Gilligan's Island

by William Johnston, Robert L. Jenney (Illustrator)

Genres: Fiction, Humor

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Librarian note: William Johnston has also written under the pseudonyms Susan Claudia, Willa Jay, Heather Sinclair, Ed Garth, Alex Steele, and William Howard.

William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).

Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”

In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.

But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.

Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).

After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really thrilled I managed to get a copy of this book as Gilligan's Island was one of my favorites - and still is - TV watching. I thought the book had different short stories which I was looking forward to reading. However, it was sadly lacking in a big way for me. The book was one story and the slapstick humor was non-stop. So much so it made Gilligan look like an idiot and he certainly isn't in the show.

All the characters were there, some had more story time than others, but it still didn't read well. I've read plenty of juvenile books in the past had no problem and enjoyed them very much, but this one was just dated, silly and almost unreadable. Very disappointed.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Johnston wrote media tie-in novels in many genres and was really, really good at all of them. But his best books were, I think, those based on sitcoms. His nine Get Smart books are at the top of the heap--it's impossible to read (or even re-read) one of them without being helpless with laughter at some point.

I've also read hilarious books based on Happy Days, F Troop and a short-lived superhero parody titled Captain Nice.

His Gilligan's Island book is also quite funny. A group of tourists arrive on the island, but their tour guide is a con artist and their boat is out of gas. So while the Professor works to invent a synthetic fuel, most of the other castaways have to pretend the island is a resort location. This leads to a succession of absurd situations, including Gilligan being expected to scare the tourists while wearing a gorilla costume. Later, when Gilligan acquires the Howell's fortune through bizarre circumstances, he finds himself expected to fight a duel to the death against the stuffy millionaire. Even the normally level-headed Professor goes along with this. (The Professor's "logic?" If Mr. Howell wants to act barbaric, then he should be allowed to do so. This is democracy in action. So if Gilligan gets killed in a duel, this is in the interests of democracy.)

For reasons I can't put my finger on, this book isn't quite as funny as Johnston's classic Get Smart novels. All his comedic strengths are here: his non-sequitur word play; his bizarre running gags; his sometimes subtle set-up of a gag that pays off down the line; his ability to move the plot along in a way that supports the slapstick. But this one just didn't have me laughing aloud quite as often as I usually do when reading a Johnston sitcom tie-in. Don't know why. But, even so, I did laugh aloud a number of times and I don't think I ever stopped smiling.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really sort of a "stunt read" like when I read the Incredible Hulk "novel." Sometimes you find a free book and think...I bet that would be a really unnecessary, but sort of amusing read. It was exactly what I expected...and as a bonus, it made my wife stop in her tracks and do a double take when she was trying to process the sight of me reading this book.

If you're wondering what sort of book this is, I'll share part of page 110 (which doesn't actually feature Gilligan). I could give you details to provide plot context, but that really doesn't matter:

"We're going to modernize and industrialize Bula-Bula," the man went on.

"Buna-Buna," the Skipper corrected him.

"Well, wherever we are!" the man cackled. "First off, we're going to send you a bridge."

"We don't have a river," Ginger objected.

"And, second off, we're going to send you a river to go with your bridge. Next we're going to send you a dam, so you can dam up your river," he said.

"Then what will we do with the bridge?" the Skipper said.

"You can play with it," the man said. "Didn't you ever play bridge?"

"What kind?" the Skipper said. "The kind where you bend over and cars drive over you? Or the card game, the kind you play with a dummy?"

"Let's leave my wife out of this," the man said. "I'm on vacation."

Cue a rim shot or a prerecorded laugh track.

[Renee Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book about our favorite castaways. They almost make it off the island but at the last minute things go wrong as usual. The main characters highlighted in the book were the Skipper, Gilligan and the Howells. I think I would have liked it better if there was more of Mary Ann, Ginger and the Professor in the story. At times when reading it I was wondering if the story involved the original castaways or whether this was an alternate story. But it was an enjoyable, quick read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3 out of 5 ***

Being a fan of Gilligan's Island I decided to give this book a read. Quite a short read overall but entertaining. The writing style was easy to follow although the plot overall was simplistic, probably because it's target audience were young children. Another thing I found was that most chapters were just little individual stories in themselves taking place within the major storyline.

[Little T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best show!

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even sillier than the TV show. A fun book from the 60s

[Robert Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not an adaptation of an episode of the series. It is an original story about a small cruise ship being lost in a storm and landing at the island. The captain convinces our castaways to help him keep secret from his passengers that they are marooned (having run out of gas). The castaways agree to help for a ride off the island after the Professor makes some gas. Things get a little odd from that point on. The characters are quite a bit more, shall I say, naive, compared to their on screen counterparts. The main reason given for why they put up with the captain and his passengers are summed up quite simply by Mary Ann when she says "It would keep us busy". Which pretty much sums up most episodes of the tv show.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably read some time in fall 1966