He may not have been a mighty sailin' man, but Gilligan, the string-bean first mate with a sweet tooth for coconut cream pies, was the castaway closest to our hearts. Like all TV icons, Bob Denver, who died Sept. 2 at age 70 in North Carolina, of complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer, was inextricably linked, for better and worse, with the character that made him famous. ''I've found that being a good childhood memory is very rewarding,'' he once wrote.
Before donning Gilligan's red shirt in 1964, Denver was known to baby boomers as beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. But it was during Gilligan's Island's three seasons that he mastered his trademark naive slapstick, whether it involved getting hit over the head with a hat by the Skipper or bungling yet another rescue from the island. ''I wish the fans knew the depth of the man,'' Dawn Wells (a.k.a. Mary Ann) told EW. Fortunately, he'll live on in syndication. Still, his passing leaves us all short one Little Buddy. To whom we say, ''Sleep well. Somewhere a gently rocking hammock awaits you.''
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