Actors don’t get to choose how they break out. Obviously, given the dearth of opportunities, they’re lucky to call themselves “working actors” in the first place. And when you’re just starting out, the last thing you should do is refuse work — unless there’s something better and fully guaranteed on the horizon.
Consider the case of Tina Louise. Born in 1934, the beautiful young woman had a multitude of fashion modeling offers in the 1950s, but what she really wanted to do was act. Louise studied under the influential acting teacher Sanford Meisner in Manhattan, and she began booking Broadway gigs in 1952 starting with a role in the Bette Davis-led revue “Two’s Company.” She co-starred in the hit 1956 musical adaptation of “Li’l Abner” as Appassionata Von Climax (take that, James Bond), and made a splashy film debut in Anthony Mann’s comedy “God’s Little Acre.” The latter earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, at which point she found herself very much in demand on Broadway and in Hollywood.
Sooner or later, Louise, like so many before her, would have to choose whether she wanted to work on stage or in front of the camera. Just when she seemed to be leaning in the direction of the boards, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself — one that would have Louise pigeonholed for the rest of her career.
Why Tina Louise left the good ship Burnett for the shipwrecked S.S. Minnow
In 1964, Louise landed the plum part of Gloria Currie in the showbiz spoof “Fade Out – Fade In.” With music by Jules Styne and lyrics from the duo of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the show was set to be a Broadway smash thanks to its lead Carol Burnett. Though Burnett was still a few years away from becoming a television star, she was a major deal in theater –- i.e. not a bad person to hitch your rising star to if you were Louise.
Then came the offer that changed Louise’s life and probably left her second-guessing herself for years to come. Sherwood Schwartz wanted her to replace Kit Smythe as Ginger on his CBS sitcom “Gilligan’s Island.” The money and exposure was too much to turn down. Louise climbed aboard the S.S. Minnow and became a small-screen sex symbol as the glamorous movie star who constantly leaves Gilligan and the Skipper breathless.
No member of the “Gilligan’s Island” cast broke free of their typecasting on the series, thanks in large part to the show’s massive syndication success, but Louise was never bitter about how things turned out. As she told Forbes in 2016, “I loved doing my part, especially after they really started writing for my character, originally billed as a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ type of character.”
Perhaps greater successes awaited Louise had she stayed on with “Fade Out – Fade In,” but you’ll drive yourself crazy thinking about such things. Best to enjoy the remarkably uncommon good fortune you have, and regret nothing.
