This year, Tina Louise, the woman who brought Ginger Grant to life on Gilligan's Island,
turns 89.
Despite her advanced age, she is still one of the most cherished and well-known actors
of her generation.
But she hasn't been seen in public for long, leaving her fans curious about her whereabouts
and activities.
Join FactsVerse as we take a peek into the life of Tina Louise and what she has been
up to.
Where is she now?
In the 1960s, Tina Louise was a screen goddess best known for her role as movie diva Ginger
Grant in the CBS comedy Gilligan's Island.
Starting out on stage in the middle of the 1950s, she finally had her big break in the
lead role in the 1958 romantic drama God's Little Acre, for which she was nominated and
won the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year.
Afterward, Louise starred as the leading lady in several Hollywood films, including The
Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young.
She gave great performances until the 2000s when she took a break after her role as Celeste
Clark in West from North Goes South in 2004.
The sabbatical she took from acting, meanwhile, served a useful purpose.
Returning to New York from Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Louise was shocked to learn
of the public school system's dismal literacy rates and felt compelled to do something about
it.
So she went to a teacher who introduced her to Learning Leaders.
This non-governmental organization works to get parents and other community members involved
in education to help their children succeed.
She became fully committed to supporting the vision and aim of Learning Leaders, even as
she continued to work on other initiatives outside of acting.
In an interview for Medium.com, she stated that she enjoys giving back to the community
and is especially enthusiastic about assisting youth by providing them with the tools they
need to succeed.
Nonetheless, an accident rendered her incapacitated for over a year, and by the time she had recovered,
much had changed.
The first significant shift she noticed was the dissolution of Learning Leaders because
its organizers were unable to secure corporate sponsorship.
She found it disheartening and embarrassing that no business was interested in supporting
such a progressive endeavor.
Then, she finally started writing, something she'd been putting off for a long time.
A few years later, she finished When I Grow Up, her first book, which was published in
2007.
The book encourages kids to follow their dreams by drawing hilarious and imaginative parallels
between the accomplishments of different animals.
As part of her ambition to become a vocal advocate for increasing child literacy, she
donated a portion of the earnings from her book to literacy initiatives.
In 2009, she released a second book for kids titled What Does a Bee Do?
After a decade-long hiatus from acting, she made her return to the big screen in the role
of Clarissa in the horror thriller Night of the Wolf, released in 2014.
According to IMDb, Louise's most recent acting appearance was in the 2019 film Tapestry,
in which she played Rose alongside Stephen Baldwin and Burt Young.
The only thing we know for sure about Louise is that she resides in New York City; beyond
that, we have yet to learn what she is up to or what she is working on.
The last woman standing.
The American television series Gilligan's Island aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967 and
was a huge hit with viewers.
The plot of the show centered on seven survivors of a shipwreck on the S.S.
Minnow who find themselves on a mysterious island.
Bob Denver portrayed Gilligan, the Skipper was Alan Hale Jr., Thurston Howell III was
played by Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer played Lovey Howell, the Professor was Russell Johnson,
Dawn Wells played Mary Ann, and Tina Louise played Ginger Grant.
The program also featured guest appearances by Zsa Zsa Gabor, Patrick Denver, and Les
Brown Jr.
With the exception of Tina Louise, the show's ensemble cast has fallen prey to the cold
and vicious hand of death.
Backus battled with Parkinson's disease for a while but ultimately passed away on July
3, 1989, in Los Angeles, California, due to pneumonia complications.
Then there was Alan Hale Jr., who passed away from thymus cancer at St. Vincent Medical
Center in Los Angeles on January 2, 1990.
However, Alan Hale, Jr. has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6653 Hollywood Boulevard
in Hollywood, California, in recognition of his work in the television industry.
On April 13, 1991, Natalie Schafer passed away from cancer at her Beverly Hills, California,
residence less than a year later.
Then there was Bob Denver, who passed away on September 2, 2005, due to complications
from his cancer treatment at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina.
Then, at the age of 89, Russell Johnson died suddenly from kidney damage at his Bainbridge
Island, Washington, residence on January 16, 2014.
Most recently, Wells died on December 30, 2020, at 82, due to problems with COVID-19.
Louise stated that the news of Wells' death had left her in a state of complete disbelief.
Even so, she remembered Wells with nothing but praise, praising her as a lovely person
and urging everyone to keep her cheerful spirit alive in their memories.
