Ahoy There Maties! Welcome to the October edition of the Gilligan's Island Fan Club newsletter! Just sit right back and I'll tell you about the latest from the kingdom of Gilligan. Look towards the bottom of this newsletter for a new public appearance! Bob Denver (Gilligan) was just spotted in Ohio on an island called "Middle Bass." Ann and Steven sent us the article and picture for your enjoyment. You can see the photo and article here at: http://home.san.rr.com/gilligan/midbass.html It's finally here! The good folks at Western Union has just sent us a copy of the commercial with Mary Ann, and you can view or listen to it on our site! Check this out if you haven't seen it before. http://home.san.rr.com/gilligan/wunion.html Nick Bozza and Jim Saldana write, "Did you know that another Gilligan's Island television commercial has surfaced? This one involves IKEA furniture. There are clips of Gilligan, Bob Denver, going into his hut. The two furniture salesmen update the furniture, replacing the hammocks with bunk beds, installing lamps, and replacing Gilligan's closet. It ends with Gilligan chasing the salesmen who are sailing out of the lagoon on a power boat, screaming, "Wait...We're rescued!" This is exceptionally well done. There are clips of the original show super-imposed with new furniture, etc. I saw this commercial on ABC yesterday for the first time. I just wanted you to know." I'll try to contact IKEA and get this one up of the site as well. This one sounds interesting. Looking through my records, I seem to remember the Professor being in an airline commercial, but I can't recall which one. If anybody remembers this, please let me know. I'm trying to gather all of the commercials for our site. Our Gilligan's Island Comic section is really looking nice. Special thankx to Gary Tifeld for sending some, and also to Christopher Smith for the new 1999 colored comic. I'm sure there are more out there, so if you ever run across any, please send them our way. http://home.san.rr.com/gilligan/comics.html Yet another Gilligan song? Well, this is a rap version and it's called "Gilligan's Ghetto." I don't think that's the real name, but I just had to take a wild guess. It sounds like it's from East Los Angeles. Check it out for yourself after the Internet song at: http://home.san.rr.com/gilligan/realaudio.html In Ocean City, N.J., a mother and daughter died when they were ejected from a roller-coaster car at Gillian's Wonderland Pier after it suddenly slid backward from a 30-foot ascent and crashed into another car. Many people have sent me e-mails stating that this was "Gilligan's Wonderland," when it actually was "Gillian's." Never the less, our hearts go out to those two who died in the roller coaster crash. Chef Noto wrote us and said that there's a bar down in south Florida named after the crew and it's called the "Castaways." It's on Belvadear Road in West Palm Beach, Florida. They have pictures of the crew and parts of the S.S. Minnow! If anybody out there knows about this place, please let us in on it. We'd love to do a story. The Professor has some great news to add to the newsletter this month. He just found out that "E! Entertainment" is doing a True Hollywood Story about Gilligan's Island on November 28. Keep your eyes peeled!!! Fan club member Jeremy tells us that he just learned that Dawn Wells will be lending her voice to an episode of "Futurama." The episode will air in the new season. He will let us know when he learns more. Want to meet Gilligan, Professor and Mary Ann? Well here's your chance! Ralph writes: "Three original cast members from Gilligan's Island, Mary Ann (Dawn Wells), the Professor (Russell Johnson), and of course Gilligan (Bob Denver) will be making a public appearance signing autographs for a nominal fee. A limited edition print commerating the occasion will be given free to the first 500 admissions. And, Admission is FREE!!! There is currently dealer table space available. There will be other celebrities in attendance, all signing autographs: Nichel Nichols and Walter Konig (Star Trek- LT Uhura and Chekov), baseball Hall of Famer and 500 home run hitter- Eddie Mathews, original Wizard of OZ munchkin- Mickey Carroll, World Series Perfect Game Pitcher- Yankee Don Larsen and others to be shortly announced. If any of you would like pricing information, I can be reached at "eaglerz@aol.com". If any of the club members would like to get their items autographed by any or all of the cast members, email me. If they would like a signed 16x20 of the limited edition PRINT of Gilligan's Island, I can provide your members a real collectors' item, priced at only $70 (includes postage)." "I neglected to mention that the show is at the Marriot Hotel in Uniondale (Long Island), New York, on November 7th. The location is just 45 minutes west of JFK Airport." Ralph eaglerz@aol.com (770)465-1109 Here comes another TV movie "The Castaways on Gilligan's Island." It runs on October 15 on TNT at 10:30am and 10:00pm. Get your VCR's ready! Did you know that both Gilligan (Bob Denver) and Thurston (Jim Backus) played a role in a couple of episodes of "I Dream of Jeannie?" Gilligan played a Genie, but not sure what Thurston played. Fan member Matt tell us about his trip to so-called Gilligan's Island in the Bahamas. "I just wanted to tell you about my trip to the supposed Gilligan's Island. I took a cruise to Nassau in the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago. When we arrived in Nassau, we were given a choice of where we would like to visit while on Nassau. I noticed that one of the excursions was to the supposed place where Gilligan's Island was filmed, mostly for the outdoor scenes. I, of course, was thrilled to hear that I would have a chance to visit the almost holy place. We were taken on a ferry to the island. Upon arriving, I immediately skipped all the activities to go in search of anything having to do with Gilligan's Island. I walked the entire island, only to find nothing. How disappointing. I couldn't find the lagoon, any remnants of props, or anything. The island did have a lot of palm trees, and on certain occasions, things looked familiar, but for the most part, there was nothing to see. I took my digital camera along and snapped a few pics. Maybe you can add them to your collection or something. I believe it was the island, it's just that nothing was still there. I'll be happy to send you the pics, I just didn't want to flood your email box. Let me know. Matt Let's all CHAT!!! This Saturday you can talk to folks in the fan club just by going to this page here: http://home.san.rr.com/gilligan/chat.html Another Gilligan bar found! The resort writes; Dear friends, Stranded on a tiny island in the south pacific is a lovely stretch of white sand. All the cast has left but we are here. So we opened up a little lemonade stand called "Gilligan's Tropical Bar and Grill." You are all invited. We are trying to locate some "stuffs" to dress up the place and make the connection with the show. Any help or referrals from any of the fans would be great! Any of the cast are welcome. Visit our web site at: http://www.rainbowreefresort.com Aloha and Bula Rainbow Reef Resort http://www.rainbowreefresort.com rainbowreefrs@is.com.fj Ph: (679) 880 900 Well, I should say that's enough Gilligan for a month. I have to stir up some more sea water in order to recharge the batteries in the radio. I stir for an hour, and get 5 minutes worth of battery life. If anybody has a gas generator, please send it to us. Better yet, just send "HELP!" Willy Gilligan Gilligan's Island Fan Club http://www.gilligansisle.com