‘Island to Icon’ – Dreama Denver discusses late husband Bob Denver’s ‘many lives’ ahead of WV Book Festival

By Autumn Shelton, RealWV

PRINCETON, W.Va. – Sorting through a lifetime of articles, photos and letters to place into a scrapbook might seem like a lot of work. 

WORK? 

But for Dreama Denver, wife of television icon Bob Denver, who passed away in 2005, it was her way of giving the world a glimpse into the career and the home sweet hut of her husband. 

For those who may not know, Bob Denver was an actor made famous by bringing the classic characters of Maynard G. Krebs (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) and Gilligan (Gilligan’s Island) to life. And although he was not a West Virginia native, Bob relocated from Las Vegas to the Mountain State with Dreama after their son, Colin, was born. It was on top of a quiet hill in Mercer County where they made their home, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. 

Fast forward to today, and Dreama, a successful actress and author, has decided to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the premier of Gilligan’s Island by writing a new book: “Island to Icon, The Many Lives of Bob Denver.” 

“I really wanted to commemorate the 60th anniversary in some way because all the castaways are gone, except for Tina Louise who played Ginger,” Dreama told RealWV during a recent interview. “What this book is, which makes it different and really a treasure for any classic tv fan, is it’s sort of a combination of a book, a scrapbook and a photo album. I went through every nook and cranny of my house looking for anything that would be fun in the book – photos that would be fun of Bob’s career from beginning to end, photos of Bob growing up, and pictures that have never been out there before.” 

While searching through her closet for interesting photos, Dreama shared that she found a box that had belonged to Bob’s mother. Inside that box, she discovered a holiday postcard addressed to Bob from Elvis Presley and the Colonel.

“It’s so funny because that had been in my possession for 35 years and I had no idea. That was a great find,” Dreama said, adding that she included an image of the card in her book. 

A different photo Dreama found was that of Bob with Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Pat Boone and others. 

“They were really big names back in the day,” Dreama noted. “It’s a group picture of them . . . while they were doing a seminar on ‘What girls do that drive boys nuts.’”

“I doubt that would go over so well in 2024,” Dreama laughed, “but that’s what it was all about.” 

In addition to the book’s photos and images, Dreama shares personal stories about her life with Bob. 

“He was so humble,” Dreama said of her husband. “When we would get out of the house, people would make a fuss over him and it always took us by surprise because he was just Bob.” 

Dreama explained that when she and Bob first moved to West Virginia people would drive by their house to take photos and to meet “Gilligan,” but soon people became used to the celebrity in their neighborhood. 

“His favorite places to go were Lowe’s and the local computer store,” Dreama said. “He loved living here. I’m not just saying that. He really, really loved living here. He liked that finally, after the hoopla died down, he could just be Bob and go into Lowe’s to talk about paint. He got to be like a regular person, which he hardly ever got to be.” 

One of the best things about Bob, Dreama said, was his dedication to her and their son as well as the love they shared for decades. However, prior to their first meeting, things were very different. 

The couple first met in Florida on the set of Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam,” in the 1970s. 

According to Dreama, she had auditioned and accepted a leading role in the show before she knew who would be in the cast.  

“After I got the part, I asked the producer, ‘Who is going to be starring in the show?’ and she said Bob Denver, and I looked at her and I said ‘Gilligan, really? I’m going to have to kiss and do love scenes with Gilligan?’” Dreama recalled, laughing. “I just couldn’t imagine him being the object of desire. Gilligan was this innocent, nymphish little character.”

Yet, when Bob walked into rehearsal, and said her name for the first time, the chemistry was instant, Dreama said. 

“Nobody had ever said my name like that before,” she remembered. 

“A thing that might surprise a lot of people is that Bob was a romantic. One Christmas, here in Mercer County, he took out a full page ad in the newspaper to tell me, and the world, how much he loved me. He was pretty amazing, easy to be around and easy to live with,” Dreama said. “He read all the time. He read four or five books every week. He was really intelligent. The thing about Bob, and also about Dawn Wells (who played Mary Ann in Gilligan’s Island), is they shared this quality– they had such curiosity about everything, about how the world worked.” 

Another side of Bob emerged when Colin was diagnosed with severe autism. 

As a result of their son’s diagnosis, Bob and Dreama started The Denver Foundation. 

According to Dreama, the small foundation continues to help supply items for children with autism and their family members, such as iPads for nonverbal children, special wheelchairs and bathtub chairs.

“Bob had big plans for the foundation,” Dreama said. “He wanted to start respite homes for parents where they could leave their child in a caring environment for the weekend and just go home to do nothing.”

Unfortunately, Bob passed away before those plans came to fruition, but Dreama still continues the work to this day and even looks for other ways to help West Virginians, often in Bob’s memory. 

One organization started through The Denver Foundation was “Always Free Honor Flight,” West Virginia’s first honor flight program, which provides veterans with free visits to Washington D.C. to see the memorials built in their honor, Dreama shared.

“It was one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of,” she said. 

Also, after Bob’s passing, Dreama was instrumental in getting the state’s legislature to name John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” an official state song in 2014. 

On the day the resolution was passed, Dreama said that she had to give a speech at the Capitol. 

“I’m there in the rotunda, everybody is there, so I’m talking and one of the first things I did was look heavenward, I lifted my arms in the air and said, ‘Honey, can you believe this?’ and someone got a picture at that very moment of me talking to Bob . . . that is third or fourth on the list of great moments in my life,” Dreama said. 

Yet, as is often the case when someone loses the love of their life, many moments often lead back to the memory of their loved one, which may be another reason why the 60th anniversary of Gilligan’s Island redirected Dreama to the thought of Bob. 

Fortunately for those who haven’t been able to watch Gilligan’s Island or The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, the shows can still be viewed on reruns or via a streaming service. 

When asked why everyone, even those in younger generations, should watch these classic tv shows, Dreama responded that each show has its own draw. 

In the case of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, it was set during a historical time period. 

“Bob was the first beatnik on television with his portrayal of Maynard Krebs,” Dreama noted. “They always accused him of starting the hippie movement of the 1960s, but he went to all the coffee houses in L.A. to prepare for the character because there had never been a beatnik on tv. He wanted to see the culture and how it worked — the way they talked and more — so he could get it right. It was so fabulous for him to be able to bring that culture to the television so people could have a clue what it was all about.” 

And while no one has said it for a fact, Maynard may have been the influence for the character of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo. 

“It sure seems like it,” Dreama laughed. 

“In the case of Gilligan’s Island, and Bob brought this up once, you can’t place Gilligan’s Island in any particular time period. It’s set on an island where there are no phones, there are no cars, there’s nothing to date it, so you could put that show on the air today and it would be like a brand new show.” 

It should be said, however, that people should watch these shows because Bob Denver stars in them, and one can witness his comedic talents. 

“I prefer Maynard because I love the word comedy, but Bob loved the physical comedy he could do as Gilligan,” Dreama concluded. “When asked which show he liked best, he always said that he had the best of both worlds. His two characters covered the spectrum of what acting is all about.” 

To obtain a copy of Dreama’s latest book “Island to Icon, The Many Lives of Bob Denver,” head on over to the West Virginia Book Festival at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Oct. 19, where she will be signing copies. 

For those who can’t make it to the festival, copies may be purchased online at bobdenver.com and on Amazon, where the book has been listed as a bestseller.