Sherwood Schwartz

When you say the name Gilligan, you know who that is. If a show is good, if it's written well, you should be able to erase the names of the characters saying the lines and still be able to know who said it. If you can't do that, the show will fail.

Sherwood Schwartz

name saying good you

As a man who tried to explain in his own way that people have to learn to get along with each other. I did it with comedy because that's what I'm familiar with, and I think it's more acceptable to tell it in comedy form. But that's how I'd like to be remembered.

Sherwood Schwartz

think man people way

I honestly think I could sit down and write a show tonight that the critics would love, and I know it would be canceled within four weeks. I know what the critics love. We write and produce for people, not for critics.

Sherwood Schwartz

down think love people

A lot of people say television holds up a mirror to life, and that's why you see all the drug busts and the killings and the seamier side of life. I personally take the view that it's not sufficient to portray only negative role models. It's not enough to say 'no' to drugs. What do you say 'yes' to?

Sherwood Schwartz

mirror you life people

I think writers have become hypnotised by the number of jokes on the page at the expense of character.

Sherwood Schwartz

become think jokes character

I don't like it to be compared to 'Survivor.' The idea of 'Survivor' is to kill each other off to win the prize. There's no killing in Gilligan's Island.

Sherwood Schwartz

island win like survivor

It wasn't Ginger's Island, it was Gilligan's Island.

Sherwood Schwartz

island ginger

'Rescue From Gilligan's Island' was the first of the so-called reunion shows on the networks, getting a 54 share. With numbers like that, everybody else started to have reunion shows.

Sherwood Schwartz

island like reunion numbers

I was creator and executive producer of 'The Brady Bunch' on TV. The stage version was done by others, but it was a repeat of the old scripts. The 'Gilligan' musical is a completely original work with all seven characters and 18 original songs.

Sherwood Schwartz

old stage done work

I own all the characters I created, thanks to the Writers Guild, so nobody can do anything without me. The way it works is: If the copyright owners instigate a project, like the movie, then I get a fee as creator. If I instigate a project, like the musical, I pay a percentage to the copyright owners.

Sherwood Schwartz

nobody me thanks way

If you study both 'Gilligan' and 'Brady,' you will see they are based on a similar philosophy: that it's possible for different kinds of people to learn to live together, either in a family or stuck on an island with no escape.

Sherwood Schwartz

you family together people

We did lots of things together, we did some plays together, and we talked quite a bit. She was a really dear person who embraced her character Mary Ann. She loved what Mary Ann represented and the influence it had on people. She loved how she made people feel years later. And she certainly continued to get fan mail. She adored her fans. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER.

Sherwood Schwartz

She was able to continue her acting in different ways, she did a lot of theater. But she was thrilled if you just knew her as Mary Ann. She knew how much that role meant to people.

Sherwood Schwartz

I was only on very briefly, and I was very young, but I grew up knowing the show had a special connection with people. My dad always said that a tropical island has been the center of many famous stories, including ‘ Swiss Family Robinson. ’.

Sherwood Schwartz

And the story was special because it was about people from different walks of life learning together. They had to work together to succeed in life, and it was possible. Look at our lives today. People should learn to live together, so we could all succeed. And I think that’s the message my dad wanted to share.

Sherwood Schwartz