Nancy McCarthy (born June 8, 1937 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

) is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Bunny in the original 1963 pilot (unaired until 1992) for ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

''.

Career

After the ''Gilligan's Island'' pilot was made, series creator

Sherwood Schwartz Sherwood Charles Schwartz ( ; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series ''Gilligan's Island ...

, after many network problems, decided to make changes, including dropping McCarthy's character. She also appeared in two other unaired TV pilots: ''Zelda'' with Sheila James and on ''The Peter Lorre Playhouse''. McCarthy made appearances on eight episodes of other television series, including ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'', ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulmans Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1 ...

'', ''

Adventures in Paradise Adventures in Paradise may refer to: * ''Adventures in Paradise'' (TV series) * "Adventures in Paradise", aka "Theme from Adventures in Paradise", composed by Lionel Newman, recorded by many inc. Arthur Lyman, Santo & Johnny, Rob E. G., and (word ...

'', '' Lock Up'', and ''

Surfside 6 ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series that aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centers on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat, and features Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II, Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recycled ...

'' . McCarthy originally made her New York stage debut as Dixie Evans in ''

The Big Knife ''The Big Knife'' is a 1955 American melodrama film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the 1949 play by Clifford Odets. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod S ...

'' at the Seven Arts Playhouse in 1959, which starred Carroll O'Connor and was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.Playbill/The Big Knife/NYC/1959 She appeared in several live television plays produced in New York, including ''True Story'', ''Divorce Court,'' and ''Moment of Fear'' with Robert Redford on the ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' series. On stage in Los Angeles, she played Maggie in ''After the Fall''. Her regional credits include Flirt in ''Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' with Sylvia Sydney at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts, and Maisie in ''The Boy Friend'' at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. McCarthy retired from acting after suffering a back injury in 1972, but continued to work as a print and fashion model, and later, in the advertising and design field. Her final television credit is the pilot for ''Gilligan's Island'', which finally aired on TBS on 16 October 1992, 29 years after it was filmed.

Personal life

Nancy Darlyne McCarthy grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated from Carnegie Tech (now

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in drama. She began her acting career by appearing in local theater and performing on a weekly radio play. While still a student in college, she auditioned for director

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

for the title role in his movie ''Saint Joan''. McCarthy married twice, first to a fellow actor, and later to a businessman to whom she is still married.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Nancy 1937 births Living people American television actresses Actresses from Pittsburgh American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses Carnegie Mellon University alumni