Farewell, Sherwood Schwartz

[filkertom]

Sadness. TV producer Sherwood Schwartz has passed away at the age of 94. You know him for a bunch of things, but most prominently Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. And admit it -- not only do you know those shows, you know their theme songs, you have favorite moments that you quote all the time ("Marsha Marsha Marshaaaaa!"), you had a crush on at least one cast member of both shows, and sometimes Gilligan and the crew just made you laugh your asses off.

So: Ginger or Mary Ann?

Comments

[ironjeff]

C'mon... you KNOW it's got to be Maryanne!

(FYI - wandered in via "Latest Things", but we know a lot of the same people on LJ...)

[wednes]

I'd just like to point out that the melody of the Gilligan's Island theme song is interchangeable with the words to Amazing Grace, and vice versa.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Mary Ann. Why are we still talking about this?

[ravenclaw-eric.livejournal.com]

Not me...TV viewing was not an encouraged habit in our household, and we were in a fringe reception area anyway. Tuning the stupid thing often seemed to require an advanced degree in electronics.

Gilligan's Island was on at one of the times I did watch TV, after school...but I disliked Gilligan himself so much that when it was on, I'd just read a book. If I'd been trapped on that island with him, there'd have been murder done. And you wouldn't need CSI: Desert Island to solve it, either.

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

That's how I was with the Brady Bunch--also it was on during the years I didn't like anything that wasn't animated. (Years later, I watched Gilligan a bit on Nick at Nite.) But yeah, we got reception on three channels, but not on the same time; it involved climbing on the roof and moving the antenna.

[vulpine137.livejournal.com]

Both ? :)

(and never had a crush on a Brady...that show just kinda worried me)

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

Duh, Mary Ann!

And The Ballad of Gilligan's Island is one of the best sing-alongs ever!

[his-spiffyness.livejournal.com]

And after I learned that Samuel Taylor Colerige's Rime of the Ancient Mariner used the same meter as the Gilligan's theme, I couldn't help myself but to sing the lines.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

I have no use- never had- for the Bradys.

Gilligan's Island was a brilliant piece of both comedy and social interaction for its day, though.

And as for the question... well, after I learned more about the actors and the situation behind the scenes... Mrs. Howell.

That's right, I said Lovey Howell. The character was a vapid spoiled woman, but you could see she used to be hot... and the actress was one of the strongest women Hollywood had in it at the time. She went through hell and came out smiling. She deserves some love.

Excluding her, Mary Ann. I wouldn't give Ginger the time of day.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

And don't forget Lovey knew how to dress - she always wore those awesome outfits with that understated Jackie Kennedy elegance.

And she and Thurston adored each other.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I wanted it all - to look like Ginger and be loved like Mary Ann.

But as a girl, I had it hot for the nerdy Professor.

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

The Brady Bunch is the reason I have (and always will) DESPISE the name "Jan" even though it's a nickname more than a few people tried to saddle me with over the years.

She was the UGLY sister, and I had no interest in being thought of that way by default.

As for Gilligan's Island, I always wondered why they never tried to fix the boat... You'd think the Professor would have thought of that, what with him being smart and all.

I wasn't really in the target demographic for either show (being a child of the late 80s) so I didn't watch much of either.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Actually, in one of the first episodes, they did try to fix the boat. Problem was, they didn't have sufficient nails, and couldn't make the hull waterproof. Then Gilligan accidentally discovered a substance that made an incredible adhesive... and they were all about to get on the repaired S. S. Minnow when Gilligan found out the glue would only last three days, so he had to delay them from getting on so they didn't all drown at sea.

No, I am not kidding.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

And, IIRC, later on what was left of the Minnow was smashed, I forget by what- a storm most likely. (Probably so they didn't have to pay to maintain that set.)

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

Well, it's possible they wouldn't have had enough use-able fuel left to get the boat back to shore within the three days... mainly because they didn't know where they were.

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

I once saw a fan explanation for why the Professor never really tried to fix the boat. I don't remember the specifics, but the essential idea was that the whole concept of shipbuilding was completely out of the Professor's realm of knowledge and experience. So out of it, in fact, that he thought it wiser not to try something that might prove to have disastrous results.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Big Gilligan's Island fan. I still go into Polonius' advice when I hear "Carmen."

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Do not forget,
stay out of debt
There's just one other thing
you ought to do
To thine own self be true!"

And I freely admit borrowing at least one scene from it for my own original writing (the cave made into a holding cage with a bamboo grid...only my cannibal pirates used human bones).

I had the hots for the professor.

and Bradys? I watched it mainly for Alice.

[jannyblue.livejournal.com]

Alice was the smartest person in the house. :-)

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

"So: Ginger or Mary Ann?"

Why "or"? Why not "and"?

