Bob Denver Made His Acting Debut in a Navy Submarine Drama

Bob Denver made his screen debut in a submarine drama before he became famous as Gilligan on Gilligan's Island.

He played a seaman named Murph in a 1957 episode of The Silent Service, a US television series about Navy submarines.

The show was filmed aboard the USS Sawfish and made with the US Navy's cooperation.

Its episodes drew on real veterans' experiences, and it ran for 78 episodes from 1957 to 1958.

Denver's part was small, and the role was the closest he came to serving in the military.

His later fame came from playing Gilligan, whose castaways also encountered a submarine in a controversial episode of the sitcom.

That episode featured a Japanese sailor who did not know World War II had ended, played by Italian-American actor Vito Scotti in yellowface.

The story of Denver's early role shows how his career began in a very different kind of nautical setting.