“Gilligan’s Island” fans know Bob Denver as Gilligan himself. The accident-prone first mate of the S.S. Minnow inhabited the island for three years, from 1964-1967. Bob Denver’s career took him to other places following his time in the role, however. Among those places was a single episode stop on another classic TV comedy, “I Dream of Jeannie.”
The talented actor stayed busy throughout his career. He landed roles on a number of shows as a series regular and had a prolific guest-acting tenure as well.
A year after “Gilligan’s Island” came to an end, Bob Denver played a character named Harold on an episode of “I Dream of Jeannie” title “My Son, the Genie.” In the episode, Denver’s Harold plays a new genie in training. He’s studying under Jeannie’s tutelage. His presence is poorly timed, however, as the President of the United States is paying Maj. Tony Nelson a visit.
Throughout the episode, Harold causes trouble as a result of his inexperience as a genie. The chaos his character brings into the house poses a major problem for Tony as his dinner guest is the leader of the free world.
In the video, Harold tries his best to help Jeannie prepare dinner. She asks him to take care of the lamb. Hilariously, Bob Denver’s character summons an entire herd of sheep. Tony is oblivious to the situation as he is showering and getting cleaned up for dinner. He emerges to find a stable in his living room. And before they can get rid of the sheep, the doorbell rings.
The ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Star’s Other Guest Appearances
Bob Denver landed big roles as a series regular on shows like “The Good Guys” after his time on “Gilligan’s Island.” But he never got away from his iconic role of Gilligan entirely. And later on in his career, he appeared on a handful of shows as the first mate.
In 1987, Bob Denver appeared in an episode of “The New Gidget” as Gilligan. In the same year, he did a Gilligan cameo on “ALF.”
When the 1990s came around, he kept up his cameo appearances with an episode of “Baywatch” in 1992. And after playing Gilligan in a reboot episode of “Gilligan’s Island” in the same year, he did the same in an episode of a show called “Meego” in 1997.
Unfortunately, Bob Denver passed away in 2005 after complications from throat cancer surgery. But his legacy lives on through the characters he played on screen.
