Editing Bob Denver (section)

===Television career===
Denver made his television debut in 1957, playing a small part in an episode of ''The Silent Service'' (S01 E37: "The Loss of the Tang"). While teaching at Corpus Christi in 1958, Denver was permitted to audition for a role on the sitcom ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' as a favor to his sister, who was a secretary on the production lot. He gained the role and left teaching the following year to become a regular on the series. From 1959 to 1963, he appeared on the series as [[Maynard G. Krebs]], the teenaged [[beatnik]] best friend of Dobie Gillis, played by [[Dwayne Hickman]]. After filming the first three episodes, Denver received his [[conscription|draft notice]], and was briefly written out of the script and replaced, but he was designated [[Selective Service System#Classifications|4-F]] due to an old neck injury and returned to ''Dobie Gillis'' having missed only one episode. Denver later reprised his Maynard G. Krebs role in the television sequels ''Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis?'' (1977) and ''Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis'' (1988).

During his time on ''Dobie Gillis'', Denver appeared on the [[NBC]] interview program, ''[[Here's Hollywood]]''. In 1963, Denver played his only major dramatic role on television, as a physician (Dr. Paul Garrett) in one episode of ''[[Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Dr. Kildare]]'', telecast on October 10, 1963; the episode, "If You Can't Believe the Truth ...", also featured [[Barbara Eden]] and [[Ken Berry]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.richard-chamberlain.co.uk/drkildareguide.htm| title=Dr. Kildare Episode Guide| website=richard-chamberlain.co.uk| access-date=October 12, 2013}}</ref> Between the end of ''Dobie Gillis'' and the beginning of ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', Denver appeared in an episode of ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'' and in the final episode of ''[[The Danny Thomas Show]]''. He also had a one-episode role replacing the actor who played Dudley A. "Dud" Wash, the fiancé of Charlene Darling of [[the Darlings]], on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' which was aired March 30, 1964. This was done by the network to promote Denver's face and make him more familiar to the viewing audience since ''Gilligan's Island'' was about to go on air.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/anewsome/private/35th_w_s.htm| title=35th Anniversary Celebration: A Mayberry Reunion| website=iMayberry.com| access-date=October 12, 2013| archive-date=September 25, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925044904/http://mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/anewsome/private/35th_w_s.htm| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the cancellation of ''Dobie Gillis'', Denver landed the title role on the sitcom ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', which ran for three seasons (1964–67) on [[CBS]], and became a staple of later syndication. His role as the well-meaning but bumbling first mate among a small group of shipwrecked castaways became the one for which he is most remembered. During the run, Denver privately went out of his way to help his co-stars who warmly appreciated his efforts, such as successfully demanding that [[Russell Johnson]] and [[Dawn Wells]] be included in the series' opening credits (which also included a nod to their respective characters in the opening theme song), and insisting that Wells get an equal share of the series' publicity with [[Tina Louise]].<ref name="straight-dope">{{cite web |url=https://www.straightdope.com/21342618/was-the-gilligan-s-island-theme-song-tampered-with |title=Was the "Gilligan's Island" theme song tampered with? |website=[[The Straight Dope]] |first=Cecil |last=Adams |access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref><ref name="50s-web">{{cite web |url=https://fiftiesweb.com/tv/gilligans-island/ |title=Gilligan's Island (Gilligan's Island Tidbits section) |website=The Fifties Web |access-date=November 26, 2023 }}</ref> A decade after the series was canceled, Denver played Gilligan in the made-for-TV reunion movies ''[[Rescue from Gilligan's Island]]'' (1978), ''[[The Castaways on Gilligan's Island]]'' (1979), and ''[[The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island]]'' (1981). He also lent his voice to the animated series ''[[The New Adventures of Gilligan]]'' and its sequel ''[[Gilligan's Planet]]''. During the 1980s and 1992, he reprised the character of Gilligan for numerous cameo appearances, including episodes of ''[[ALF (TV series)|ALF]]'', ''[[Meego (TV series)|Meego]]'' and ''[[Baywatch]]'', and played a bartender in the film ''[[Back to the Beach]]'' (1987).

[[File:The Good Guys cast 1968.jpg|left|thumb|The cast of ''The Good Guys'', 1968: From left: Denver, [[Herb Edelman]] and [[Joyce Van Patten]]]]After ''Gilligan's Island'', Denver went on to star on other TV comedy series, including ''[[The Good Guys (1968 TV series)|The Good Guys]]'' (1968–1970), ''[[Dusty's Trail]]'' (1973–1974) (a show similar to ''Gilligan's Island'', involving a lost wagon train headed to California), and the [[Sid and Marty Krofft]] children's program ''[[Far Out Space Nuts]]'' (1975). Four episodes of ''Dusty's Trail'' were later combined to create a feature film, ''[[The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West]]'' (1976).

Denver's other television roles included guest appearances on multiple episodes of ''[[Love, American Style]]''; ''[[The Love Boat]]''; and ''[[Fantasy Island]]''. In 1983, he starred in the television pilot ''The Invisible Woman'' as the bumbling [[mad scientist]] uncle of the title character.