Tina Louise: Difference between revisions

'''Tina Louise''' ({{nee}} '''Blacker'''; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star [[Ginger Grant]] in the [[CBS]] television situation comedy ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. Louise is the last surviving cast member of the TV series.

Louise had starring roles in ''[[The Trap (1959 film)|The Trap]]'', ''[[The Hangman (1959 film)|The Hangman]]'', ''[[Day of the Outlaw]]'', and ''[[For Those Who Think Young (film)|For Those Who Think Young]]''. SheHer alsoother appearedfilms ininclude ''[[The Wrecking Crew (1968 film)|The Wrecking Crew]]'', ''[[The Happy Ending]]'', and ''[[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'', and ''[[Johnny Suede]]''. She also had a recurring role on the primetime soap opera ''[[Dallas (19751978 TV series)|Dallas]]''.

Louise was born Tina Blacker on February 11, 1934, in New York City.<ref>{{cite book |title=Film Fatales Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973 |date=2002 |publisher=McFarland |pages=191–193 |isbn=9780786411948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VJCaXXANA0C&dq=%22the+money%2C+hoping+it+would+last+only+13+weeks%22&pg=PA191}}</ref> Her parents divorced by the time she was four. An only child, she was raised by her mother, Sylvia (née Horn, later Myers), a fashion model. Her father, Joseph Blacker, was a candy store owner in the [[Brooklyn]] borough of the city, and later an accountant.<ref>"Tina Louise Is Back in New York, and Likes to Walk in Central Park", ''The Miami News'', January 5, 1958.</ref> Her parents divorced by the time she was four. Louise attended [[PS 6]], [[Scarborough Day School]] and [[Miami University]].<ref>Morehouse, Ward (December 29, 1957). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/116742638/?clipping_id=125929652 "Hear of Tina? You Will, Now She's in Movies"]. ''Arizona Republic''. p.&nbsp;37. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref> She is Jewish.<ref>{{cite book |last= Markowitz|first= Endel|date= 1979|title= Encyclopedia Yiddishanica|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediayidd0000mark/mode/2up |publisher= Markowitz |page= 86 |isbn= 978-0933910027}}</ref>

Louise returned to the United States, began studying with [[Lee Strasberg]], and became a member of the [[Actors Studio]].<ref>Associated Press. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uhMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3VYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3282,3009164&dq "21 More Join Actors Studio"]. ''The St. Petersburg Evening Independent''. March 18, 1964.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Garfield |title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio |year=1980| publisher=MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. |location=New York |isbn=0-02-542650-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/279 279] |chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/279}}</ref> In 1962, she guest-starred on the situation comedy ''[[The Real McCoys]]'', portraying a country girl from [[West Virginia]] in the episode "Grandpa Pygmalion". She appeared with [[Bob Denver]] two years later in the [[beach party film]] ''[[For Those Who Think Young (film)|For Those Who Think Young]]'' (1964). In 1964, she left the Broadway musical ''[[Fade Out – Fade In]]'' to portray movie star [[Ginger Grant]] on the situation comedy ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. Over time, she became unhappy with the role and was worried that it would typecast her. Although she continued to work in film and made guest appearances on television, she claimed repeatedly that playing Ginger had ruined her movie career. She did not appear in any of the subsequent ''Gilligan's Island'' sequel movies: ''[[Rescue from Gilligan's Island]]'' (1978), ''[[The Castaways on Gilligan's Island]]'' (1979), or ''[[The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island]]'' (1981). Other actresses played the role of Ginger in the sequels. She maintained a steady acting career after the series ended, going on to appear in the Matt Helm spy spoof ''[[The Wrecking Crew (1969 film)|The Wrecking Crew]]'' (1969) with [[Dean Martin]] and in ''[[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'' (1975). As of August, 2024, she is the last surviving cast member of Gillian’s Island.

Louise attempted to shed her comedic image by playing darker roles, such as a heroin addict in a 1974 episode of ''[[Kojak]]'' and as a cruel corrections officer in the 1976 television movie ''[[Nightmare in Badham County]]''. Other televisioncredits appearancesfrom includedthis supportingera rolesinclude inthe made-for-TV films ''[[Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1976), and ''[[SST: Death Flight]]'' (1977), and the soap opera ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'' during the 1978–1979 seasons. In the fall of 1984, she succeeded [[Jo Ann Pflug]] as Taylor Chapin on the syndicated soap opera ''[[Rituals (TV series)|Rituals]]''.

From 1966 to 1971, Louise was married to radio and TV announcer/interviewer [[Les Crane]], with whom she had one daughter, [[Caprice Crane|Caprice]] (born 1970),<ref>{{cite news |title=Tina Louise: Waiting for Baby |page=75 |date=October 18, 1970 |work=Corpus Christi Caller Times |location = Corpus Christi, Texas }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tina Louise a Mother |page=6 |date=November 3, 1970 |work=Indiana Evening Gazette |location = Indiana, Pennsylvania }}</ref> who became an MTV producer and a novelist. Tina Louise and Les Crane appeared together as a married couple in a 1973 episode of '' [[Love American Style]]''. Caprice Crane's first novel, ''Stupid and Contagious'', was published in 2006,<ref>Caprice Crane. ''[[Contemporary Authors Online]]'', [[Gale (Cengage)|Gale]], 2009.</ref> and was dedicated to her mother.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.librarything.com/work/902747 |title=Stupid and Contagious |work=LibraryThing |access-date=May 13, 2021 |quote=For my beautiful mother, Tina Louise...}}</ref>

Louise is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a lifetime member of the Actors Studio.<ref name=Esquire2013>{{cite news|title=Tina Louise: What I've learned|first=Cal|last=Fussman|date=December 17, 2013|work=Esquire|url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/news/a26510/tinalouisegingergilligansislandinterview0114/}}</ref> Louise has been a vocal advocate for improving child literacy. She donated a portion of the proceeds of her 2007 book, ''When I Grow Up'', to literacy programs and said in a 2013 interview that she had been volunteering at local public schools since 1996.<ref name="Esquire2013"/><ref name=StCroixSource2008>{{cite news|title=Tina Louise gives books to children|first=Carol|last=Buchanan|date=January 22, 2008|work=St. Croix Source|url=http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/localnews/2008/01/23/gilligansislandbigislandtinalouisegivesbookschildren}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> She has written three books including ''Sunday: A Memoir'' (1997) and ''When I Grow Up'' (2007).<ref name=tvg/> The last is a children's book that inspires children to believe they can become whatever they choose through creative and humorous comparisons of animal kingdom achievements.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} She also published a second children's book titled ''What Does a Bee Do?'' in 2009.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/143926144X What Does A Bee Do? (9781439261446): Tina Louise: Books]. Amazon.com; retrieved July 3, 2012.</ref>

A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], she campaigned for [[John F. Kennedy]] during the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/166/Tina+Louise/index.html |title=Tina Louise profile |work=Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen |access-date=May 13, 2021}}</ref> and [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]].<ref name="N10">[http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/see-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-s-celebrity-campaign-donors-in-new-york-state-1.12359933 Newsday] October 7, 2016.</ref>

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