Congressman Nick Rahall invited our veterans and escorts to the U.S. Capitol where we posed for a group photo on the Capitol steps. How handsome is this group, I ask you. What an honor to hang out with heroes for 24 hours on June 6, 2012.

This is a sampling of the hundreds of schoolchildren who greeted our WV heroes at the WW II Memorial. As our veterans walked in, they were announced, hundreds cheered and one by one they were thanked for their service. Barely a dry eye in the area . . .

At the Viet Nam Wall, escorts Doug and Paula Detherow, who drove in all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma to be part of our Inaugural trip. Doug personally took care of Andy Semonco and the TLC he showed was a sight to behold!

A special thank you to Gary Bowling’s House of Art for set decorations that took our breath away.
Gary Bowling and Jody Queen, you’re amazing!

 And to the most amazing volunteers anywhere, Mahalo!

Breaking news . . . all five passengers and two crew members of the SS Minnow were rescued when Coast Guard helicopters spotted smoke billowing from what looked to be a homemade raft out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Upon closer inspection, the pilot realized that the 7 people aboard the ‘hutboat’ had to be the missing castaways whose boat, the SS Minnow, failed to return to port back in 1964.

None the worse for their ordeal, the castaways came close to capsizing the already rickety hutboat as they jumped up and down, waving, to attract the attention of the chopper pilot. Finally realizing they had indeed been spotted, all 7 settled down to await the arrival of the fireboats that would escort them back to the marina and civilization.
 
Crowds gathered at the marina today in hopes of catching a glimpse of the sensational seven as they made their way up the gangplank to face the onslaught of media. Hoping to return to their normal lives after the initial flurry dies down, all seven spoke at length of their Robinson Crusoe existence for the last fifteen years. When asked what he most wants to do now that
he’s been rescued, Gilligan the first mate exclaimed, “I’m going
to Disneyland!”

We welcome Gilligan, Jonas Grumby (aka the Skipper), Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III, Ginger Grant (away from the silver screen far too long), Professor Roy Hinkley and adorable Mary Ann Summers back to civilization and into our hearts.

 The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island

The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island was a serious attempt to create a new series that would place six of the original castaways back on TV where many fans felt they belonged. Once again, Tina refused to be part of the reunion movie, so actress Judith Baldwin reprised her role as Ginger for a second time. Fans often ask why Tina didn’t play a part in the reunion movies. Bob couldn’t speak for Tina, but he did say she got far more press by NOT doing the movies than she ever would have gotten had she appeared in all of them.

In the second GI movie, Gilligan finds a World War II plane on the island (how the gang missed it for more than 15 years we’ll never know), and the Professor assures them he can make it fly. Believe it or not, he does manage to get the plane in the air, but an engine quits, forcing  the crew to return to the island. This time, however, their luck changes when the plane is picked up on radar and they’re rescued once again – this time with much less fanfare.

After this rescue, Mr. Howell decides ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ and builds a hotel on the island, employing all of the castaways. He even calls the hotel “The Castaways”. During this time in television history, two of the most popular shows on the air were Love Boat and Fantasy Island. The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island was Love Boat, Fantasy Isand and Hotel all rolled into one – the plan was to feature guest stars every week in two or three different plot lines. The guest stars in this pilot movie were Tom Bosley of  Happy Days and Marcia Wallace from The Bob Newhart Show.

 The fate of the show was sealed when the powers-that-be decided to break the movie in two one-hour segments and air them a week apart. The ratings went through the cellar, unlike the Rescue, which broke ratings records. After that, none of the cast or crew had any hope that the show would be picked up as a series. However, it did make way for a third and last GI movie – The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island

Making this movie was more fun than the law should allow. Not only did it star the castaways along with the original Globetrotters, but also Scatman Crothers and Barbara Bain & Martin Landau of Mission Impossiblefame. It also gave Bob and his wife Dreama their first chance to work together on film after years of working together on stage. Constance Forslund came onboard as the third and final Ginger.

Connie Forslund as Ginger

Even though the Globetrotters weren’t actors and
the cast had no idea about basketball, they all came together, did both and made this TV movie a cult favorite.

Often referred to as the Laurel and Hardy of their day, Bob and Alan had a special relationship that lasted all through the series and beyond. Alan was a gentle giant, who took great care never to hurt Bob during any of their much loved physical schtick, which included hammock gags and numerous whacks at Gilligan with his famous Skipper’s hat!

“What can I say about Jim? When Alan didn’t have me laughing, Jim did. When he arrived on theset, the jokes started, and they were good ones. One of the things I liked about him was that he was always up. Full of energy. One of his favorite things to do involved the soundman. When he exited a hut, he did what he called ‘mumble-offs’. With his back to the camera, he would mumble a bunch of words in a low voice. The content was sometimes rated triple X. I’d tell him, “C’mon Jim, this is a family show.” He’d just laugh!”

“Natalie was a hoot. She was another actor who was always prepared. This was no surprise because she had 25 years of appearing on Broadway, plus numerous film credits. The Time of Your Life, The Snake Pit, 40 Carats to name a few. We’d rehearse a scene a couple of times, then shoot it.

For Natalie it was all the same. Many times, after the scene was filmed, she would ask, “Was that a take?” We would tell her, yes, and she would say, “Oh, good.” She had a great sense of humor, proven by the fact that she picked out all of the clothes that Lovey Howell wore.”

Excerpts from Bob’s book, “Gilligan, Maynard and Me”. To read more about Bob’s memories of “Gilligan’s Island” and
the gang, order a copy of his book in Gilligan’s Gift Gallery.

