'Gilligan's Island' Gets Some Diversity


NEW YORK - "Gilligan's Island" is getting a little diversity. Tiy-E
Muhammad, 35, a psychology and human sexuality professor from
Atlanta, donned a dress shirt and some slacks as one of the
Professors in the upcoming second installment of TBS' "The Real
Gilligan's Island," which premieres June 8.


"A black person on `Gilligan's Island'? I think the only other time
they had a black person on there was the Globetrotters," Muhammad
told The Associated Press Wednesday. (The Harlem Globetrotters
visited the island in a 1981 TV movie.)

In the reality-show take on the '60s stranded-on-an-uncharted-island
sitcom, two real-life versions of the "Gilligan's Island" crew live
together in a village reminiscent of the CBS show and battle each
other in "Survivor"-style challenges. The other Professor is Andrew
J. Schuler, an assistant environmental engineering professor at Duke
University.

"I was a big fan of `Gilligan's Island' growing up," said
Muhammad. "I was actually a big fan of the Professor — and Mary Ann.
Growing up, it was `Happy Days,' `Gilligan's Island' and `The
Jeffersons.' The Professor was sexy. He's not the Fonz, but he's a
cool cat."

The other cast members are actress Erika Eleniak and model
Angie Everhart as the Gingers, retired U.S. Navy officer Ken
Callen and Louisiana harbormaster "Crazy" Charlie Albert as the
Skippers, waitress Randi Silvers and interior designer Mandy Weaver
as the Mary Anns, Boston bouncer Shawn Manning and cabana towel boy
Zac Turney as the Gilligans, Millionaire and Billionaire magazine
publisher Jim Bounce and New York banker Howard Schur as the
millionaires, and Donna Bounce and Melissa Jones, respectively, as
the millionaires' wives.

The winner will receive $250,000.

_

http://news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050512/ap_en_tv/people_muhammad
_

On the Net:

http://tbs.com/shows/therealgilligansisland/