of TV trivia like Skipper's real name. And because viewers were at the whim of TV programmers, it was rare to sit down and watch all the episodes of “Gilligan's Island” in a row, paying attention to the smallest details on their cathode ray tube TVs. In fact, marathon programming was usually reserved for holiday blocks years later; American children of the 1980s may remember the “Twilight Zone” marathons that aired on Thanksgiving Day.
In other words, it's possible to be a huge “Gilligan's Island” fan and not go wrong with watching the pilot. Fans could still buy “Gilligan's Island” episodes on home media decades after the series aired. Only with repeated viewings will a wider audience begin to notice details like this. Indeed, the advancement of home media technology can be considered a catalyst for the modern fan; Small details in the original “Star Trek” TV show or “Star Wars” movies, for example, only become apparent after you watch them 50 times.
Despite the years, “Jonas Grumpy” is a mythical cult password known only to “true” fans. Ditto Roy Hinckley. Thanks to streaming technology, however, anyone with a phone and a will can now check out what was once considered obscure.