This is the Original Minnow, the first of four. It was in a shipyard in Honolulu and the only thing wrong with it was a broken engine. Every worker in the shipyard wanted to buy it because it was in such good shape. So, there they were, working one day, when two men dressed in suits and one man dressed like them, carrying a sledgehammer, walked into the boatyard. The men walked to the Minnow and around it a few times – finally, one of the suits pointed toward the bow, and the man with the sledgehammer walked over and banged a huge hole in it, then, much to the disbelief of the onlookers, he walked to the stern, lifted the hammer and did the very same thing!

All the workers in the yard dropped their tools, stopped in their tracks and just stared. Then a crane came, lifted the Minnow onto a barge, and a tugboat towed it out of sight. There was no more work in the yard that day, believe me. Everyone ran to the nearest bar to tell everyone what they had seen. As far as they were concerned, “Those crazy haoles (mainlanders) had done it again !”

The second Minnow was the one we used in the opening credits, the one that took the passengers on their three-hour tour. About 10 years ago, it was out on the ocean and started sinking. The Coast Guard had to rescue the fisherman owner.

The third Minnow was used for the color shows in the opening credits, which were shot in Marina Del Ray in LA, California.

The fourth Minnow is the one you see in the episode where the Castaways tried to glue it back together again.
We did our usual very bad job! ~  as told by Bob

The Pilot Episode

‘Unseen’ for almost 30 years, the original GI pilot was finally aired by Turner Broadcasting on October 16th, 1992. Filmed at Moloaa Bay on the island of Kauai, the pilot was the only episode of the show filmed on a real, honest-to-goodness island . . . . and what an island it was. Bob loved Kauai like no other place on earth and the picture on your right shows you why. Yes, that’s Moloaa Bay in the photo. No matter what gags were filmed on any given day, no matter how many hours he spent fully clothed in the water, working in paradise stayed with Bob his entire life. When the going got tough, and after his son’s diagnosis, it did, Bob and Dreama always had Kauai.

The Original Cast

Once upon a time on an island in the south pacific, there were seven stranded castaways . . .

Gilligan  . . . the Skipper too . . . the Millioniare and his wife . . . the Secretary . . . the Professor and Bunny too  . . .

Bob’s words ~ John Gabriel was a hunky Hollywood leading man type, who originally landed the role of the Professor. He was a nice man, great to work with. All three actors were very good in their parts. After all, their work helped sell the pilot. This might make you wonder why they were let go.

John Gabriel & Kit Smythe

Nancy McCarthy and Kit

Meddlesome interference from the networks is the answer to that one – always trying to ‘fix’ things. Their reasons for wanting changes were lame, but the producers were forced into the recasting process anyway.

You’ve gotta remember, these were the same network people who thought it would be a really good idea if Gilligan had a pet dinosaur. Somehow Sherwood managed to sidestep that one!

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Click the ‘Little Buddy Radio’ link above to listen to Little Buddy Radio.

Charlie and Dreama with New York Times best selling author Homer Hickam

Little Buddy Radio’s new morning show “Sunny Side Up with Charlie and Dreama” is all about good music, fun and, just as the name suggests, focusing on the positive. Life can be tough enough, so why not start your morning on the sunny side? Dreama’s co-host Charlie Thomas is a 35-year veteran in the world of broadcasting and his laid back, easy going style makes him a perfect fit for Little Buddy Radio.
 
“Charlie interviewed me on his morning show in Sedalia, MO three years ago and I was struck by two things – his smooth-as-silk voice and the ease with which he conducted an interview, making it conversational and really enjoyable. Even then, I thought he’d be perfect for LBR. As we became friends and began to reminisce about radio ‘the way it used to be’, we realized that LBR could give us the perfect venue to do the kind of radio we remembered – radio that’s personal and geared to the needs and wants of the community it covers.

Dreama with West Virginia's First Lady, Joanne Tomblin

As I told Charlie more about the Denver Foundation and its mission, he decided he believed strongly in what I was doing on behalf of autism and that together, we could carry on Bob’s dreams for the foundation. When Charlie made the move to West Virginia, he brought with him his passion for the men and women who serve this country, preserving our freedoms and I found that I believed in what he was doing. I researched autism in the military and discovered that 1 in every 88 children of military families is diagnosed on the autism sprectrum. A wonderful working relationship was born.”
 

Dreama with Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr (America's Got Talent winner)

Adjutant General James A. Hoyer with Charlie and Dreama

Dreama with Broadway director/star Carl Anthony Tramon

Mercer County Grade Schoolers Record the Pledge of Allegiance for Sunny Side Up

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.

Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. Now, with over one thousand World War II veterans dying each day, our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out. (from honorflight.org)

The Denver Foundation is proud to have been sanctioned as the first and ONLY Honor Flight Hub in the state of West Virginia. Always Free Honor Flight salutes our nation’s heroes.

If you’d like to make a charitable donation to this worthy cause, use the button below!

 Hot dogs, chips and a drink for 4 bucks at the Always Free Honor Flight Cookout Saturday, March 17th at the Princeton Walmart parking lot from 11 AM until 3 PM or later (until we run out or you stop buying). Also available for purchase – tickets to the April 27th Landau Eugene Murphy concert at the Bluefield Auditorium, Gilligan replica hats, Bob’s book, “Gilligan, Maynard and Me”, Little Buddy Radio T-shirts, Little Buddy mugs and autographed Landau CDs. Stop by, say hi and eat up!

Thank you to: Grant’s Supermarket for the weiners, chips and buns; our Pepsi distributor for the drinks; Sam’s Club for the condiments, wrappers and water; Walmart for the space.

Our Honor Flight Team – President, Charlie Thomas; Vice President, Dreama Denver; Co-ordinator, Pam Coulbourne