How well do you know your Gilligan's Island guest celebs?

By: Dyann Joyce
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
How well do you know your Gilligan's Island guest celebs?
Image: CBS

About This Quiz

"Gilligan’s Island" was a television show that aired from 1964 until 1967. Besides the regular “seven stranded castaways," the show often featured celebrity guests that somehow managed to land on the island and get off again, always leaving the castaways behind. See how well you know the visitors to the island by taking our quiz!
What was the name of the musical group that landed on the island to have some quiet time to practice, that had the castaways all abuzz?
The Beatles
The Crickets
The Mosquitoes
The Hummingbirds
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The long-haired group of beatniks that came to the island were called The Mosquitoes. They came to the island to escape their fans, so in order to get them to leave and rescue them, the castaways acted like fans.

Which Hollywood actress played a wealthy socialite, Erika Tiffany Smith, who visited the island?
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Lucille Ball
Marilyn Monroe
Raquel Welch
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Erika Tiffany Smith was portrayed by none other than Zsa Zsa Gabor. She played a wealthy socialite who wanted to create a resort on the island, after seeing how peaceful it was.

What movie producer came to the island, played by Phil Silvers?
Sherwood Schwartz
Harold Hecuba
Sam Silverstein
Fred Friedrickson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The movie producer was Harold Hecuba. He got involved in a production of "Hamlet" while on the island, then managed to get off the island, leaving the castaways behind. He stole the castaways' musical concept and took his new creation to Broadway, which the castaways got to hear about on the radio.

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What character with a rather unpleasant sounding name was portrayed by Tina Louise, who also played Ginger?
Stinky Pinky
Smelly Shelly
Eva Grub
Sharon Stone
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Eva Grub came to the island to hide from the world, but the castaways gave her a new-found confidence, which she promptly departed with, leaving them behind. Since the new-and-improved Eva Grub looked just like Ginger, Eva felt ready to take over her acting career.

Who was the rather filthy, lazy and confused pilot that yet again left the castaways behind?
Backwards Brennigan
Reversed Richard
Wrongway Feldman
Sideways Stanley
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wrongway Feldman was the WWI pilot that came to the island to escape the noise of the city. To entice him to leave, the castaways made lots of noise, so he left, yet again leaving them behind.

In an episode that may have paid homage to King Kong, what animal held Mrs. Howell captive because of her perfume?
A gorilla
A dog
A cat
A penguin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A penguin? Really? No, it was the gorilla. He liked the smell of her perfume, so he kidnapped her. It took the rest of the episode for them to save her from the gorilla.

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Which island visitor was unaware that WWII had ended?
German pilot
Japanese sailor
British navy officer
An American submarine commander
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Japanese sailor, unaware that WWII had ended, took the castaways captive. Luckily, Gilligan managed to save them all. The Japanese sailor, of course, managed to escape in a miniature submarine. This character was played by Vito Scotti, who also portrayed a scientist in other episodes.

Which Latin American dictator was brought to the island on a small boat and thrown ashore in exile?
Fidel Castro
Adolf Hitler
Pancho Hernando Gonzalez Enriques Rodriguez
Jose’ Quervo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Latin American dictator, played by Nehemiah Persoff, was exiled on the island. He too eventually made his way back home, leaving the castaways behind.

Comedian Don Rickles played Norbert Wiley, who was what sort of character?
A botanist looking for tropical plants
A con man hiding out
An artist painting landscapes
A volcano diver
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Don Rickles played a con man, Norbert Wiley, who kidnapped several castaways for ransom. He too leaves them all behind, taking some jewelry and other valuables with him.

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Englishman Lord Beasley Waterford came to the island for what?
Privacy
A rare butterfly
To go fishing
He found Gilligan's message in a bottle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lord Beasley Waterford was on the hunt for the ever-elusive pussycat swallowtail, a butterfly. He promised the castaways rescue if they would help him catch one. Sadly, they grew impatient and thwarted his efforts. The castaways tried to intoxicate Beasley with some potent tea, but the plan backfired and the castaways fell asleep. Of course, during their slumber Beasley found his butterfly and left the island.

Vito Scotti, who portrayed a Japanese sailor on the show, also appeared as a different character, Boris Balinkoff. Who was he?
A bank robber
A Hollywood director
A musician
A mad scientist
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dr. Balinkoff was a mad scientist that somehow had a giant castle on a nearby island. He took the castaways there and switched their personalities - Mr. Howell was swapped with Gilligan and Mrs. Howell was swapped with the Skipper, for starters.

