ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512110006
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
MORE PEOPLE WANTED to see Bob Denver than sit on Santa's lap Saturday at Valley View Mall.
You would think that two weeks before Christmas, at a crowded shopping mall, the most popular person in attendance would be Santa Claus.
But you would be wrong.
There were more people standing in line to see Bob Denver - the star of "Gilligan's Island" - than there were waiting to sit on Santa's lap Saturday afternoon at Valley View Mall in Roanoke.
When told whom he was upstaging, Denver flashed the wide-eyed, goofy expression that so many people remember him for.
"Well, Gilligan is a lot like Santa Claus," he said as he autographed books, publicity shots and white sailor hats handed to him by admiring fans. "He makes everybody happy."
In town to promote "Gilligan, Maynard and Me," his book about the history of his two best-known roles, Denver wore a slightly dingy sailor hat that was one of two originals used on the "Gilligan's Island" set.
Even though he's now 60, the former castaway belted out "Skipper!" a few times to demonstrate that his voice is still capable of Gilligan's boyish squeak.
As people told him time and again that he was an important part of their childhood, Denver said he is constantly amazed that what started as a three-hour tour has remained such a cultural icon over the years.
Rerun after rerun, the show has been on the air since 1964, making it the longest-running sitcom in television history. The show appears in 32 countries.
"I think it's just silly," he said of the show's most endearing quality. "I knew by the mid-'70s, it didn't look like it was going to die out."
Denver, also known for his role as Maynard G. Krebs in the 1960s series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis," left Hollywood 20 years ago for a quieter life in the mountains of West Virginia. He lives in Princeton, the hometown of his wife, Dreama, and ventures out about once a month for book-signings and such.
When word got out that Gilligan would be in Roanoke, people flocked to Valley View Mall for the chance to meet someone who, in a way, they'd grown up with. "It's like meeting somebody you already know," said Jack Rawles of Christiansburg.
John and Vicky Blum drove from Lynchburg, then waited in line for 45 minutes for the chance to shake Denver's hand. For them, it came as no surprise that the line for Gilligan was longer than Santa's.
"More people believe in 'Gilligan's Island,''' John Blum said.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL/Staff. 1. During the book-signing, Bob Denverby CNBwore a dingy sailor hat that was one used on the "Gilligan's Island"
set. color. 2. Bob Denver signs an autograph for 5-year-old Erika
Whitley. Even though he's now 60, the former castaway belted out
"Skipper!" a few times to prove he still has the stuff.