Gilligan's Island Reality Tv

When the second season of "The Real Gilligan's Island" premieres on TBS tonight, Quincy homey Shawn Manning knows he'll have at least one fan cheering him on - his pal, New England Patriot David Givens.

"Wherever we go, David tells everyone, `This kid is Gilligan on `Gilligan's Island' and I'm like, `Dude, who cares? You won the Super Bowl!' " Manning told the Track. "But he thinks it's so funny. He taped all the commercials and I'm saying, `But you're on TV all the time!' He thinks it's insane."

Insane, but perhaps not so surprising that Manning was picked to be one of the Gilligans for the second season of the based-on- vintage-TV reality show. He had lots of practice being a "Little Buddy" - to Givens.

"I was his trusty sidekick," Manning said. "Right after he got drafted, we became buddies and I started to keep my eye out on some stuff for him and I turned it into a little job for myself."

Now Given's former assistant has a new gig - as one of two "real- life" Gilligans who compete for a boatload of cash. The reality show pits two teams of castaways against one another with "Survivor"- like eliminations until only one winner is left standing.

There are two Gilligans, two Skippers, two Mary Anns and two Gingers - played by real-life movie stars (sort of) Angie Everhart and Erika Eleniak - two professors and two millionaire pairs of Thurstons and Loveys.

Manning is the second Gilligan TBS recruited out of Marina Bay. Last season's Bob Denver clone, Chris O'Malley of Milton, was also signed after a casting agent saw him working at the Quincy boatyard.

"I like to think they were looking for me," Shawn cracked.

But oddly, the two have never met.

"I e-mailed him after I got the gig but he kind of big-timed me," Manning said. "I told him I got the second season as Gilligan and said that we should meet and then I never heard from him again. I thought, `Oh, I see how it is.' "

Just thrown overboard!

Well, Shawn, if it's any consolation, you can do the same thing to the next Gilligan.

"Oh, I plan on it," he joked.

Another similarity is that both local Gilligans struck up a little romance with a Mary Ann. Shawn's currently seeing Amanda Weaver, who played the Kansas farmgirl on the opposing team. But, he adds, they didn't hook up until after the show was over.

"It's too hot on that island," he said. "Not conducive to that kind of thing."

Shawn cannot, of course, reveal the show's outcome, but he said he's pleased with how things went.

"I like to think I did very well," he said.

Although he is somewhat concerned he'll be portrayed as the island wise guy, Manning actually had a pretty sympathetic situation during filming. He's diabetic and had to take insulin shots every day and constantly monitor his blood sugar - not to mention live off K-rations just like the rest of the castaways.

"It was tough," he said. "But I heard they don't play it up much in the show. I think that's because they want to portray me as a big jerk."

Manning, who is not a big jerk, and Amanda are throwing a season- premiere party at The Rack tonight to benefit the Joslin Diabetes Foundation. Do sail on over for a three-hour (or so) tour. . . .

Bifocals for his Eye

This just in: "Queer Eye" culture guy Jai Rodriguez yesterday admitted that he got up to bat for the other team. Can you stand it????

Rodriguez, chatting it up with Matt Siegel & Co. on KISS-108, confirmed a report out of NYC that he made out with a tall blonde beauty saying, "If you can try all the flavors in Baskin-Robbins, why pick just one?"

Well, maybe because you're on a show called "Queer Eye"! But we digress. . . .

As we told you yesterday, the big buzz the other night at Club Cafe - where Jai, Carson Kressley, Kyan Douglas and Thom Filicia headlined a benefit for Boston Pride and the Harbor to the Bay AIDS Ride - was that Jai was straight. And while he didn't exactly renounce his gayness yesterday, Rodriguez did admit he rather enjoyed his hetero hanky-panky.

"I was caught doing something kind of crazy and I didn't even think about it at the time, because I was like, `Who cares? No one is going to say anything 'cause I'm gay.' "

Oh, Jai, that's exactly WHY everyone was saying everything!

Specifically, the culture vulture was caught in a photo booth kissing the lady in question on the boob!

"I think, once you do something gay you're considered gay for life," he said. "I didn't know that you couldn't come back and revisit anything else. Now I know. . . ."

File Under: Bi Eye?

Crazy for popcorn

World popcorn-eating champion Crazy Legs Conti, the pride of Belmont, will defend his title in La-La today at the First Annual MTV Movie Awards Popcorn-Eating Competition hosted by VJ Quddus Phillippe.

Conti (seven bags of popcorn in 12 minutes) will take on top eat- hletes from the International Federation of Competitive Eating, including world chili champ Rich LeFevre and champion oyster-eater Sonya Thomas.

The movie awards, taped Saturday, will air at 9 p.m. tomorrow. With cut-ins, we assume, to the popcorn chomping contest. Burp.

Tracked down

Brian McKnight shooting hoops at UMass Boston's Clark Athletic Center with his entourage . . . O.J. Simpson on the Cape attending a wedding - and then teeing off - at Willowbend . . . Mark Wahlberg and his Entourage hitting Justin Timberlake's Chi in La-La . . . Fat Joe watching a Pistons-Heat playoff game at Vinalia with Hot 97.7 ad exec Jeff Frenc . . . FleetCenter skipper Rich Krezwick at Jawsfest, Jaws-ing with film alums Jeffrey Kramer, Marty Nadler and Carl Gottlieb at Atria in Edgartown . . . New England Patriots big guy Patrick Pass and New England Revolution Captain Shalrie Joseph at Vox Populi, attending the Hattie B. Cooper Community Center benefit . . . Revs goalie Matt Reis grooving at WFNX's Best Music Poll show at Avalon . . . Fairmont Copley Plaza pooch Catie Copley lapping up the attention at the Greater Boston Concierge Association's reading series at the Boston Public Library's South End branch. . . .

Erin Hayes contributed to today's column. Drop dimes to trackgals@bostonherald.com or 617-619-6488.

Caption: CHILLIN' FOR CHARITY: Red Sox wives Juliana Ramirez, left, and Michelle Damon dish out the good stuff at the Verizon Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl, the all-you-can-eat ice cream festival on City Hall Plaza through tomorrow. Go have a bowl or 10. It's for a good cause. . . . STAFF PHOTO BY NANCY LANE

Copyright 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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