Written by Clay Riley – There have been a number of famous persons with Brown County connections, but did Bob Denver? That is often asked of us at the Brownwood Public Library’s Genealogy and Local History Branch.
We can confirm the story that Bob Denver of Gilligan’s Island and Dobie Gillis fame, did in fact, live here in Brownwood.
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His official biography, states that he graduated from Brownwood High School in 1953.
After doing some research of city directories, phone books, High School yearbooks and newspapers, nothing was found. But, students were required to register each year in what was called a School or Scholastic Census.
That is where I had found Bob Denver, in the basement of the courthouse. He and his parents moved here from New Rochelle, New York in January of 1951. His father was Arthur L. Denver and his mother was Marion Denver. His father worked here as an accountant. His mother signed the Census card as; Mrs. A. Denver in April of 1951. They lived at 1602 1st Street.
Bob was 16 years old (born January 9, 1935, which was just a day after Elvis Presley’s date of birth, on Tuesday, January 8, 1935), and in the 11th grade. I could find no record of his graduation here, but then being 16 in the 11th grade, he may have been ahead scholastically of his classmates and graduated in 1952.
By 1953, he was enrolled at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. After graduation, he coached physical education and taught mathematics and history at Corpus Christi School, a Roman Catholic elementary school in Pacific Palisades, California. He also worked as a mailman. While teaching at Corpus Christi in 1958, Denver was permitted to audition for a role on the sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” as a favor to his sister, who was a secretary on the production lot. He got the role, and left teaching the following year to become a regular on the series.
Following the cancellation of Dobie Gillis, Denver landed the title role on the sitcom Gilligan’s Island, which ran for three seasons (1964–67) on CBS, and became a staple of later syndication. His role as the well-meaning but bumbling first mate among a small group of shipwrecked castaways became the one for which he is most remembered. Most of Denver’s acting career was spent working in television, although he also appeared in several films and on Broadway.
Denver died September 2, 2005, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He had been receiving cancer treatment and had undergone heart bypass surgery earlier that year. Bob was 70 years old and was survived by four children.
Notes:
- Several biographers stated that he was raised in Brownwood, but in fact, he grew up in Rochelle, New York to the age of 15, before moving here.
- Another interesting fact; Denver, Colorado, was named in honor of his great-great grandfather James William Denver (1817-1892), who was the territorial governor of Kansas.
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years. Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; [email protected].