Summer Fun: Remembering Gilligan’s Island

Gilligan’s Island Originated in a College Classroom

Gilligan’s Island was a light-hearted and beloved sitcom which was so successful because of its premise. The whole idea of being stuck on an island came from a class the show’s creator, Sherwood Schwartz, took at NYU.

During the college course, an NYU professor asked this question: if you were stranded on a desert island, what one item would you like to have? Schwartz always had that question in the back of his mind and ended up pitching the concept as the premise of a TV show. That show became the sitcom known as Gilligan’s Island.