# Ginger or Mary Ann? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104 "2018-05-13T23:49:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/41 "2018-05-16T03:29:00Z")
All day, all night, Mary Ann! Down by the seaside, in the sand! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/42 "2018-05-16T03:37:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > All day, all night, Mary Ann! Down by the seaside, in the sand! 🆒 Planning a little From Here to Eternity action, eh? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/43 "2018-05-16T03:42:21Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Mary Ann. I always did better with farm girls than city sluts. I think that is the central philosophical conflict in _Green Acres_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/44 "2018-05-16T03:46:58Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I grew up watching Gilligan’s Island, but I can’t say either one of them were sexually appealing. I kind of agree with this. I was too young to understand, and by the time I was old enough they still seemed “old” to me. That feeling still lingers even now, when I look back at them. Same with shows like Bewitched or I Dream Of Jeannie - I never found those women attractive because I was too young to appreciate what that meant. I mean, objectively I can, in retrospect, see their beauty, but not genuinely in my heart or loins. However, the shows I didn’t grow up with, but saw for the first time as a teen or later, those I have sexy opinions on. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/45 "2018-05-16T04:06:22Z")
The Professor. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/46 "2018-05-16T05:44:18Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > . I think she was a poor man’s Marilyn Monroe. > > . You think 🙂 Also, Thurston Howell III is Howard Hughes (multi-millionaire not seen in public for many years…) and Mary Ann is Dorothy. I used to love how Get Smart and Hogan’s Hero’s where full of identifiable character stereotypes. I can’t identify the Professor or Lovey Howell as tropes, but I was never an expert on pop references. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/47 "2018-05-16T08:39:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Planning a little From Here to Eternity action, eh? 🙂 Oy, I should be so lucky! :o FWIW, I had the hots for Mary Ann when I was in fourth (yep, fourth!) grade. I was a very horny, uhm, precocious child! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/48 "2018-05-16T08:42:36Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I can’t identify the Professor or Lovey Howell as tropes, but I was never an expert on pop references. There are interviews with Sherwood Schwartz on YouTube in which he tells how he came up with the ideas for his series. _ **GI** _ was meant to be a microcosm of 1960s American society. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/49 "2018-05-16T14:01:26Z")
Mary-Ann. Then Ginger. Then Ms. Howell, just because I want to say I did. Then the hole in the bottom of the boat. (I stole that from an amateur stand-up comedian.) Thank goodness, Arkcon, you left off Gilligan. Oh, if he thinks I’m going to spend years looking at that candy-apple ass in a hammock, without _something_ happening, he’s mistaken. This is actually a complex question. In a short-term survival situation, focusing on the survival and rescue needs is paramount. Then again, under times of stress, some people will seek out companionship, and release of stress with sex. (Protip: Include condoms in your emergency supplies to avoid consequences after its over.) That said, they’d been there a long time… Since this is early TV, they couldn’t even imply that level of intimacy. However, when the plot required it, the girls would go on “dates” and “makeout” with the guys. We can infer, in the gritty reboot that pay cable is working on, random pairings are going to happen. I always raised my pre-teen eyebrow at the episode with the girls in a mud-bath, buried up to their necks in mud, and Gilligan runs by, to warn them they expect head-hunters. “Oh no, Gilligan, help us out of this.” Then the screen goes to wide shot. So I think, “Waitaminute. They’re not dressed and Gilligan has to help them …” And … oh. Pre-teen me is done. Which harks back to the whole premise. They live an idyllic life – abundant coconut cream pies for dinner, fine bamboo furniture, plenty of leisure time for nude mud bathing and … whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/50 "2018-05-16T14:29:52Z")
Mary Ann for relationship material. But I’d smash Ginger of course. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/51 "2018-05-16T14:35:49Z")
