Troll the waters of the Hawaii Kai marina at the right time of day and you just might hear the familiar strains of “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island” coming from attorney P. Gregory “Greg” Frey’s house.
It’s probably his full-size Bally’s pinball machine playing the iconic “Gilligan’s Island” theme song. Or maybe he’s binge-watching episodes of the classic ’60s TV series on his vintage VHS machine. It might even be Frey, 55, in his backyard, belting out the tune karaoke style while wearing his first-mate’s cap autographed by Gilligan himself.
The proud Saint Louis alumnus is an unabashed “Gilligan’s Island” fan who owns a 150-piece collection of signed memorabilia and other items from the show. Unlike the Professor and Mary Ann, Frey was no castaway, but he recalls walking to his home on Koko Isle in the middle of Kuapa Pond after school. With his
parents still at work, he would watch afternoon reruns of the show, which chronicled the misadventures of Capt. Jonas Grumby, aka The Skipper, his first mate and “little buddy” Gilligan and their five charter passengers on the SS Minnow.
As the theme song explains, the motley crew shipwrecked on a deserted island after leaving on a three-hour tour.
“Gilligan’s Island” aired in prime time on CBS from 1964 to 1967 before going into national syndication. Most of the show’s stars later reprised their roles in three movies based on the series.
Living on an island himself, albeit a man-made one, Frey said he “was very conscious of the fact the show was a derivative of what my life was.”
“I thought I was in nirvana. It was awesome.”
These days, Frey and his wife, Mia, live just a few minutes from his childhood home. The couple’s living room is where he displays various types of “Gilligan’s” gear, including the aforementioned pinball machine (which Frey plays at least twice a week), dozens of photographs signed by the cast and a custom set of ’80s-era Claymation figures depicting the castaways.
Instead of just buying items online that are ready to display, Frey said he gets a thrill out of embellishing his finds to make the collection more his own. His most cherished stories are based on interactions with original cast members; his biggest regret is not starting his collection sooner so he could have met every one of the show’s stars before they died.
He’s quick to mention the support of his wife, who continues to humor his fascination with “Gilligan’s Island.”
“I’m a lucky guy in that she’s into me and my uniqueness,” Frey said. “She knew from Day One that I’m a little different, and she’s always been very supportive.”
The Possessed questionnaire
First piece: “A picture signed by Tina Louise (Ginger), Natalie Schafer (Eunice Howell), who was deceased at the time I got it, and Bob Denver (Gilligan). Russell Johnson (The Professor) later came to Hawaii for one of the antique shows in the ’90s and signed it. He was the only star I’ve ever met (from “Gilligan’s Island”), and he was the coolest guy.”
Where do you find most of your pieces?: “It’s so different now. I used to go to the bookstores, when we had them, and they would have a collectors periodical that came out once a month. It was fold-out, and they had the tiniest ads on every page. It would take me a day just to go through it. Now I go to eBay and look for stuff. Most of it is just DVDs. Every once in a while I’ll find something cool.”
Most valuable piece: “A (1960s Topps trading card) bubble gum wrapper, believe it or not. I can go on eBay right now and there’s one for sale for $20,000. Is anyone going to buy it? Probably not. I could easily get a couple grand for it, especially since I framed it up. I bought it in ’98 or ’99 from another collector who had ones that were unopened along with several opened ones. He auctioned off a bunch but was willing to sell me one.”
Most recent acquisition: “Animation drawings from the cartoon “Gilligan’s Planet,” since you can still get those. They used to be hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Now you can buy one for 10 or 15 bucks. I got each of those for $10. The framing cost more than the drawings themselves.”
The one that got away: “Meeting the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.). He was really into meeting his fans. He had a restaurant in Southern California, and he would go there all the time to rap with people. Legend has it he probably gave away 150 of his captain’s hats. He’d hang out with people, talk to them and then give them his hat. I wish I had done that.”