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Both. Pick up pointers from Ginger, try them on Mary Ann. Course, I can just hear Mary Ann screaming for Ginger to just shut up and stop giving me ideas :x

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

Mary Ann. Substance over image.

[sdelmonte]

I suppose Mary Ann, though I never gave it much thought. (Let's say this up front: as 60s TV starlets go, neither is Barbara Eden, or Elizabeth Montgomery.)

I loved Gilligan's Island as a kid. And still have a soft spot for its sometimes inspired silliness. The dream sequences - there must have been about 15 of them - where sometimes very witty. And the Hamlet musical was a great case of found filk with the legendary Phil Silvers along for the ride.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

No one can tell me a DVD of just the dream sequences and musical numbers (Carmen, The Mosquitos, The Honeybees) wouldn't sell a kajillion copies.

[batyatoon]

I know the theme songs and I have quotes in my head, but I got most of those through pop culture osmosis -- I think I have seen maybe two episodes of the Bradys in my life, and never Gilligan's Island. They were juuuust slightly before my time, even in reruns.

(So no, no crushes either. I can barely even call to mind what any of the characters looked like.)

[capt-video.livejournal.com]

rothesis tells a story about going to hear a singer in an Irish pub. After several failed attempts to get the audience singing along on the chorus, he started singing "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island". EVERYONE joined in. He followed this with several other TV theme songs. Same response. At which point he stopped and pointed out to the crowd that he now KNEW they could sing, so...

As for the '60s era hotties? I had it BAD for Mr. Sulu!

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

I never could stand either show. Gilligan failed because the whole 60s sitcom trope of childlike adults just squicked me out even as a kid. And I found the Bradys deeply boring, though I envied their posh suburban lifestyle.

OTOH, my favorite cousin was the oldest of 6 in a poor & dysfuntional family & pretty much raised her siblings while her parents declined to cope. To this day, Brady Bunch is her favorite show ever.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Mary Ann. By parsecs.

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

Lets not forget My Favorite Martian!

[allisona.livejournal.com]

I was the right age to watch "The Brady Bunch" faithfully every week, but I never crushed on any of the Brady boys. Too busy crushing on Keith Partridge.

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

*hee* same here :)!

[sveethot.livejournal.com]

My sisters & I still break out into "'e taught me 'ow to walk and to talk and to act like a regular laidy, 'e did." Maybe a bit of a crush on the Professor.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I do that callback at least once every couple of weeks. Love love love the dream sequences.

(I'm also fond of Gilligan as the vampire (http://universalhorrorsounds.blogspot.com/2007/10/halloween-countdown-31-gilligans-island.html): "Good evening! You're my type of folks -- you're type A, you're type O." And the Inspector Sherlock/Colonel Wotney exchanges. And "We don't have an alcove... you schnook."

(And, while I'm a Mary Ann guy myself, damn Ginger makes a great Vampire Bride.)

[archiver-tim.livejournal.com]

Mary Ann of course.
I did not need to watch The Brady Bunch. I lived the Ryan bunch. Being 2nd of 8 kids under the same roof, and I'll remind you it was a 1200 sq foot bungalo, not the 6000 sq ft Brady Mansion. But to pick from the bunch, I'd take Alice.

[shinymarigold.livejournal.com]

The Professor, thank you. I only have vague memories of the show (by the time I was old enough to pay attention, it was in reruns), but I figured anybody who could build a working radio out of two coconuts and a scrap of wire was worth having a conversation with at least. 8-)

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

The Professor. (Tell ME he wasn't gay! Best-looking and best-dressed man on the island, never gave the girls a second look, but idolized the B-movie star Ginger Grant with all the fervor of a theater queen.)

As for Ginger and Mary Ann, I actually did go there. (The story is called "Isle of Lesbos.")

[kayshapero]

Well, if the Prof wasn't available, I suppose Gilligan would do. :)

[kayshapero]

Sorry, don't swing that way - the Professor!

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

I had a crush on the Professor myself ;). I still remember their musical retelling of Hamlet *lol*. And yes I just found some clips to that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JQ8yF04y9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXId5jOTxdg

Loved The Brady Bunch though, especially the ones where they got musical, later. Of course Partridge Family was always watched next :).

[saganth.livejournal.com]

"So: Ginger or Mary Ann?"

"Or?" What is this "or" you speak of? ;) I wanted them both so badly... in a NSFW way, so I guess I should stop right here.

[dysprog.livejournal.com]

What, no love for Mrs Howell? I say all 3.

[saganth.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry but she just did absolutely nothing for me. Her clothes, hairstyle and make-up made her seem old to me... but most of all it was her personality - she was so spoiled and such a fuddy-duddy, so old-acting and so.. gah, so white rich self-entitled republican as to be a total turn-off.

[sveethot.livejournal.com]

Boob boop a doop!

Was there an active hormone among the lot of them?

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

Couldn't I have both Ginger and Mary Ann?