October 14, 2015

Mohawk astronaut in Gilligan's Island

In The Kidnapper episode of Gilligan's Island (airdate: Nov. 28, 1966), Mr. Wylie--the kidnapper played by Don Rickles--says he enjoyed Ginger in the movie Moon Over the Mohawk. Ginger says he's mistaken; the movie was Mohawk Over the Moon. It was about an Indian astronaut.

It's just a throwaway gag, but it was an early acknowledgement that Indians could be something other than warriors in headdresses and buckskins. There were only a few examples on TV prior to Ginger's remark. For instance, the Eskimo pilot in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and the Lakota scientist in The Time Tunnel.

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