Gilligan's Island's Radio Announcer Appeared In A Classic Star Trek Episode

The '60s sitcom, "Gilligan's Island," is best known for its eclectic mix of characters stranded on a desert island. Starring Bob Denver as Gilligan, the show ran from 1964 to 1967, with three TV movies following in 1978, '79, and '81. Through multiple episodes, a radio announcer can be heard, played by Charles Maxwell. While not a major player in the show, Maxwell was best known for his extensive work in film and television through the '40s to the '60s, as well as being a producer.

The actor also worked on music, credited as part of the orchestra for multiple tracks from the '30s to 1960. One of his best-known roles in pop culture, outside of "Gilligan's Island," is from "Star Trek: The Original Series." In the sixth episode of the third and final season of the original series, when "Star Trek tried to redefine the way sci-fi treated its monsters", the crew of the Enterprise is sent to a re-enactment of a shootout to die, after finding themselves trespassing on alien turf. During the episode, Maxwell appears as lawman Virgil Earp, who, alongside his brothers, was involved in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. Earp, alongside famed gunman Doc Holliday, fought off a crew of cattle rustlers in an extremely quick fight.

The episode eventually unravels that the threat of being executed by the crew isn't real, with Leonard Nimoy's popular character of Spock "mind melding" with those stranded to convince them the bullets aren't real. Virgil takes a little bit of a backseat to the brother, Wyatt, who's featured in another classic fist fight against Captain Kirk. Maxwell's time on screen in the episode is relatively quick, especially under the makeup.

It isn't the first time that Maxwell and Nimoy crossed paths, however. In 1952, the film "Kid Monk Baroni" introduced Nimoy in the starring role, and on the crew was Maxwell. At the time, he's credited as a dialogue director, which is a film role that doesn't exist anymore. When movies began to add spoken word, dialogue directors would literally teach actors how to use their voice on film.

"Star Trek" and "Gilligan's Island" also crossed over by accident. It's theorized that because the two shared prop and costume departments, a bizarre outfit made its way from "Gilligan's Island" to "TOS." Other actors from the show have also appeared on "TOS," like Janos Prohaska, who played creatures in both "Star Trek" and "Gilligan's Island."