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.
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.
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.
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’s besides Gilligan’s Island stands out most in your mind?
