The Skipper

The Skipper is the title and nickname of Jonas Grumby [cite web | title = Skipper Jonas Grumby (Character) | url = http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005017/ | publisher = IMDb.com | accessdate = 2008-03-05 ] , a fictional character from the hit 1960s sitcom "Gilligan's Island". Played by Alan Hale, Jr., the Skipper was the captain of the "S.S. Minnow" on its "three hour tour" in Hawaii when he, first mate Gilligan (played by Bob Denver), and their tourist passengers were caught in a violent storm and stranded on a deserted island. He often acts as leader until times of crisis when he usually defers to The Professor. He is sort of the bodybuilder succumbed to loss of exercise, despite carrying out most physical work on the island or making Gilligan do it.

The Skipper is lovable but is continually irritated by the clumsiness and ineptitude of his "little buddy" Gilligan, despite the fact that they are good friends. Though Gilligan is usually devoid of any malicious intent, the Skipper is occasionally the butt of his weight. A running gag is that whenever Gilligan messes up a rescue, the skipper conks Gilligan on the head with his hat; a variation of this gag is that whenever Gilligan is in a tree as a lookout and falls down-he usually lands on the skipper!

In the 2003 book "Gilligan's Wake" (ISBN 0-312-29123-X), "Esquire" film and television critic Tom Carson writes a backstory that the Skipper served with John F. Kennedy of the PT-109 and McHale of "McHale's Navy". The book was critically acclaimed, drawing comparisons to the works of Thomas Pynchon. John F. Kennedy was also skipper of his boat, and the 1964 Gilligan's Island would follow the 1961 pilot episode of "McHale's Navy", the 1962 series, and the 1963 movie "PT 109" as movies about PT-sized boats that were shipwrecked with Navy sailors onboard. Little was ever learned about his past, but in several episodes he variously mentions having several ships blown out from under him, and his veterans status, implying that he'd served in WWII. In another episode he gets amnesia, and thinks he's on a covert mission behind enemy lines, mistaking the others to be Japanese soldiers, including Ginger who he mistakenly believes to be a ventriloquist. He claims to be the CO of the 177th Infantry Regiment which is a US Army regiment, but whether this actually happened or was just a wish fulfilling fantasy is open to debate, for later on in the shows run he says he was simply a cook. In one episode he claimed to have been a Navy Bandmaster and in another he claims to have been the best cardplayer in the US Navy.

References

*"Gilligan's Wake", Tom Carson, ISBN 0-312-29123-X