The Mega Dead Celebrity Thread

[PhishyBrewer]

I grew up watching reruns. Gilligan will be missed.

 

 

Bob Denver, TV's Gilligan, Dies at Age 70 By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer

1 hour, 24 minutes ago

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES - Bob Denver, the bumbling namesake of "Gilligan's Island" who embarked on what was supposed to be a three-hour tour and endeared himself to generations of TV fans, has died at age 70.

 

He died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, his agent, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

 

Denver, who for the last several years had lived in Princeton, W.Va., also underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year. His wife, Dreama, and his children Patrick, Megan, Emily and Colin were with him when he died.

 

"He was my everything and I will love him forever," Dreama Denver said.

 

Denver's signature role was Gilligan, but when he took the role in 1964 he was already widely known to TV audiences for another iconic character, Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded beatnik friend of Dwayne Hickman's Dobie in the "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963.

 

Krebs, whose only desire was to play the bongos and hang out at coffee houses, would shriek every time the word "work" was mentioned in his presence.

 

Gilligan on the other hand was industrious but inept. And his character was as lovable as he was inept. Viewers embraced the skinny kid in the Buster Brown haircut and white sailor hat. So did the skipper, who was played by Alan Hale Jr. and who always referred to his first mate affectionately as "little buddy."

 

It was an affection that carried over into real life, the show's creator, Sherwood Schwartz, and several of Denver's surviving castmates said Tuesday.

 

"I found him to be a dear, sweet generous, loving man," said Russell Johnson, who played the professor on "Gilligan's Island."

 

Hickman said the two remained lifelong friends although they were as different in real life as their characters had been in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."

 

"I just loved him. He was wonderful. One of my dear, dear friends. I feel like a part of me died," Hickman said.

 

California state Sen. Sheila James Kuehl, who played Dobie's love-struck pursuer Zelda, remembered Denver as a mentor, both in acting and life.

 

"What he taught me about acting was when you work to make the other person look good, you end up looking good yourself," she said. "What he taught me about life was that you could love your work, but it was really more important to love your friends and family."

 

Denver went on to star in other TV series, including "The Good Guys" and "Dusty's Trail," as well as to make numerous appearances in films and TV shows.

 

But he never escaped the role of Gilligan, so much so that in one of his top 10 lists — "the top 10 things that will make you stand up and cheer" — "Late Show" host David Letterman once simply shouted out Denver's name to raucous applause.

 

The show's success, according to Schwartz, was rooted in the fact that seven people of entirely different backgrounds were thrown together each week in a comedic setting.

 

He also credited Denver's acting talent with helping drive the series.

 

"He was a complex man. He was not a guy who just slipped on banana peels," Schwartz said Tuesday. "He knew most people thought of him as a funny guy who could do funny things. But he was really an intellectual at heart."

 

TV critics saw the show as anything but intellectual, dismissing the idea of a group of tourists being stranded on an uncharted desert island as inane. After it was canceled by CBS in 1967, "Gilligan's Island" found new audiences over and over in syndicated reruns and reunion films, including 1981's "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island." (It also led to the recent TBS reality series "The Real Gilligan's Island.")

 

"As silly as it seems to all of us, it has made a difference in a lot of children's lives," Dawn Wells, who played castaway Mary Ann Summers, once said. "Gilligan is a buffoon that makes mistakes and I cannot tell you how many kids come up and say, `But you loved him anyway.'"

 

One of the most recent film sequels was 2001's "Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History," in which other actors portrayed the original seven-member cast while Denver, Wells and Johnson narrated and reminisced.

 

The original show's other castaways were Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer, as rich snobs Thurston and Lovey Howell, and Tina Louise, as bosomy movie star Ginger Grant.

 

Denver's death leaves Wells, Johnson and Louise as the cast's surviving members.

 

Denver was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., on Jan 9, 1935. He discovered acting while studying law at Loyola University in Los Angeles in the 1950s. While struggling to make it as an actor, he taught private school and worked at a post office.

 

After landing a small role in the 1959 Sal Mineo film "A Private Affair," he was cast as Krebs in "Dobie Gillis" and his career took off.

 

Denver is survived by his wife and children and a granddaughter, Elana. The family said no memorial service is planned.

[CoasterFanatic]

Crap!

 

// Farewell little buddy and one of West Virginia's most notable residents

Edited September 7, 2005 by CoasterFanatic

[BelizeIt]

[FlyingScooter]

RIP, Bob!

I loved that show.

[Wackyboxer]

Bon Voyage Bob. May you rest in eternal paradise.

[Nrthwnd]

May you and Skipper and the Howells charter a new voyage to the islands of ever-lasting adventure and joy - just don't shipwreck yourselves again!

[Kroger8]

Thats sad, isn't it that people die in threes, like Rehnquist, Bob Denver, and who would be the third?

[Teddymonster]

Was just reading the news on Yahoo and Ms. Rosa Parks died today at 92 years old. She did a great service to the black community in America and will not be forgotten. Just thought I'd let you all know if you haven't heard (or read).

