The Rabbit Ears Test (6 of 12)_ "Gilligan's Island"

Greetings to everyone defending our freedoms and liberties by warding off those pesky Canadians from Winnipeg, the hometown of filmmaker Guy Maddin, who threaten our borders and our national security.

Hmmm....yeah, making fun of far right eggheads never gets old. Of course, we love Canadians, even the ones who speak French.

Today, we dedicate a blog entry to "Gilligan's Island," (1963-66) the popular cult tv series from Sherwood Schwartz who later brought the world "The Brady Bunch" (subject of our previous entry in this series). We presume that it was broadcast in Canada, though we're not sure if it ever made it to Turkey.

This subject is even more timely since I just recently returned from The Bahamas, where we stopped at Coco Cay, one of these private islands brought by a cruise ship company, which is just like "Gilligan's Island," except the natives want to sell you Bob Marley t-shirts.

Alas, Bob Denver, who played the beloved title character died at age 70 in 2005 in Winston-Salem, NC. For many years, he was residing in Princeton, West Virginia, and no one is exactly sure why.

But, Russell Johnson, who played the Professor, is alive and well somewhere in the United States, well not West Virginia.

Of course, for those of you unfamiliar with the show, it was shown for its catchy theme song, which is now a popular Youtube video.

So, for today's question, we are going to ask how old Johnson is; is the answer:

A) 84 B)85 C)86 D)87

If you are the lucky winner, we will send you a cassette tape with the theme from "The Love Boat"_ just kidding. Amazingly enough, the entire cast of that show (well the original '70s version), including Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), is alive and well.

The Rabbit Ears Test (5 of 12)_ The Brady Bunch

Earlier this year, tv show pioneer Sherwood Schwartz, who created both "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch" died at age 94. But, he will always be remembered for creating one of the first unusual sitcom families which broke away from the "Father Knows Best" forms of the '50s and '60.

"The Brady Bunch" starred the late Robert Reed (1932-1992) as Mike Brady. Reed came to the show with a Shakespearean actor background, and he would later teach Shakespearian acting at UCLA during the last years of his life which ended at age 59 from AIDS.

But, the other two adult cast members, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis, who played the housekeeper Alice, are alive and presumably well. Davis turned 85 this year.

The oldest Brady child was Greg Brady, played by Barry Williams, who is 57 today, a mere two younger than Reed was when he died 20 years ago. The other Brady Kids were played by the likes of Eve Plumb, Maureen McCormick, Chris Knight (not to be confused with my blogger friend of the same name), Mike Lookiland and Susan Olsen.

"The Brady Bunch" ran for 117 episodes, and Gene Hackman_ of all people_ was considered for the part of Mike Brady. The show was actually more popular after it initially aired, as it never got past number 34 in the ratings.

The dog Tiger disappeared after the second season because off-screen the dog was tragically run over by a car, though his dog house was around up until the show's conclusion.

I actually had the chance to meet Williams in person in 1996. He said he still got high volumes of fan letters every week.

So, today, we are asking when exactly did "The Brady Bunch" first air; is the answer?:

A) Sept. 26, 1969

B) Jan. 2, 1970

C) Sept. 25, 1970

D) Nov. 20, 1970

SIDEBAR: Alas, our beloved UNC Tarheels fell 41-24 to the Missouri Tigers in the Independence Bowl that was mentioned in an earlier entry.

Remembering Sherwood Schwartz

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Sherwood Schwartz (1916-2011) who created two of my favorite tv shows from my childhood in "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch." Schwartz died last week.

And, on that note, we will conclude this very short blog entry and take a day off from blogging tomorrow (yes, I can do it!).

Interestingly enough, the late Bob Denver who was Gilligan lived as a regular Joe in he small town of Princeton, WV, in his later years.