RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Today we say farewell to the much-loved first mate of the SS Minnow.</s>Unidentified Group: (Singing) Just sit right back and you'll hear a      tale, a tale of a fateful trip...</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: For four seasons, Bob Denver starred in the classic TV comedy      "Gilligan's Island."  He died last Friday in North Carolina; he had      cancer. "Gilligan's Island" told the wacky adventures of seven people who      went on a three-hour boat tour and ended up stranded on an island in the      South Pacific. The comedy was mostly physical, slapstick, with some fast      one-liners thrown in.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Mr. ALAN HALE Jr.:  (As the Skipper) Gilligan, why don't you stop that?      You don't know anything at all about space.</s>Mr. BOB DENVER: (As Gilligan) I know one thing about it.  You take up      more of it than I do.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: That was Bob Denver as Gilligan, with the long-suffering      Skipper, played by Alan Hale Jr.  The Skipper usually responded to      Gilligan's jibes by smacking him with his hat.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: "Gilligan's Island" ceased production in 1967, but it's never been off      the air.  Generations of kids have grown up watching reruns of the show.      In a 1993 interview, Bob Denver said he always appreciated that.</s>Mr. BOB DENVER: Everybody that comes up to me is always happy.  They're      always thanking me for, you know, having good childhood memories.      They're always smiling.  They always say nice things.  I mean, how can      you be bitter?</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Bob Denver, Gilligan in "Gilligan's Island," died last Friday.      He was 70 years old.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.
Bob Denver, the "little buddy" and first mate in the TV show, Gilligan's Island, dies at 70. Denver's signature role was "Gilligan," the buffoon that frustrated and endeared audiences with his failed attempts of getting off the island. Renee Montagne has this remembrance.