Tina Louise

She did appear as a semi-regular character in the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dallas for a period. However, Merchant never got over the dissolution of her marriage, and her premature death was brought about by alcoholism. She has not participated in any reunion specials or other events related to the series. Merchant went public about her distress, and famously told the press that Pinter had not taken many clothes with him; but, she quipped, if he didn't have any shoes to wear, he could always borrow Fraser's: "she has very big feet, you know". Despite this success, she languished in secondary roles and in later years blamed her lack of credibility as an actress on the typecasting that had followed her success with Gilligan's Island, a program she had grown to detest. Their marriage began disintegrating in the mid-1960s and Pinter left Merchant suddenly in 1977 to live with historian Lady Antonia Fraser. She appeared in The Stepford Wives in 1975 and both the film and her performance were well received. Despite her great talent and many film appearances - including Alfie (1966) and Frenzy (1972), she is probably best known as the first wife of the playwright, Harold Pinter, whom she married in 1956. She appeared in many of his works, notably The Homecoming (1973).

After the series ended in 1967, she continued to work in films and made numerous guest appearances in various television series. Vivien Merchant (1929-1983) was a British actress, born Ada Thompson. As movie star Ginger Grant, Louise finally achieved a level of fame and recognition, however she was unhappy with the role and worried that it would typecast her, which it apparently did. Further roles followed, on Broadway, and in films in Italy and Hollywood, but they failed to accelerate her career and in 1964 she joined the cast of the television series Gilligan's Island. She made her Hollywood film debut in 1958 in God's Little Acre and was groomed for a career as a dramatic actress.

Her album It's Time for Tina was also released that year, with songs such as "Embraceable You" and "I'm In the Mood for Love.". In 1957, she and Julie Newmar made their Broadway debuts in Li'l Abner. She started her career as a model and nightclub singer while she studied at the Actor's Studio. She was born Tina Blacker in New York City, and attended Miami University.

Tina Louise (born February 11, 1934) is an American film and television actress.