Gilligans Isle

I thought his first name was Gilligan...or Little Buddy! LOL

 

There seems to be some discrepancy here. According to snopes.com, while writing the show Sherwood Schwartz considered giving Gilligan a first name, (and the name he had considered was indeed Willie) he never gave one to him, but decided to just give him the one word name.

Schwartz said:

"In a further effort to make the character's prototypes rather than completely flesh and blood, I decided to call them only by first names or nicknames -- except Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III, of course, because that would have been out of keeping with their characters."

So 'Willy' could not have been Gilligan's first name because Schwartz said he used the first name of the characters, except for the Howells.

It is also of interest to note that, while the youtube link said Gilligan knew nothing of the sea, the theme song reveals that he was 'a mighty sailing man.'

To add to the confusion, Schwartz was said to have said years later:

"To this day, almost every time I see Bob Denver we still argue. He thinks Gilligan is his first name, and I think it's his last name. Because in the original presentation, it's Willy Gilligan. But he doesn't believe it, and he doesn't want to discuss it. He insists his name is Gilligan."