Despite her public refusal to appear in revivals like the 1978 T.V.
movie "Rescue from Gilligan's Island," the 2001 T.V.
movie "Surviving Gilligan's Island," and others, she has said that she and her castmates were
a family and that they shared something special.
She also dispelled long-standing speculation that she despised the part and the series.
Instead, she claimed that she was enamored with her role and gave it her all, particularly
after a different director revised it.
The 'too much skin' criticism
When you're stuck on a desert island with only the clothes you brought with you, your
sense of style isn't exactly at the forefront of your mind.
However, Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) and Ginger (Tina Louise) wore a wide variety of clothing
styles on Gilligan's Island, from short shorts and crop tops to formal gowns.
But, of course, given that they were on an island, it would have been out of place for
them to wear sweaters and turtlenecks.
Nonetheless, during the series' popularity peak, their wardrobe became a hot topic, with
some viewers objecting to the degree of skin that's been exposed.
When complaints about Gilligan's Island's apparent overexposure of skin surfaced, television
shows were undergoing a radical shift in how they marketed themselves to a sensual audience.
In a 1996 interview with The Record, Dawn Wells expressed surprise over the public's
fixation on her and Tina Louise's attire.
In the interview, Wells explained that the reason they bared so much skin was because
they wanted to fully embody the roles they portray.
She used Mary Ann, her fictional character, as an example, explaining that Mary Ann's
attire had to reflect her roots on the farm.
Therefore, she had to dress in her trademark daisy duke" shorts, slim blue jeans, crop
tops, or collared t-shirts to portray her role.
So too, with Louise's glamorous movie star persona, Ginger.
That's why she always dressed like she was heading to a red carpet event by donning glitzy
dresses in metallic hues like gold and silver and slinky silhouettes with off-the-shoulder
styles.
There was an article written about the interview with the headline, "Times have surely changed:
CBS censors used to get worked up about a navel or a little cleavage on Gilligan's Island."
The changing nature of television, however, meant that many controversial topics were
more widely discussed at the time of the interview.
Regardless of whether Mary Ann and Ginger were wearing "daisy duke shorts," red carpet
dresses, or were fully dressed, they were a big reason why the event was so successful.
The popularity of the show continued long after it had ended, with each actor being
best known for the part they had played.
Louise's genius acting skills
One thing every fan, or even critic, of the show, can agree on is that Louise was fantastic
in her role as Ginger.
Because of that, the episode "All About Eva" gave her the opportunity to portray a new
character, Eva Grubb.
As Ginger and the others prepared to leave the island for good, special guest Eva Grubb
had other intentions.
In a 1966 interview with The Atlanta Constitution, Louise disclosed that because of the dramatic
change in her appearance when playing the role of Eva, the actors' union demanded that
the show give her additional credit.
Nobody would have guessed that Louise was playing both roles unless they read the credits
closely.
What secret did Louise use to successfully adopt this new persona?
Let's just call that the genius of Louise.
Ginger certainly had her share of on-screen moments, but never once did she go to extreme
measures like slamming someone in the head with a coconut, tying them up, and stealing
their identity.
In contrast, Eva Grubb did, and she wasn't even embarrassed about it.
She is a miserable, plainly neurotic schoolteacher who visits the island to get away from reality,
but she becomes terribly upset when she discovers Gilligan and his crew there.
Ideally, she would spend her time daydreaming under a coconut tree.
But at the same time, Gilligan and his crew hatch a plan to escape with her old boat.
On a show that tended to trend more toward comedy, Grubb was the first tragic character.
And although Louise thought the character was intriguing, some viewers disliked it and
were relieved she only appeared in one episode.
Paul Jones, who interviewed Louise, said in the piece that he had known her for years
and was mystified as to why someone of her stature would appear on a show like Gilligan's
Island.
He inquired as to how she got imprisoned in the program, to which she responded that the
revision of the character's role made her stay, in addition to the steady employment.
Tina Louise's longevity and continuous relevancy are a testament to her talent and the profound
influence she has had through the advocacy and voluntary services she has provided throughout
her career.
Fans of Gilligan's Island will always remember the group fondly and reflect on the many laughs
they shared during their time on the island.
We're excited to hear more from Tina Louise as she approaches her 89th birthday today,
and we send her our warmest wishes.
There you have it.
It's now time to hear from you.
Which role of Tina Louise beside Gilligan's Island stands out most in your mind?