Movies - TV
How Gilligan's Island Saved A Family In Real Life
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
The "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy" episode of "Gilligan's Island" sees the Professor and others building a makeshift hot air balloon with rubber raincoats, tree sap, and natural gas.
Although the idea was a fantasy concocted by teleplay writers Al Schwartz, Howard Merrill, and Howard Harris, it seems that there were some notable real-world applications for it.
In his book "Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication," series creator Sherwood Schwartz recalled hearing a story that paralleled "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy."
In 1983, the New York Times reported that professional cyclist Robert Hutyra constructed a similar hot air and escaped from Czechoslovakia with his family and a bicycle.
The story shocked the show's critics, who called it dumb and implausible. Schwartz was amazed as well, writing, "Maybe they watch 'Gilligan's Island' in Czechoslovakia."
Schwartz added, "If they do, the Professor must have convinced them it would work, even if he couldn't convince some of 'Gilligan's Island's' critics."