Sherwood Schwartz Convinced A Gilligan's Island Star To Sign On Without A Script

Before Sherwood Schwartz's sitcom "Gilligan's Island" took to the airwaves in 1964, Jim Backus was probably the cast's biggest star. Backus had already appeared in the moving 1955 James Dean flick "Rebel Without a Cause" and had been voicing the amusing animated character Mr. Magoo since 1949. He also had a prolific film career, having racked up dozens of high profile credits working for notable directors like William Castle, Jose Ferrer, and Stanley Kramer. "Gilligan's Island" needed Backus more than Backus needed "Gilligan's Island."

The rest of the cast all came from different career paths but had their share of experience. Bob Denver was remembered for playing Maynard Krebbs on the hit sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," while Alan Hale, Jr. had already snagged dozens and dozens of supporting roles in a bunch of B-comedies and genre pictures. Russell Johnson, in comparison, had mostly starred in Westerns and spy movies, whereas Natalie Schafer had made a career of playing clueless dowagers and snotty society ladies, and Tina Louise had already received a Golden Glob nomination for her performance in "God's Little Acre." Finally, Dawn Wells had taken on multiple supporting gigs in many of the hit sitcoms of the early 1960s, including "Bonanza," "77 Sunset Strip," and "Wagon Train."

None of them, however, were quite as well-known as Backus. Indeed, Schwartz famously petitioned rather hard to get Backus on his show even before his eventual character, Mr. Howell, had been fully developed. Schwartz's son, Lloyd J. Schwartz, spoke to Women's World in 2025 and he recalled stories his father told about courting Backus for the series. It seems that a script hadn't even been finalized, but Schwartz was still able to get Jim Backus for the show. (This despite Sherwood having no faith in his own writing.)

It should be clarified that Sherwood Schwartz didn't cold-call Jim Backus. They had worked together on several projects in the past, including the NBC sitcom "I Married Joan," which Schwartz wrote for, as well as a few notable radio projects. The writer and the actor had clearly developed a rapport, though, as Backus was keen to join whatever project Schwartz was working on, no matter how silly. And, Schwartz warned him, "Gilligan's Island" was going to be silly. As Lloyd J. Schwartz put it: 

"[W]hen Dad wanted Jim to do 'Gilligan's Island,' the character of Mr. Howell wasn't fully developed and he said to Jim, 'I want you to do this show, but if you read the script, you won't want to do it.' And Jim said, 'Fine, I trust you.' And that was that." 

Schwartz often acknowledged that "Gilligan's Island" was a simple slapstick farce and that its humor wasn't terribly sophisticated, nor its scenario the least bit realistic. The series wasn't about the actual travails of desert island survival; it was a cartoon-y sitcom that kids could watch. Shwartz and the cast have also acknowledged that the show's very simplicity might have been the key reason "Gilligan's Island" succeeded; it was a salve for audiences living in a turbulent world.

"Gilligan's Island" ended after three seasons but lived on in reruns for literally decades. Backus and his six co-stars all became best-known for the ridiculous little sitcom, and its mythology seeped deep into the American consciousness. Backus enjoyed the series, but did admit — many years later — that he mildly resented the success of "Gilligan's Island." He confessed that he wished he had been better known for his dramatic work. Be that as it may, he continued to participate in "Gilligan's Island" projects after the original show ended.

Lloyd Schwartz, however, said that Alan Hale had no such resentments. Hale adored playing the Skipper and even wore the character's hat in public appearances. One just hopes some of Hale's enthusiasm rubbed off on Backus.