Is there a real-life Gilligan in the bay area? The producers of the new reality show The Real Gilligan's Island make a stop in St. Petersburg to find out.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published June 25, 2004
[Times photos: Lara Cerri]
Production crew members from the reality show The Real Gilligan's Island interview Gilligan hopeful Jimmy Land, 36, of Marco Island and potential Skipper Guy Leinbach, 47, of St. Petersburg, at the Pier on Thursday.
Gloria Lewallen auditions on Thursday for the role of Lovey Howell.
ST. PETERSBURG - All his life, Michael Proffit was the gangly, uncoordinated one, the guy teased by his friends for stumbling into embarrassing situations.
Like the time the 40-year-old Tampa man plummeted to the ground while trimming a neighbor's tree because he rested the ladder against the branch he was sawing. Or when he tried to clean the soot from his fireplace while building a fire, setting the vacuum cleaner ablaze.
On Thursday, Proffit found a place where his bumbling was not only tolerated, but celebrated. He joined hundreds of other aspiring reality television show contestants at the Pier for a casting call for The Real Gilligan's Island.
"I am the real Gilligan," said Proffit, proudly. "I think there's a reason I never tried out for any of the other reality shows: This one is meant to be."
The show will be based on the popular '60s sitcom but use real people instead of actors to portray the characters. The seven castaways will be stuck on a deserted island where they will compete for a reward.
The size of the reward and the location of the island are still to be determined, said Lloyd Schwartz, the series' executive producer and younger half of the father and son duo that produced the original show.
Other casting calls already have been held in Wichita, Kan., and Boston. On Thursday, Schwartz and supervising producer Sally Ann Salsano said they were looking for people who embodied the spirit of the original seven, not actors to portray them. However, contestants were asked to dress up as the character they most resemble and memorize the theme song.
"I won't know what I'm looking for until I see it," Salsano said, racing through the activity room of the Pier, clipboard in hand. "We see so many people, if you catch our attention, the rest of America will definitely be interested."
Auditions began at 2 p.m. and were scheduled to continue until 10 p.m. By mid afternoon, the line already snaked around the side of the Pier. Skinny men in red shirts and white hats joked with bearish guys in nautical caps. Aspiring Gingers brushed long, red tresses and carefully applied makeup.
"I feel like everything's going to melt away here," joked Tina Mirisha, 42, an artist and former model who donned fake eyelashes and sparkly blue eye shadow for the audition.
One by one, they were brought before the camera and peppered with questions. Production assistants asked them everything from their professions to their dislikes to how they would handle being marooned with six strangers.
Schwartz said they hope to select the cast by the end of July. The show is scheduled to air on the TBS network.
Jerry Slutzky, 52, of Tampa thought he would give himself an edge by bringing props. Sweltering in a tweed jacket, he toted a butterfly net and a bag stuffed with bug spray, sunscreen, a hunting knife and other assorted essentials.
"I figured that the Professor was a pretty prepared guy," said Slutzky, a stockbroker and local actor. "He would have been ready for anything."
Angela Kennedy, 25, smiled sweetly as technicians fussed with the camera and lights. Auditioning for the role of Mary Ann, she was dressed in a pink tank top and denim skirt, her hair in pigtails.
An Oldsmar resident and a homemaker, Kennedy described herself as flirtatious but very down to earth. A production assistant scribbled furiously on his clipboard after learning Kennedy helped care for her sick grandmother.
"So you're like the real thing, aren't you?" he asked. "The real life Mary Ann?"
