MARIJUANA CHARGE FOR GILLIGAN ACTOR

PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) -- Bob Denver, who played the title character on
``Gilligan's Island,'' was arrested Thursday after a package of marijuana
was delivered to his home.

Denver was charged with marijuana possession and released on $1,000 bond.

He appeared briefly in court for arraignment.

West Virginia authorities were notified earlier this week by Pueblo, Colo.,
police that a package containing marijuana was sent there by a delivery
service and addressed to Denver at his Princeton home, said Lt. Bruce
McNeill.

After an officer delivered the package Wednesday night, a drug task force
executed a search warrant. Inside Denver's home, police found about 10
grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, McNeill said.

In all, police recovered about an ounce and a half of marijuana from the
package and Denver's home, he said.

``He was very apologetic over the incident and remorseful,'' McNeill said.

Denver, 63, could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on the
misdemeanor.

John Ercul, deputy chief of police in Pueblo, wouldn't say Thursday how
investigators there knew what was inside the package.

A man who answered the phone Thursday at Denver's home said Denver had no
comment.

Denver moved to West Virginia with his wife, Dreama, seven years ago and
they settled in her hometown of Princeton.

Denver starred in ``Gilligan's Island'' from 1964 through 1967. He played
the beatnik best friend Maynard G. Krebs on ``The Many Loves of Dobie
Gillis'' from 1959 to 1963.

Copyright 1998 by The Associated Press

Checked-by: Richard Lake