Maria Peters

Bob Denver Refused to Let the Professor and Mary Ann Be “The Rest” If you watched the first season of Gilligan’s Island, you may remember something odd about the theme song. After naming Gilligan, the Skipper, the millionaire and his wife, and the movie star, it ended the roll call with: “And the rest.” “The rest” were Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells — the Professor and Mary Ann. There was a reason. Tina Louise, who played Ginger, had a contractual billing arrangement that put her at the end of the opening credits. Johnson and Wells had signed later and wound up in the closing credits instead. So when the theme song was written, their characters were simply bundled together as “the rest.” But before Season 2, Bob Denver decided that wasn't right. He asked that Johnson and Wells be included with everyone else. When the studio pushed back, Denver had some leverage of his own: his contract allowed him to choose where his name appeared in the credits. So Gilligan made them an offer. If the Professor and Mary Ann had to stay at the end, put him there with them. Moving the star of Gilligan’s Island out of the opening wasn't exactly an attractive option. The studio relented. For Season 2, the theme was re-recorded, “and the rest” disappeared, and two familiar names finally joined the roll call: “The Professor and Mary Ann.” Years later, Dawn Wells said she hadn't even known the full story at the time. She remembered Denver as the one who went to bat for them. Bob Denver didn't make a big production out of it. He just refused to let two of his fellow castaways be treated like “the rest.” ❤️