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Test Your ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Trivia Skills

Our quiz is less than a three-hour tour … and won’t leave you stranded

Jayme Deerwester,

Members Only Access

Published July 12, 2023

10 Questions

They may have been on the air for only three seasons, but the castaways of “Gilligan’s Island” have lived on in popular culture for more than half a century. Take our quiz to test your knowledge of Gilligan and his fellow shipwrecked survivors. And if you’d like a refresher of the iconic sitcom, you can catch free episodes on the streaming service tubi.

Test Your ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Trivia Skills

[ {
  "question" : "True or false: When it premiered, “Gilligan’s Island” aired in black and white instead of color.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Although color was available when the first season premiered in 1964, that season of “Gilligan’s Island” ran in black and white. Russell Johnson, who played the Professor, said it was a cost-saving move. When the show got picked up for a second season, CBS finally gave it a color TV budget.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "According to the show’s theme song, how long was the group’s sightseeing tour supposed to last?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "One hour",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Three hours",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "One day",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Three days",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "According to the lyrics: “Five passengers set sail that day/For a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour.” And in case you can’t remember where they set sail from, it was Honolulu.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What was the name of the castaway’s boat?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "S.S. Minnow",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "S.S. Sardine",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "S.S. Skipper",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "S.S. Stranded",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "The name S.S. Minnow was actually a dig at Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Newton N. Minow, who had annoyed “Gilligan” creator Sherwood Schwartz by dismissing television as “a vast wasteland.” Minow wasn’t insulted; actually, he found the dubious honor amusing.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What nickname did the Skipper give Gilligan?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "First Mate",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Pal",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Little Buddy",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Yeoman",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "The Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) often referred to Gilligan as “Little Buddy.” Hale later said that he borrowed the nickname from one of his father’s school friends.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "“Gilligan’s Island” creator Sherwood Schwartz also spearheaded what other popular 60s/’70s show?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "“The Monkees”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "“The Andy Griffith Show”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "“Gidget”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "“The Brady Bunch”",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Schwartz was also the brains behind “The Brady Bunch.” And he either wrote or cowrote the theme songs for both hit shows.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Before he was cast to play Gilligan, Bob Denver was best known for his role on what popular TV show?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "“The Brady Bunch”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "“Bonanza”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "“Bewitched”",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Denver starred as Dobie Gillis’ best friend, Maynard G. Krebs, on the TV show “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” which ran from 1959 to 1963.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Who turned up on the island during the show’s run?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Russian cosmonauts",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "A movie producer",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "A former dictator",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "All of the above",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "For a deserted island, it sure got a lot of visitors. A pair of Russian Cosmonauts crash-landed on the island during Season 2’s “Nyet, Nyet– Not Yet.” That season also saw the arrival of an exiled Latin American despot in “The Little Dictator.” In Season 3’s “The Producer,” a Hollywood bigwig was stranded just long enough to insult Ginger’s acting ability and steal an idea for a play.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What actress played the role of Mary Ann?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Natalie Schafer",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Dawn Wells",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Tina Louise",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Lucille Ball",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Former Miss Nevada Dawn Wells played Mary Ann Summers. According to Sherwood Schwartz’s son, Lloyd J. Schwartz, Wells was a fan favorite. “Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, got five times the fan mail than everybody else,” Schwartz said, explaining that fans identified with the girl-next-door character.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What nickname did Thurston Howell always use for his wife?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Lovey",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "Honey",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Sweetheart",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Darling",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Lovey (played by Natalie Schafer) was actually named Eunice Wentworth Howell. In Season 2, viewers learn her full name when the castaways hear a radio report revealing the minister who married the rich couple was a fraud.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "True or false: The castaways were never rescued during the series.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "The castaways thought they got rescued in Season 2’s “The Friendly Physician,” but in reality, they were lured to another island where they were used as subjects in an experiment. They never successfully made it back to civilization before the show was canceled at the end of Season 3. However, they did find their way home in the 1978 reunion TV movie “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island.”",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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Test Your ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Trivia Skills

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Jayme Deerwester is an editor and writer with two decades of experience at USA TODAY, where she covered entertainment, travel, personal finance and technology. When not in front of a computer, she can be found rowing, kayaking or playing with her dog.

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