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Longtime fans of the beloved sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” might remember there were two different versions of the main theme song “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle.” Written by the show’s creator Sherwood Schwartz along with composer George Wyle, the first season’s theme ended with the phrase “…and the rest,” frustratingly omitting Russell Johnson (the Professor) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann Summers) from the opening credits. This was due to a contract clause demanded by Tina Louise, who portrayed the movie star Ginger Grant and, at the time, was the sole main actor from the show still alive. Her contract specified she should be listed last in the credits.

At its inception, the storyline of “Gilligan’s Island” revolved around Bob Denver’s character, Gilligan, the S.S. Minnow’s first mate, and a group of regular characters. Alongside Tina Louise’s glamorous Hollywood star, the group featured the ship’s captain Jonas Grumby (Alan Hale Jr.), the wealthy Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus), and his socialite wife Lovey (Natalie Schafer), with Mary Ann and Roy occasionally appearing as lesser characters. Considering everyone except Wells and Johnson had extensive film backgrounds, CBS felt justified in focusing on those actors, investing heavily to bring Backus and Louise to the series. Additionally, there were costs involved with filming the pilot episode in Hawaii, although most of the series was shot in a CBS studio.

As “Gilligan’s Island” gained widespread popularity, so did the importance of Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson. By the approach of the second season, many, including lead actor Bob Denver, believed they should receive more credit. Denver went to CBS executives, stating that if his fellow actors were not given credit, he would exercise a clause in his contract that allowed him to position his name anywhere in the sequence, even after Tina Louise’s. As he explained during an interview on “The Today Show,” “It was silly,” adding, “It was so embarrassing to have them as ‘the rest.'” Concerned about potential confusion if Denver, the show’s star, rearranged the opening credits, the network agreed to update the song to fully include The Professor and Mary Ann after Louise.

Although her contract entitled her to the “and also starring” credit, Tina Louise reportedly accepted that Wells and Johnson’s names would follow hers. This revision was particularly justified for Dawn Wells, as she was earning noticeably less than her colleagues. “My salary — naturally, I was lower on the pay scale, Ginger [Louise] and Thurston [Jim Backus] earned more — was $750 a week,” she once admitted to Forbes, noting that the show itself did not lead to great wealth for her. Denver’s insistence on proper credit thus holds significant retrospective value. Although she did not become rich, Wells gained significant cultural recognition from her work on “Gilligan’s Island,” leading to appearances in reunion specials, fan conventions, and even authoring a cookbook themed after “Gilligan’s Island.”