| Bob Weaver 2023
Nearly all famous people I met have been by happenstance, and once in a while have been amazed by the number. Such encounters likely have happened because of curiously and being a wanderer.
Such was the case meeting actor Bob Denver, who had a booth on the New River Gorge Bridge on Bridge Day about 20 plus years ago.
Passing his booth I spoke to him and mentioned I would like to chat with him, be advising me to return when things were not so busy.
Denver was the star of a goofy TV show called "Gilligan's Island," a comedy that ran on network TV with 98 episodes starting in 1964, the adventures of seven castaways as they try to survive on an island where they are shipwrecked.
Unfortunately, I don't remember much about our upbeat conversation, other than speaking about retiring to Bluefield, his wife being a native.
He spoke about the gracious friendliness of the people. They owned a radio station in Bluefield.
I do remember Denver saying that he received no financial residuals from the hit TV show, noting at that time the business deal was based on money directly paid to actors. He seemed to have accepted the deal, although residuals would certainly have helped him financially.
In the years since, "Gilligan's Island" has become a TV icon, and continues to be re-run to this day.
He was a down-to-earth gentleman.
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