The Star Of Gilligan’s Island Made A Bold Prediction About Warren Beatty

Before Bob Denver was the blundering first mate Gilligan (who did, in fact, have a first name at one point), he was the jazz-loving beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” Max Shulman’s sitcom, which he adapted from his own short stories, centered on, well, Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hickman), a young man who was hopelessly fixated on the pursuit of wealth and success, convinced they were the keys to getting young women to fall in love with him. It was Denver as Dobie’s close buddy Maynard who really caused a stir, though, winning viewers over with his laid-back, quirky personality and relatable aversion to work. (We appreciate a fella who doesn’t kowtow to the demands of the capitalist machine.)

As popular as “Dobie Gillis” was for CBS, airing for four seasons from 1959 to 1963, it would soon be eclipsed by another comedy series on the network anchored (no pun intended) by Denver — “Gilligan’s Island,” of course. Other members of the “Dobie Gillis” cast would enjoy varying degrees of professional success after the show ended. However, it was a minor season 1 player in the form of Warren Beatty who would have easily the most significant post-series career of the lot. Still several years out from his breakout performance in “Bonnie and Clyde,” the Oscar-winning Hollywood icon appeared in just a handful of “Dobie Gillis” episodes as Milton Armitage, a well-to-do jock at Dobie’s high school and Dobie’s rival for the affections of certain girls. (He was a rival in Dobie’s mind, at least.)

Years later, Denver said that he and his “Dobie Gillis” costars weren’t remotely surprised when Beatty became a huge name. In fact, the way Denver remembered it, they foresaw early on that Beatty would eventually leave his humble television beginnings in the dust.

It’s worth bearing in mind that actors didn’t readily crossover between film and television for much of the 20th century; you were either in the movies or you did TV shows. That changed dramatically with the rise of prestige TV and streaming, but at the time that Beatty and Denver were working on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” there was little to no reason for Denver to think his co-star would ever have a career in motion pictures. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what Denver believed would happen. Or, rather, that’s how he told the legend in his 1994 memoir “Gilligan, Maynard & Me,” writing that he and the rest of the “Dobie Gillis” cast simply knew that Beatty “was not long for episodic TV” (via Deseret News).

Speaking to CJAD 800 AM, Montreal in 1994 to promote his book, Denver reiterated that the “Dobie Gillis” cast “knew [Beatty] wasn’t destined for situation comedy. He was heading for the motion pictures.” In both that interview and his memoir, Denver also recounted a particularly memorable incident on the show’s set involving Beatty. “Someone locked [Beatty] in a dressing room onstage (as a prank),” Denver wrote in his book. “He shouted a few times to be let out and then became silent. It wasn’t until the middle of the next take that we heard from him. He was singing opera at the top of his lungs.”

Beatty, often referred to as Hollywood’s original playboy, was known for his larger-than-life charisma, and his antics on “Dobie Gillis” (much like the role he played on the show) were very much indicative of his ability to take command of any room he entered. “[Beatty] was only with the series for five or six episodes, and then a year later he starred in ‘Splendor in the Grass,'” Denver noted in his memoir. Indeed, Beatty did a whole lot more than that.