Shadow Lawn Press

I've been Gilligan for almost thirty years.

People are always asking me, "Does it bother you?'' Absolutely not. The only thing that is annoying is that none of the cast (of castaways) makes any money from the reruns. We were paid off in two years!

But in 1963, no one could foresee the syndication market. By the early eighties, I estimated that the show had grossed over a billion dollars, and it keeps rolling on. But the past is the past, and you let it go. (But boy could I use a billion dollars!)

Seriously, the fans more than make up for the loss of the money. In all the years it's been on, no one has come up to me with anything less than a big grin and a thank-you. It makes me feel good. The fans have always been the same -- the only slight change being after twenty years, the ones in their seventies and eighties wanted the autograph for themselves, instead of for their kids or grandchildren.

They remember when they were in their fifties and were really poppin'. The majority, though, watched as children and grew up with it. More than anything else I guess I hear, ''I ran home from school every day and turned it on!'' I've found that being a good childhood memory is very rewarding.

In the last six years, the Dobie Gillis series has been running on Nickelodeon. Maynard G. Krebs fans are coming on strong. They're very loyal. When I ask them what they think of Gilligan, they say, ''He's okay, but Maynard is my man." When they were turning thirty, they would come up and whisper in my ear that they watched the show. Now their children's children are watching the reruns. I can see them trying to explain what a beatnik is. Good luck.

This book is for all of you who have fond memories of these shows. Keep watching and enjoying. I had great fun doing them.