He was the first mate on the S. S. Minnow when, during a storm, he threw an anchor overboard without the line attached, which left the boat shipwrecked on an "uncharted" desert island with all aboard. In the U.S. Navy, Gilligan served with The Skipper, and saved the Skipper from being struck and killed by a runaway depth charge. After retirement, The Skipper used his savings to buy the Minnow, and hired his "little buddy" Gilligan as first mate. Gilligan is noted for being easily seduced by Ginger, eating Mary Ann's coconut cream pies, joking about the Skipper's weight and inadvertently undermining any attempts and efforts of the castaways to get off the island. He would often interject discussions with pointless anecdotes about his childhood or with seemingly useless advice. Though he was often chided by The Skipper for interrupting, on more than one occasion Gilligan's seemingly random nonsense would actually trigger The Professor to remember a useful fact or suggest a course of action to the academic. "Hey Skipper, why don't you donate your pants? When they fill with air, we can fly to Hawaii. " The Skipper notes that Gilligan can "run as fast as a rabbit [and] climb a tree like a monkey." "Gilligan's Island" tv series Bob Denver Gilligan wears a trademark red shirt, pale trousers and white navy cap.