Tina Louise, 89, hasn’t stopped looking for her soulmate as she lives a quiet life in NYC
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Tina Louise is a known star, who is still remembered for her character Ginger Grant in 1964’s sitcom ‘Gilligan's Island’. Earlier this year, the actress turned 89 but does not want herself to be defined by age as she believes "numbers are not what you look like or how you live your life".
But Louise is much more than ‘Gilligan's Island’. As per reports, her first performance before the camera was when she was just two. She did an ad for her father's candy store. Later at the age of 17, she got work in the musical revue ‘Two's Company’. But her film debut happened in 1958 with ‘God's Little Acre’. For the movie, she also received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
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‘Jim was hilarious’
Louise did not stop after that and continued to work in many movies before getting her most remarkable role of Ginger Grant. Now, the ‘Nightmare in Badham County’ actress is the only surviving actor, who worked in the classic CBS sitcom. In 2021, she remembered her co-stars and told The New York Post that Jim Backus was the sexiest of them all.
She revealed, “Jim was hilarious. Humor, hon. He was so funny and he used to go to the psychiatrist every day and tell me the news of the day … But just in general, he had a great sense of humor. He was adorable.” Regarding the other characters, she noted, “I think the Professor read too many books. [Gilligan] was just very nervous and scared to death and talked so fast. He was so shy.”
‘I’m open. I’m open to life’
When ‘Gilligan's Island’ was running at its peak, Louise also decided to move forward in her life and tied the knot with radio announcer and TV talk show host Les Crane in 1966. In 1970, the couple became parents to Caprice Crane. However, their marriage did not survive for long and they reportedly got divorced in 1974.
Following the divorce, Louise did not get involved in any romantic relationship and kept working. But that does not mean she is not open to dating. She reportedly shared, “I’m open. I’m open. I’m open to life. These days, I’m still not going out very far. If I go out with a friend, it’s once in two weeks.”
Also, explaining what would she look for in a man, she mentioned, “He’d be funny, have a good heart and money wouldn’t matter if we were stuck on an Island,” before saying, “I like John Oliver. I like his dimples. I like him. He’s terrific. Bright. Cute. Funny. You have to enjoy each other’s company and have something to talk about. That’s important.”
But in 2013, Louise also pointed out something she observed in men. She told Cal Fussman of Esquire magazine, “A lot of men are afraid of redheads. There's not that many—and we're different.” She cleared that “most men are most comfortable with brunettes. Brunettes aren't gonna run away from them; they're not gonna leave. Men worry that a redhead will. Which is ridiculous! 'Cause if I'm with you, I'm with you for a darn good reason, and I'm staying there.”
‘Best children's birthday party’
Besides being a great actress, the ‘Day of the Outlaw’ star is also a doting grandmother of her daughter’s twins. In June 2021, she posted two adorable photos of her grandkids on her Facebook account and wrote, “Two weeks in California with my family was amazing!! I got SO many hugs and kisses!! I should be good for at least a month. 😍😍🥰🥰 - With caprice crane 😘😘.”
Then in October last year, Louise shared glimpses from the twins’ birthday party and captioned them as “Best children's birthday party I have ever been to! So much fun! My daughter caprice crane did a super job planning. One loved Hello Kitty and the other wanted Star Wars so my daughter solved the problem brilliantly by doing both at the same time.”
She added, “It was amazing. The boys were having jedi lessons and the girls were loving hello kitty. Though some girls were jedis and vice versa. A day of pure joy for all!”