Question: where was the beginning of gilligans island filmed

title: Gilligan's Island
text: Alan Hale Jr. is The Skipper / Captain Jonas Grumby , the captain of the S.S. Minnow . Alan Hale Jr. was a longtime actor in B - Westerns and the look - alike son of Alan Hale Sr. , a legendary movie character actor . Hale so loved his role that , long after the show went off the air , he still appeared in character in his Los Angeles restaurant , Alan Hale 's Lobster Barrel . Although the Skipper was a father figure to Gilligan , Hale was only 14 years older than Denver . Gilligan pushed the Skipper out of the way of a loose depth charge when they were both serving in the United States Navy . Skipper is a World War II veteran , and served in the Seventh Fleet . In one episode , he describes his participation in the Battle of Guadalcanal . In the episode `` They 're Off and Running '' ( season 1 episode 28 ) , Ginger is reading from a horoscope magazine and asks the Skipper his birthday , to which he responds , `` May 5th . '' In moments of exasperation , the Skipper would swat Gilligan on the head with his cap . Just as often , the Skipper endearingly called Gilligan `` Little Buddy '' . While everybody else called him `` Skipper '' , the Howells usually called him `` Captain '' . In addition , Hale wore his Skipper outfit when four other Gilligan 's Island cast members and he appeared on a few celebrity Family Feud shows .