Louise, Tina 1934–

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Louise, Tina 1934–

(Tina Blacker)

PERSONAL:

Born Tina Blacker, February 11, 1934, in New York, NY; married Les Crane, 1966 (divorced, 1970); children: Caprice. Education: Attended Miami University (OH); trained at Actors Studio and Neighborhood Playhouse.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—New York, NY.

CAREER:

Actor, singer, and model. Actor in plays, including Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, 1955-56; Li'l Abner, 1956; and Fade Out, Fade In, 1964. Actor in television shows, including The Jackie Gleason Show, CBS, 1952-55; Studio One, CBS, 1956; The Phil Silvers Show, CBS, 1957; Tales of Wells Fargo, NBC, 1961; The Real McCoys, CBS, 1962; The Doctors, NBC, 1963; Burke's Law, ABC, 1963; Route 66, CBS, 1963; Gilligan's Island, CBS, 1964-67; Bonanza, NBC, 1967; It Takes a Thief, ABC, 1968; Ironside, NBC, 1970; Love, American Style, ABC, 1971, 1972, 1973; Kojak, CBS, 1973; Police Story, NBC, 1974; Cannon, CBS, 1975; CHiPs, NBC, 1979; Fantasy Island, ABC, 1980; Knight Rider, NBC, 1983; The Love Boat, ABC, 1987. Actor in television movies, including But I Don't Want to Get Married, ABC, 1970; Call to Danger, CBS, 1973; Dallas, CBS, 1978-79; Friendship, Secrets, and Lies, NBC, 1979; The Day the Women Got Even, NBC, 1980; and Advice to the Lovelorn, NBC, 1981. Actor in feature films, including God's Little Acre, United Artists, 1958; How to Commit Marriage, Cinerama, 1969; The Stepford Wives, Columbia, 1975; O.C. and Stiggs, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1987; and Welcome to Woop-Woop, Goldwyn Films, 1997. Singer, It's Time for Tina, Urania Records, 1957.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer, 1959.

WRITINGS:

Sunday: A Memoir, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1997.

When I Grow Up, illustrated by Oliver Corwin, Abrams (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Actress and model Tina Louise is best known for her role as Hollywood starlet Ginger Grant in the popular 1960s television sitcom Gilligan's Island. The series, which also featured Bob Denver as Gilligan, Alan Hale as the Skipper, and Jim Backus as millionaire Thurston Howell III, centered on a group of seven castaways shipwrecked on an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean. The episodes revolved around the castaway's comic efforts to leave the island and return to civilization. After leaving the show, Louise enjoyed a long career in film and television, and she also became an advocate for literacy.

In her picture book When I Grow Up, Louise encourages young readers to pursue their own career goals by examining the wondrous things that even animals can achieve. Louise notes, for example, that a spider's skill at constructing a web could inspire a child to become an architect, or that a bird's ability to soar through the sky might lead a youngster to consider becoming a pilot. A contributor in Publishers Weekly stated that the "jobs highlighted here show a nice range of vocational possibilities," observing that the author discusses nursing, archaeology, fashion design, and police work. According to a critic in Kirkus Reviews, "the idea here is less to make any informed decisions than to create a mind set," and School Library Journal reviewer Julie Roach remarked that "the overall message is a good one."