Alan Hale Jr. dressed as the Skipper to visit a terminally ill boy
Hale himself was a cancer sufferer. It would take his life early, at age 68 in Los Angeles. Before that, however, Hale once donned his Skipper costume to visit a boy in the hospital, dying of cancer himself. That boy loved the show. A visit from the Skipper would have been one of the last joyous moments in his life.
Mary Ann wins every time
They asked, and fans replied, over and over. When polled, fans always ranked Mary Ann as their favorite. Gilligan would usually get second place, with Mrs. Howell in last. As a social study, one could draw so many conclusions about that data. In fact, there are probably pages of research written from those polls.