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051025/ap_on_re_us/obit_rosa_parks

[jarmor]

WOW I wanna live that long...heck even longer! I bet she had some stories to tell...

[jumbach]

Was just reading the news on Yahoo and Ms. Rosa Parks died today at 92 years old.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051025/ap_on_re_us/obit_rosa_parks

 

So I will now proudly refer to the Metro station at Imperial and Wilmington by its proper name, Rosa Parks Station. I don't believe in naming public facilities after businesses or living people.

[TConwell]

I am here in Montgomery, Alabama and the town is going to do this up right for her. There is a museum already here in her honor (she moved away from here in the 60s due to several threats on her life) -- but my daughter has a field trip down there today so there may be lots of things to see. This city is one of the most historic I have lived in, and one thing is certain -- they ensure that history is remembered and very much alive -- not forgotten in text books for kids to read one day.

[ChrisZer0]

Rosa Parks was a true legend, she stood up when others wouldnt do so. In many ways, she was the spark that lit the civil rights movement and motivated people both big and small to change the way things were done in the "good ol' boy" south. I, for one, am glad we had people like Miss Parks stand up and do the right thing. For if she didnt, it would'nt have motivated my parents generation to stand up for the rights of everyone,reguardless of race,sex,religion,orientation or physical difference.

[DATman]

WOW I wanna live that long...heck even longer! I bet she had some stories to tell...

 

I'm sorry, I just have to say this-

 

As if ROSA PARKS didn't have some stories to tell. I mean, after all, she's only in American History books, it's not like THAT would give her any stories or anything.

 

Lol, I'm just playin'.

[Cdn Mndbndr]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A World Wrestling Entertainment star was found dead in his hotel room Sunday in Minneapolis, where he was scheduled to appear that evening in a WWE show.

 

Eduardo Gory Guerrero, 38, didn't respond to a wake-up call Sunday morning, authorities said. His nephew, fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero, and hotel security at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center forced their way into the room and found him.

 

There were no apparent signs of foul play, police said. An autopsy was planned to determine how Guerrero died.

 

His nephew said Guerrero was open about past drug and alcohol abuse but had been sober for four years. Guerrero was married and had three children.

 

"This is a huge loss," said WWE chairman Vince McMahon. "Eddie was a wonderful, fun-loving human being. Eddie was a consummate performer."

 

Guerrero was a featured star on the series WWE Smackdown! He was the son of Mexican wrestler Gory Guerrero.

 

Last year, he became the second wrestler of Hispanic heritage to be WWE champion, though he lost the title four months later.

 

A special aired last year on his life called Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story. The program chronicled Guerrero's childhood and his struggle with drug addiction that almost cost him his job, family and life.

[Kenny]

The WWE has lost a great heel player. He was a favorite character I loved to hate. He was great at what he did and will be missed. I am not a fan of WWE, but he was one of the remaining characters on Smack Down that I did enjoy watching while flipping through the channels. Latino Heat 4eva!

[CoasterJunkie]

He will be missed. Tonights and Fridays shows will be tough to watch for me. I still remeber the Owen Hart tribute show...I cried like a baby. He is leaving behind a wife and 3 kids, the youngest only 3. I was happy to see that WWE will continue to pay royalties to the Guerrero family.

[batmanfan612]

Ive always been a huge Eddie fan, so when I read that, I was just in shock. I wasn't expecting to have to read that for a long while. R.I.P Eddie Guererro, you will never be forgotten.

Edited November 14, 2005 by batmanfan612

[Wes]

A special aired last year on his life called Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story. T

 

Oh, irony.

[ChrisZer0]

Eddie has gone to the squared circle in the sky. I have a feeling he gets a decent card vs. Fred Blassie,Hawk and Big Boss Man in a handicapped match.

[Bubba Z]

ECW, ECW, ECW !!! R.I.P Eddie

[stingrock23]

This really sucks. He had beaten so many things in his life, and seemed to be doing well.

 

 

They just keep dying younger and younger.

[Damien666]

R.I.P Eddie, I enjoyed watching you.

[M_Force_4_ever]

I still remeber the Owen Hart tribute show...I cried like a baby.

oh man I did too R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero Viva La Raza!!!!!! I think they did an excelent job handeling Raw tonight

[thunder001]

It is a sad loss to the world of wrestling and it is even worse when you realise what he had overcome in his life. Drugs, booze and everything else, including a near fatal car crash and he goes out brushing his teeth...

 

RIP Eddie, you will be missed by fans world wide....

Who's your Papa!!!

[CoasterJunkie]

I still remeber the Owen Hart tribute show...I cried like a baby.

oh man I did too R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero Viva La Raza!!!!!! I think they did an excelent job handeling Raw tonight

 

 

RAW was good. VERY tough to watch though. The Chris Benoit segment, the 10 bell salute, when the ENTIRE arena was silent. It sounded like an empty arena. It was just handled very, very well. Smackdown will be an hour tribute, than an hour of classic Eddie stuff.