Kurt Russell even made an appearance on the island. What was his character?
A monkey
A robot
An astronaut
A jungle boy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A very young Kurt Russell made an appearance as a jungle boy on the island. I forget how the episode ended - something about a balloon - but he got off the island too, as usual.

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Actor Rory Calhoun landed on the island in a helicopter, as a big game hunter named Jonathan Kincaid. What prey did he decide to hunt?
Tigers
Lions
Wild boar
Gilligan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Kincaid came to check out the game prospects on the island, but upon discovering seven stranded castaways he decided to hunt the most dangerous game - Gilligan. Gilligan managed to evade the hunter, thus earning their rescue, but the hunter left without them, fearing they would tell the authorities what he did.

A muscle-bound Denny Miller played Duke Williams, who became stranded on the island by what means?
A sailboat
A dingy from a yacht
A surfboard
A parachute
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Suntanned surfer Duke Williams came to the island via surfboard when he was caught up in a storm and rode the wave some 300-odd miles to the island. He surfed away and hit his head on a rock, which caused amnesia, so he could not send anyone to rescue the castaways.

Larry Storch, of "F Troop" fame, played what sort of character?
A scientist
A doctor
A bank robber
A con man
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Larry Storch played Jackson Farrell, a bank robber who came to the island to hide out until the heat from his crimes blew over. The usual hijinks ensued, with Ginger flirting and Gilligan bungling.

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Richard Kiel, who played Jaws in the James Bond movies, played what character on "Gilligan's Island"?
A ghost
A Russian agent
A stranded sailor
A gorilla
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While Mr. Kiel may be bigger than a gorilla, he played a Russian agent that tried to scare the castaways off the island by acting like a ghost. Somehow, they still didn’t get off the island.

In a few different episodes, the castaways had visitors from a nearby island. Why did the castaways nearly lose their heads over them?
They were irritatingly polite islanders.
They were headhunters.
They tried to marry their king to the girls on the island.
They took all the castaways' food.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The castaways nearly lost their heads, literally. The visiting islanders were a headhunting tribe. Gilligan saved everyone by tricking the headhunters into drinking a concoction, made by the professor, that made them see double.

What visitor almost made Gilligan have to fight an island tribal warrior to the death?
An island girl named Kilani
A cosmonaut
A witch doctor
A sea monster
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gilligan saved an island girl from drowning, then she said she belonged to him forever. That didn’t play too well with a massive islander warrior who wanted to fight Gilligan to the death for her, as was the islander’s custom.

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In one episode, two Russians visited the island. How did they get there?
Jet skis
Submarines
A space capsule
A boat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In "Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet," a capsule splashed down in the lagoon and two Russian cosmonauts were in it. They promised to rescue the castaways, but - surprise, surprise - the cosmonauts left them behind.

Gilligan saw his doppelganger on the island, but no one believed him and the castaways accused him of eating a pie. What really happened?
A Russian spy disguised as Gilligan ate the pie.
Gilligan ate the pie.
A monkey ate the pie.
The robot ate the pie.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A Russian spy disguised himself as Gilligan, intending to take his place on the island. He found and ate the pie and Gilligan saw him do it, amazed to be seeing himself standing in front of him.

Other than Ginger and Gilligan, who else had a doppelganger that came to the island?
Professor
Mary Ann
Skipper
Mr. Howell
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There were actually three doppelgangers on the island at various times. One was Gilligan’s Russian spy, another one was Ginger’s, named Eva Grub, and then Mr. Howell had one that tried to take his place on Wall Street and steal his fortune.

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In one episode, the castaways noticed personal items missing and then witnessed strange behavior in each another. What was going on?
A witch doctor made voodoo dolls of them
Pure coincidence
Gilligan was taking the items
Mr. Howell took the items
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A witch doctor was taking the items to enchant voodoo dolls he made of the castaways. The castaways turned the tables on him and sent him running into the lagoon.

A game show contestant was supposed to survive alone on this uncharted island to win $10,000. He was doing quite well, because he did what?
He was a great survivalist.
He stole food and supplies from the castaways.
He offered the castaways a cut of the money to help him.
He gave Gilligan $5.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Contestant George Barkley, played by Strother Martin, was cheating to win the "Take a Dare" prize, so he wouldn’t let the castaways use his radio to call for help. He was taking food and supplies from the castaways to make life simple, relaxing in a hammock in the shade and eating Mary Ann’s pie.

