Movies - TV
Tina Louise's Gilligan’s Island Casting Completely Changed Ginger
By JEREMY SMITH
"Gilligan's Island" relied heavily on the ensemble dynamics between the characters, but creator Sherwood Schwartz altered the original dynamics to accommodate Tina Louise.
Per Schwartz, the Ginger of the show's pilot was "a slick Hollywood actress, with a sarcastic kind of wit." However, he opted to go in a different direction when he met Louise.
Louise wasn't ideal casting for Ginger, but Schwartz cast her anyway, noting, "The concept of Ginger had to be rewritten to make better use of Tina's natural abilities."
"Tina wasn't really comfortable as the wisecracking, brassy, Hollywood Ginger. But she was marvelous as a wide-eyed, innocently sexy Hollywood starlet," said Schwartz.
This was also a boon for Dawn Wells, who played Mary-Ann. Per Schwartz, "As Tina's Ginger became wide-eyed and innocent, Mary Ann [...] became more realistic and down-to-earth."