Looking at images from the show, I notice that [Mary Ann](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/33/ef/e4/33efe4f77da2834bbcaff3aaef2cee44--hollywood-pictures-professor.jpg) is [colored](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/37/f4/d3/37f4d3955ca0f5aa395c6d5f8a5bdcf0.jpg) [like a](http://blog.realestatebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DawnWells.jpg) [coconut](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cf/41/68/cf4168af2a5e9043fbdf784a9fc52d51.jpg) in many of them. [In others](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7c/c4/92/7cc492f98bf6d8b9e7178279df485ae5.jpg), [she looks](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ca/f0/fe/caf0fec2cd78d4dc8391dc7595a65c6e.jpg) a [bit less](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/aa/9c/26/aa9c2602f03231e2c0ce0b11abf9ee54.jpg) [Arnold Palmer](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/18/48/6b/18486b6ef5950d272c5189acef5ab5e5.jpg). Her [publicity](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/5d/0e/49/5d0e490fe3eaafefc0c3e42a224d9dce.jpg) [photos](http://www.retrocrush.com/babes/dawn/21.jpg) [aren’t so](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ee/37/9a/ee379a920d361bf7d5c56f67b78ebd40.jpg) dusky, so I’m wondering if that was an intentional make-up choice? Or slathering her in skin bronzer? Or just poor film/screencap quality? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/52 "2018-05-16T14:41:31Z")
Dawn Wells was gorgeous, and managed to stay gorgeous all her life. She grew old very gracefully and even managed to look cute in a mug shot. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/53 "2018-05-16T14:47:51Z")
I should amend my previous post to say I forgot that my work screen is abnormally dark so Wells probably won’t look as peculiar as I suggest. However, there is still an odd range of contrasts and skin tones presented. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/54 "2018-05-16T15:00:18Z")
Now that you mention it, I also remember the times when Mary-Ann was really tan. Seems like Ginger had to keep a light skin tone, so they could make her up like Marylin Monroe. Maybe its spray-tan, on Mary-Ann, so she could be distinguished, for those viewers using a 12" black and white TV. You know, only _slightly_ out of date, for that time period. As I recall, they had to be put up, in Hawaii, during filming. (That was in Natalie Shaffer’s contract, she neglected to ask for much pay, since she thought the show would tank.) So maybe Dawn Wells did lots of tanning. Was she a figure model, before or after GI? [EDIT] Not really a figure model, although a former beauty contestant. Hmm…that may have been a make-up experiment. Trying to accentuate “farm-girl” out in the sun, or perhaps, sell the idea of a tropical paradise. Did the Hawaii tourism board advertise when the show was running, “Come to Hawaii, like like they do, … only _with_ phones, lights and motor-cars.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/55 "2018-05-16T15:38:47Z")
Eh, probably Mary Ann, but neither of them is really my type. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/56 "2018-05-16T16:18:33Z")
I can make my own pies, so Ginger for me. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/57 "2018-05-16T16:33:47Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > How about Monica versus Phoebe? Rachel would win that one. Mary-Ann for me, not only for her looks but I could never stand the ditzy Hollywood starlet archetype. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/58 "2018-05-16T16:38:09Z")
The Bailey vs. Jennifer poll would be very interesting as Jennifer was highly intelligent behind those looks and Bailey was a knockout behind those glasses! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/59 "2018-05-16T17:29:36Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > The Bailey vs. Jennifer poll would be very interesting as Jennifer was highly intelligent behind those looks and Bailey was a knockout behind those glasses! I was pro-Bailey before it was popular. 🆒 I feel like Spock talking about the identical androids: I voted for Ginger, but I think Jennifer is just too…much. “I like you, but I hate you.” “But we are identical.” As someone once said about a similar subject: Jennifer isn’t attractive, she just _looks_ attractive. She’s got the parts, but they just don’t go together right. And, I never could like her helmet head hairstyle. Her being smart is about her only redeeming thing for me, but her brazen gold-digging is a bigger turn off than Ginger’s manipulations. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104/60 "2018-05-16T17:35:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Why you’re choosing, or what you’re choosing them for, is up to you. I went with Ginger. I think she needs a friend. Mary Ann is nice (hence the timeless conundrum), but she tries too hard to please and that would just make me nervous. Ginger can come over whenever she wants and we can watch TV and dispose of ice cream or whatever else. She can tell me Hollywood stories or bitch about cinema execs hitting on her if she wants, or just blow off a little steam with no strings attached. I liked Jennifer because she took shit from no one. Bailey had that hot librarian look going on, but I wouldn’t trust her to have a spine when she needed one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginger-or-mary-ann/814104.md?page=4)