When a native king from a nearby island came to Gilligan’s Island looking for a "White Goddess," whom did he pick?
Mrs. Howell
Gilligan
Ginger
Mary Ann
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gilligan dressed as a woman to save Ginger and Mary Ann from having to be sacrificed or marry the native king. The king was enamored with Gilligan, until things went awry. Finally the natives left, once again leaving the castaways stranded.

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What famous cartoon voice actor of the time made an appearance on the show as a parrot?
Mel Blanc
Bugs Bunny
Don Rickles
Walt Disney
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mel Blanc, who famously voiced Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, made a guest appearance on the show, voicing a parrot that talked like gangsters.

Who played the mad scientists' henchman, Igor, in the episode where the castaways were taken to the mad scientist’s castle on another island?
Jaws from James Bond
Vincent Beck
Mike Mazurki
Herman Munster
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mike Mazurki played Igor, the mad scientist’s evil henchman in the castle. Mazurki is known for his appearances in "Some Like It Hot" and "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World."

Who played the character King Kaliwani in the episode where the native king tried to marry Gilligan?
Stanley Adams
Vincent Beck
John McGiver
Gomez Addams
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the episode where Gilligan dressed as a woman, the native king was played by Stanley Adams, a popular guest start of the day. He is remembered for his portrayal of Rusty Trawler in "Breakfast at Tiffany’s."

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What was the sidekick's name in the episode where the big game hunter hunted Gilligan?
Ramoo
Rambo
Sambo
Shamoo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Played by Harold Sakata, Ramoo was the trusty sidekick of the big game hunter that held the others captive with a spear while Gilligan was being hunted. Sakata is famous for playing Odd Job in the Bond film, "Goldfinger."

In one episode, the castaways tried to use a robot to facilitate their rescue by having it walk to Hawaii. Who voiced the robot?
Bob Denver
Russell Johnson
Alan Hale
Bob d’Arcy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bob d’Arcy did the voice of the robot in that episode, and he wore the bulky, cumbersome costume. What? Did you think it was a real robot?

In an episode where Gilligan dreamt he was Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk," who was the tiny actor that ran around the Skipper as the giant?
Bob Denver, using a camera trick
Dawn Wells
Bob Denver’s son, Patrick Denver
Russell Johnson
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was actually Bob Denver’s young son, Patrick, that portrayed Gilligan in this episode. He wore clothes like Gilligan, with the hat pulled down, and ran around the Skipper's legs to make him look like a giant. This was Patrick's only professional acting appearance.

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Who was the voice of the radio announcer?
Bob Denver
Roy Hinkley and Alan Hale
Jim Backus
Charles Maxwell and Vernon Scott
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was Charles Maxwell and Vernon Scott. The radio was a Packard Bell AR-851, kept in working order by the Professor.

In one episode where they tried to marry Gilligan to a native girl, who played the native girl’s mother?
Mrs. Howell
Mary Ann
Rosanne Barr
Henny Backus
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Recognize the last name? Yep, that was actor Jim Backus’s real life wife playing the native girl’s mom in that episode. Henny Backus started as a Broadway showgirl in the 1930s.

The Mosquitoes were in real life the three-man band, The Wellingtons, which did the original theme song for "Gilligan’s Island." Who played The Mosquitoes' band member, Bingo?
Les Brown Jr.
Jim Morrison
James Brown
Gilligan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Les brown Jr. played Bingo in the episode with the real-life band, The Wellingtons, as guest stars. They portrayed a band, The Mosquitoes, that had come to the island to escape their fans.

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Who was the original Ginger in the pilot episode?
Ginger Rogers
Kit Smythe
Dawn Wells
Henny Backus
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The pilot had a different Ginger, but this was Kit Smythe's only episode. The part of Ginger was given to Tina Louise, because the director thought she was a better fit.

Who played the native daughter that they were trying to marry off to Gilligan?
Mary Foran
Mary Ann Wells
Raquel Welch
Edy Lamar
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mary Foran played the native daughter. Henny Backus portrayed the mother in "Gilligan's Mother-in Law," when they tried to marry her daughter off to Gilligan.

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