Gilligan dies at 70

Bob Denver, the US actor who played goofy island castaway Gilligan in the 1960s television show Gilligan's Island, has died of complications from cancer treatments.

Denver, 70, died last Friday at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre in North Carolina, his agent Mike Eisenstadt said today.

Gilligan's Island aired from 1964 to 1967, and became one of most enduring TV comedies in re-runs with a tale of seven people who were lost at sea and stranded on a deserted island.

Gilligan was a lovable character, but one with whom Denver was so closely associated that it became difficult for him to win other starring roles in a 50-year career.

Denver first gained stardom on another TV sitcom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, in which he played beatnik Maynard G Krebs.

Eisenstadt did not provide details of Denver's death other than to say that he had been in the hospital for cancer treatment. The actor's family did not want to disclose specifics about the type of cancer, Eisenstadt said.

Denver is survived by his wife Dreama, who was at his side when he died, and his four children.

"Our lives will never be the same without him," the Denver family said in a statement posted on Denver's website.

"There are no words to describe how much his wisdom and gentleness will be missed."