Remembering 'Gilligan's Island,' 'Brady Bunch' creator Sherwood Schwartz

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/07/remembering-gilligans-island-brady-bunch-creator-sherwood-schwartz.html ^ | 7/12/2011 | LA Times

[Morgana]

The Times wasn't kind when it reviewed "Gilligan's Island" in 1964, writing, "'Gilligan's Island' is a television series that never should have reached the air this season, or any other season." But the series defied critics and lasted for three seasons, eventually becoming a staple of syndication.

Its creator, Sherwood Schwartz, died of natural causes Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 94.

Schwartz's impact on pop culture will long survive. In addition to "Gilligan's Island," Schwartz created the family sitcom "The Brady Bunch." Each series came affixed with its own memorably jolly theme song, with lyrics written by Schwartz

[Poser]

I guess I’m not in the mainstream, but I never got Gilligan. I guess he was trying to play Stan Laurel to Hale’s Oliver Hardy, but it was just too predictable. Maryann was great eye candy but she wasn’t enough to make me watch the show.

Now Julie Newmar as Cat Woman was enough to get me to watch Batman! I think the best sitcom of the era was Get Smart. (and then Monty Python changed everything for me)

[smokingfrog]

Tina looks like she had some bad plastic surgery.

Dawn looks like a dopey grandma. (Not bad for a mug shot though.)

[smokingfrog]

He was also head writer for The Red Skelton Show.

Never cared much for The Brady Bunch.

[Grizzled Bear]

Dawn looks like a dopey grandma. (Not bad for a mug shot though.)

I bet laz would hit it (Maryanne, not the bong).

[Interesting Times]

Mary Ann is hotter than Ginger.

The proper answer to the "Mary Ann or Ginger" question is "yes."

[madison10]

Wonder why “Mary Ann” was getting her mug shot taken...LOL

They both look exhausted.

[BluesDuke]

They originally offered the role of Gilligan to Jerry Van Dyke. But Van Dyke’s agent advised him to turn it down, since he was sure the show would flop. The agent told Van Dyke to instead accept the starring role in a new NBC sit-com called “My Mother the Car.”

That's something like being advised against taking the lead role in Plan 9 from Outer Space in favour of taking the lead role in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, isn't it?

Sherwood Schwartz began his career writing for Bob Hope on radio in 1939 and continued writing for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet on radio as well. (Though it took years for people to know he was part of the latter show, since that chowderhead Ozzie was fool enough not to credit his writers, believing in his gut that everyone thought he did the writing when about all he actually did was edit the scripts cleverly enough. Don't fault the man, he wasn't the only one who didn't credit the writers, and at least he wasn't the jackass Red Skelton was taking credit for the characters his writers invented for him . . .)

Talk about career devolution.

RIP Mr. Schwartz. I'd rather think of you writing so brilliantly for Ol' Ski Nose and that Nelson clan than having caused us to ponder whatever did we do to deserve the Eighth Amendment violations (even if Mary Ann was foxier than Ginger) that were Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch.

Because when you were writing for classic radio, you truly were in your element. And you deserve to be remembered for that work way more than for seven stranded castaways and Marcia-Marcia-Marcia!!! . . .

[Sarajevo]

Trivia question: What was the name of the song that caused the tomato's in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes to shrink?

No fair looking!

[BluesDuke]

I think it was “Puberty Love,” but don’t quote me. The only time I saw that abomination, when some friends rented it, poor darlings, George H.W. Bush was in the White House . . .

[Melian]

Thank you, Sherwood. I spent many afternoons watching Gilligan’s Island. I even had a bit of a crush on the Professor.

[Amberdawn]

RIP Mr. Schwartz. Thank you for T.V. shows where neuroticism was not a virtue.

[tlb]

The forgotten Sherwood Schwartz show.

It’s About Time TV series open

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1G-TsdNWGg

and My Mother the Car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kz3hfJweE0

[Morgana]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336817,00.html

[Morgana]

[freedumb2003]

>>It’s About Time TV series open<<

I LOVED that show! And yes, that is anther TV theme song I can sing from memory.

I remember that actor who would always say “ooh! ooh!”

[BluesDuke]

Sorry, I still hate that show. There were far better and funnier family comedies than that.

[Morgana]

[Sarajevo]

Yep. I always thought that I was one of the few that remembered that annoying tune. Cheers!

[BluesDuke]

Please, please, there is such a thing as the Eighth Amendment . . .

You can have all that dreck. I'll stick with . . .

I would trade a single episode of either of these two shows for every damn last entry in the catalogs of the others. For one thing, these two shows had one impeccable virtue---they weren't moronic, and they actually were (are) funny. ;)