Surprising Stories from the Set of Gilligan’s Island

The lagoon on the CBS lot looked like a tropical paradise on screen, but behind the scenes it was a technical headache. The cement-lined pool leaked constantly, forcing the crew to drain, repair, and refill it again and again just to keep it looking like a steady body of water.

This ongoing struggle became almost as legendary as the island itself. Cast and crew joked about the “not-so-deserted desert of a lagoon,” but the repairs kept coming. Despite the constant leaks, the set remained one of the most iconic visuals of the entire series.