Jerry Van Dyke Turned Down Gilligan's Island To Star In A Bizarre TV Show

It's fair to say Jerry Van Dyke's career was more than a little up and down. While his role on "Coach" earned him four Emmy nominations, his resume also contains a few clunkers, including long-forgotten shows like "Headmaster" and "Accidental Family." Unfortunately, the biggest bomb of them all came at the expense of a golden opportunity, because Van Dyke turned down "Gilligan's Island" to star in "My Mother the Car."

What's more bizarre than the plot of "My Mother the Car" is that it managed to survive a full 30-episode season. The story revolves around Van Dyke's character, Dave Crabtree, who discovers that his dead mother has been reincarnated into a classic 1928 car. According to show creator Allan Burns, the goal was to be a satirical take on other whimsical shows of the '60s. "Our idea was that 'Martian' and 'Bewitched' and all these things were so popular," Burns told the Television Academy, "and why don't we do something that makes fun of them?"

Apparently, the satire was lost on viewers and critics, because the show went down as such a terrible TV show that it's hard to believe it existed. One review from back in 1965 says it all: "The fact that it is based on galloping Oedipus problems alone doesn't bother me," wrote Ernie Kreiling in Valley News (via Woman's World), "but the fact that it is simply stupid is inexcusable." In 2002, TV Guide ranked it the second-worst show of all time, behind only "The Jerry Springer Show" (per CBS News).

On the surface, Jerry Van Dyke's decision didn't seem that bad of a career move. While "My Mother the Car" ran for one season, "Gilligan's Island" got off to a rough start with critics and ran for just three seasons. But in addition to having one of the most memorable theme songs of all time, "Gilligan's Island" has endured with fans for decades as a beloved sitcom. So why did Van Dyke make the decision that he did? Turns out it might have been some bad advice.

Sherwood Schwartz, who created "Gilligan's Island," has said multiple times that Jerry Van Dyke was his first choice to play the iconic role of Gilligan. But according to Schwartz, the agent they both shared told Van Dyke to say no. "His agent, my agent, told him that 'Gilligan's Island' wouldn't ever be a success," Schwartz told Pop Goes the Culture TV. "... So as a result of that, I didn't get Jerry Van Dyke, and my agent was fired."

In the end, Van Dyke said he had no regrets about his career choices. In an interview with Popdose, he explained, "It was really good, because I'd've been forever known as Gilligan. So that worked out."