The 5 Best Guest Stars On Gilligan's Island, Ranked

CBS

For three seasons between 1964 and 1967, Sherwood Schwartz's "Gilligan's Island" delighted undemanding television viewers with the exploits of seven castaways stranded on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. It was a sitcom the whole family could enjoy (though some parents might've had qualms about sanctioning such tropical buffoonery), though it didn't really find its place in the popular culture until it went to syndication. When "Gilligan's Island" could air five times a week, it became a couch potato favorite; suddenly, people were generating wild theories about the series' underlying themes and, by sheer repetition, memorizing the plots of whole episodes.

After stumbling out of the gate with its pilot (which was missing several key cast members), the show quickly found its formulaic groove thanks in large part to the dorky chemistry of its ensemble. But while they were a perfect fit, Schwartz and his writers realized early on its core seven couldn't carry every episode — at least, not if they wanted to make it to a second season. A little variety was in order, which meant guest stars had to find their way to the island. If you're asking how the show could do this without making a mockery of a key element of its premise (that the castaways can't get off the island), you're violating the silly spirit of the sitcom. The writers would put minimal effort in explaining away the comings-and-goings of the guest stars, and viewers happily accepted this.

After all, one of the most entertaining aspects of "Gilligan's Island" was the guest stars — and for an irredeemably ridiculous series, Schwartz managed to get some pretty respectable names to drop by on occasion. But which appearances did we most enjoy?

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Yes, Mr. Warmth himself, the greatest insult comic that ever lived, and Frank Sinatra's personal court jester, lent his barbed talents to Schwartz's sitcom. In the season 3 episode titled "The Kidnapper," Don Rickles goes against type as the titular character, who initially abducts the women on the island for ransom. When the castaways finally manage to capture him, they let the smooth criminal win them over. Their reward? He steals their wallets and some of their personal belongings. Rickles is actually playing a character in this episode, so don't expect a heapin' helpin' of withering one-liners. He colors within the lines, and does a fine job (not that this should come as a surprise; he did superb dramatic work in films like "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Casino"). Alas, Rickles evidently made a lifelong enemy in Russell Johnson, aka The Professor, who hated working with the comic. Considering that Rickles was considered a sweetheart in real life, this probably says more about Johnson than Mr. Warmth.

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Schwartz had no idea he was scoring a casting coup when he landed a 13-year-old Kurt Russell to play an orphaned young man on the season 1 episode "Jungle Boy." Russell had already done some television before he washed up on "Gilligan's Island," and had also made a bratty impact on the big screen as a kid who kicks Elvis Presley in the shin in "It Happened at the World's Fair," but he was still largely unknown to television viewers at the time. Russell's character can't speak English (he can only parrot words back to the castaways), but he does know the location of a natural gas mine on the island. This discovery leads the Professor to construct a hot air balloon that will carry one of the castaways back to civilization, where they will be able to summon a rescue party. Alas, Jungle Boy winds up floating away in the balloon. Two years later, Russell would appear in his first Disney film, thus kicking off a career that's still cooking today.

CBS

"Gilligan's Island" purists might object to this entry because, to date, no one has ever been able to confirm that Stockard Channing appeared as a female gorilla in the episode "Diamonds Are an Ape's Best Friend." All someone would have to do is ask, but evidently nobody's dared to broach the subject with the Tony- and Emmy-winning actor (who's probably best known for her portrayal of Betty Rizzo in the big screen adaptation of "Grease"). If Channing is indeed inside that suit, she plays an ape who inadvertently rescues Gilligan from the clutches of a male ape. What does the ape want with Gilligan? Well, he accidentally doused himself in Mrs. Howell's perfume, which is some kind of aphrodisiac to the big harry fella. I know what you're thinking, and, yes, Gilligan was indeed perilously close to sharing a fate with Clarence Beeks of "Trading Places."

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The King of Chutzpah was an Emmy-winning television star when he deigned to get stranded for an episode on "Gilligan's Island." If you're wondering why a huge name like Phil Silvers would appear on a show with zero aspirations of winning an Emmy, it's as simple as the fact that his production company, Gladasaya, financed the show. Silvers stars as the titular character of the season 3 episode "The Producer," and, unlike Rickles, he is very much playing to type. When Silvers crash lands on the island, the castaways are hoping to hitch a ride back to civilization on his rescue plane. Alas, the jerk has to go and tick off Ginger, whose request to appear in the producer's next movie gets cruelly rebuffed. The castaways scheme to win the producer over on Ginger's behalf by staging a musical version of "Hamlet." Their efforts are all for naught, as the producer flies away without them and, to add insult to injury, steals their idea for his next movie.

NBC

Was there any doubt these hardwood legends would top the list? In the 1981 made-for-TV movie "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island," the basketball team's plane crash lands on the island, leaving them stranded in the jungle. They're eventually found and given accommodations at The Castaways, the resort run by the enterprising, no-longer-lost main characters. The plot of the film centers on the underhanded efforts of a wealthy businessman (Martin Landau) to swipe the island out from under the castaways and mine the valuable (and quite fictional) supremium ore for his considerable financial gain. The only way to stop him is to play a winner-takes-all basketball game — which would seem to be overwhelmingly in the castaways' favor thanks to their superstar guests, but they soon discover that the businessman has created basketball-playing robots who are every bit the Globetrotters' equals. Ultimately, though, the team figures out how to beat the robots, and The Castaways remains in the hands of our heroes.