Amir Hamja for The New York Times
When you say the name Tina Louise to anyone born before 1996, they will tell you she played the sexy actress Ginger Grant on Gilligan’s Island.
However, if you ask a group of elementary students at school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, they will tell you she is Ms. Tina. She is a woman who reads stories to them once a week to encourage them to read.
Those students are too young to hear her read her autobiography, Sunday, which she published in 1997. But The New York Times is old enough to talk to her about that book. She was more than willing to discuss the hard life she had before and the good one she had experienced after. However, she did not want to talk about her time on the sitcom, which is the only reason why we know who she is.
Yet, the 91-year-old told the reporter, “I’m very grateful for all the things that have happened to me and the opportunities that I’ve had.”
As the last surviving castaway of such a beloved show by millions of people and several generations, it would be nice if she would tell us a little something about her time on the Island.
I know that it is not new that she doesn’t want to talk about the series. You would think as she got older and with everyone else gone that she would get over that. But I guess whatever happened during 1964-1967 is not something she cares to reminisce about.
I know other actors like The Brady Bunch’s Eve Plumb and Family Matters’ Jaleel White changed their tunes about singing like a canary. Maybe before it is too late, she will have a change of heart.
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