November 15, 2015

Eddie Little Sky in Gilligan's Island

Actor Eddie Little Sky appeared three times on Gilligan's Island--twice as Polynesian natives and once as a "witch doctor" with Mesoamerican roots. Here's more on him:
Eddie Little SkyEddie Little Sky was born August 15, 1926, as Edsel Wallace Little on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota to Oglala Lakota parents, Wallace Little, Sr. and Wileminna Colhoff. He also served in the United States Navy and worked as a bull rider and bareback rider in the rodeo. As an actor, he took the name "Eddie Little Sky" and starred in numerous in numerous feature films and over sixty television shows, mostly Westerns, playing Native Americans at a time most Indians were often played by white actors under heavy make-up. He was one of the first Native American actors to play Native American roles and is best remembered for his performance as Black Eagle in "A Man Called Horse' (1970). He was also technical adviser for the movie "Soldier Blue."Comment:  For more on Gilligan's Island, see Indigenous Episodes in Gilligan's Island and Native Voodoo in Gilligan's Island.

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