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Bob Denver really hated his beard on Dobie Gillis
"This beard gives me the type-casting-est face in Hollywood history."
It's tough to have a signature look. While that kind of recognizability would certainly have its benefits, one might feel locked into that patented aesthetic. If you see Elton John out and about, you'd expect him to be dressed outrageously, right? Or, say you bump into "Weird" Al Yankovic. You'd be crushed if he wasn't wearing a Hawaiian shirt!
But imagine the pressure this must put someone under.
For Bob Denver, it was all about the goatee, at least in the early '60s. Before he donned his famous red sweater as the title character on Gilligan's Island, Denver was the sidekick, Maynard G. Krebs, on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. As Krebs, Denver became associated with the then-rare style of facial hair known as the goatee.
Denver felt totally trapped by the beard, though. In July of 1962, Denver made his feelings clear to the Baltimore Evening Sun.
"In over three years of playing Maynard on Dobie Gillis, I haven't even been asked to play an outside role in another series or movie! And all because of this scraggly little beard.
"It wouldn't be so bad if they let me wear a false beard in the series, but we tried that— tens of them— but they all looked fake. My own beard looks so real, you'd think I was born with it."
Luckily for Denver, he'd get to shed the beard as Gilligan. Unluckily, he couldn't even have imagined the level of recognition he'd achieve with that character. But in '62, at least for the time being, Denver was overwhelmed by just how many people instantly knew him by his chin.
"I'm Maynard to everyone now, even my neighbors. On the film stage, everyone is called by their legal names between takes, but when they want me, it's: 'We're ready for you, Maynard.' Do you know the only argument I ever have with my wife is when I refuse to shop for her at the supermarket?
"Gosh, I even hate to walk to the corner for a newspaper. This beard gives me the type-casting-est face in Hollywood history. People spot me a mile away and mob me."
If he only knew what was to come!
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5 Comments
Like, good or bad, his character *was* well recognized and he was a real human being and most beloved for his work... WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
Dan Blocker could probably relate to Denver, but because of his size/looks.
I read that at one point he was so beloved by the public he had one of the
highest Q (likability) ratings ever while starring on one of the biggest hits around the world,
yet outside work other than 2 TV movies and a few small roles in films was hard to come
by. He would forever be Hoss, period. Which must have been painful for the college educated,
once a teacher, intellectual Blocker, as people would approach him and talk to him as if he
was a near simpleton. Still, he created one of TV's greatest characters and 60 years on you
can watch him in Japanese, French, etc etc around the planet.
it was a comedy with Karen Valentine, she was even more beautiful in person.
She must have retired, I haven't seen her in anything in years.