When the S.S. Minnow’s three-hour tour turned out to be Gilligan and the Skipper’s last and longest, the boat’s absurdly inadequate life preserver – hopeful with its faded ship name and tattered rope – served as a symbol for the great adventure of seven shipwrecked seagoers that unfolded over three seasons and 98 episodes of Gilligan’s Island. No matter how hard the Professor and the Skipper and the rest tried to rig a way off the island, Gilligan managed to accidentally, and hilariously, scuttle the attempt. In a way, the life preserver epitomizes the great Bob Denver as the perpetually affable and clueless Gilligan: wanting to help but maybe not so helpful. It is an instantly recognizable slice of the show, and here’s a bonus: Painted on the reverse is “S.S. LUVVY” in darker black letters with a silver outline.
Intelligent Collector