50 Fun Facts About Fantasy Island

Who created the original Fantasy Island series?

Levitt wrote the pilot film; Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg produced the show, which is why it is usually remembered as a Spelling series.

On which US network did the original series air?

The regular series ran from January 28, 1978 to May 19, 1984, after two TV movies in 1977 and 1978.

Who played the mysterious host, Mr. Roarke?

Montalbán, born in Mexico City in 1920, was already a familiar face from MGM musicals and television commercials.

What was the name of Roarke's diminutive assistant, played by Hervé Villechaize?

Villechaize had played a Bond henchman four years earlier and was a trained painter before he was an actor.

What does Roarke's assistant shout from the bell tower at the start of each episode?

The line became a catchphrase largely because of Villechaize's distinctive French-accented enunciation.

What does Mr. Roarke tell his assembled staff just before the guests get off the plane?

He then greets the arrivals with a raised glass: 'My dear guests, I am Mr. Roarke, your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island.'

What color suit is Mr. Roarke known for wearing?

Tattoo wore a matching miniature white suit, one of the most-copied Halloween costume pairs of the era.

According to the first TV movie, how much did each guest pay for a fantasy?

That is roughly $200,000 today; in the second film Roarke admits he sometimes lowers the price for guests who cannot afford it.

According to the series, the resort lies somewhere near which real place?

The island was thus in the Atlantic, even though the scenery was pure Pacific: Kauai's Na Pali coast in the opening titles.

How many regular seasons did the original series run?

That added up to 152 episodes plus the two TV movies.

How many episodes were made, not counting the two TV movies?

Syndication later chopped the hour-long shows into half-hour versions, each carrying a single storyline.

How many independent storylines did a typical episode weave together?

Only one episode, 'The Wedding', told a single story: terminally ill Helena Marsh returning to marry Roarke.

Which is the only single-storyline episode, in which the dying Helena Marsh returns?

Helena is presented as the great love of Roarke's long life, and the wedding does not end the way she hopes.

In the episode 'Elizabeth', a woman from Roarke's past appears. How long ago is it revealed she died?

Other episodes suggest he knew Helen of Troy and Cleopatra personally.

Who played the Devil opposite Roarke in 'The Devil and Mr. Roarke'?

The Devil returned in later episodes trying to claim souls; Roarke always outmaneuvered him.

Years after the show ended, what did the actor who played him reveal he had imagined Mr. Roarke to be?

He kept the theory to himself during the run, saying only that he had 'a definite opinion' about the mystery.

In the pilot film, how does Roarke describe the guests who visit his island?

It was the first of many hints that Roarke himself was not.

Which actress joined the cast from 1981 to 1982 as Roarke's assistant Julie?

In 'The Case Against Mr. Roarke' he calls Julie his goddaughter; Schaal later voiced Francine on American Dad!

Why was Hervé Villechaize dismissed before the 1983-84 season?

His behavior on set had also become an issue; the show lasted only one more season without him.

Who replaced Villechaize's character in the final season, as a butler named Lawrence?

The very next year Hewett landed his best-known role, the title butler in the sitcom Mr. Belvedere.

What type of aircraft was used as the guests' seaplane?

The plane's 'arrival' was filmed in a lagoon behind a Victorian cottage in Arcadia, California.

The real house whose bell tower is rung at the top of each episode is called what?

It stands in the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia and features on the garden's guided tours.

The lush coastline in the opening titles was filmed on which Hawaiian island?

The Na Pali coast and Wailua Falls appear; the rest of the show was shot in and around Burbank.

At which studio were the interior sets built?

Stages 26 and 17 held the island's interiors while the exteriors were a short drive away in Arcadia.

Who composed the Fantasy Island theme music?

Rosenthal also scored the miniseries The Winds of War and won Emmys for his TV work.

Aaron Spelling admitted the show's original pitch to ABC was what?

He blurted out to ABC's Brandon Stoddard, 'What do you want? An island that people can go to and all of their sexual fantasies will be realized?' Stoddard loved it.

Which legendary actor did ABC want for Mr. Roarke before Spelling rejected him?

Spelling also vetoed the network's idea of a sexy female sidekick for Roarke.

On which night and time slot did the show air on ABC?

It followed The Love Boat, another Spelling production, making a two-hour block of escapism.

Which other Aaron Spelling series aired directly before Fantasy Island each week?

Both shows relied on rotating celebrity guest stars, and characters occasionally crossed between them.

How did children arrive at the island in two Season 2 episodes, instead of by plane?

Typical episodes featured adult guests, so the balloon arrivals were a rare novelty.

What condition of visiting the island is mentioned several times in the series?

A few guests chose to stay on the island permanently, an irrevocable decision.

Which sole seventh-season episode links all its separate fantasies with a single thread?

By then Lawrence had replaced Tattoo and the show was in its final months.

In which city was Hervé Villechaize born?

He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts at 16 and was a painter before he was an actor.

How tall was Hervé Villechaize?

His dwarfism was likely caused by an endocrine disorder, and it left him with lifelong pain.

In which James Bond film did Villechaize play the henchman Nick Nack?

He was Christopher Lee's sidekick Scaramanga's servant, three years before Fantasy Island.

Villechaize died in 1993 at his home in which Los Angeles neighborhood?

His death by suicide at 50 was later dramatized in the HBO film My Dinner with Hervé.

Who played Villechaize in the 2018 HBO film My Dinner with Hervé?

The film is based on a real interview Villechaize gave in the last days of his life.

Where was the actor who played Mr. Roarke born?

He co-founded the Nosotros Foundation in 1970 to fight for better Latino representation in Hollywood.

Which villain did Montalbán play in a 1967 Star Trek episode and again in a 1982 film?

He filmed The Wrath of Khan while still starring on Fantasy Island.

Montalbán famously praised the 'rich Corinthian leather' of which car in TV commercials?

He later admitted the leather was ordinary and 'Corinthian' meant nothing at all.

For which 1978 miniseries did Montalbán win an Emmy Award?

He won it the same year Fantasy Island became a weekly series.

Montalbán suffered chronic back pain for decades after being thrown from a horse on which 1951 film?

The pain worsened over the decades and he used a wheelchair in his final years.

Who played Mr. Roarke in the 1998 ABC revival?

Barry Sonnenfeld's darker, wittier version was filmed in Hawaii and lasted 13 episodes.

How many episodes did the 1998 revival run before cancellation?

It was cancelled midway through the season; Mädchen Amick played Roarke's shape-shifting assistant Ariel.

Who played Mr. Roarke in the 2020 Blumhouse horror film?

Jeff Wadlow's film was a horror reimagining and prequel, released on Valentine's Day 2020.

The 2020 film was made for about $7M. Roughly how much did it gross worldwide?

Critics were brutal, giving it a 9 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and audiences a C-minus CinemaScore.

Where was most of the 2020 film shot?

Maggie Q, Lucy Hale and Michael Rooker rounded out the cast.

In the 2021 Fox series, Roselyn Sánchez plays which character?

Elena is a grandniece of the original Mr. Roarke; the show was filmed in Puerto Rico and ran two seasons before its May 2023 cancellation.

On which network did the 2021 revival premiere on August 10, 2021?

It was pitched as a sequel keeping continuity with the 1977 original, and Kiara Barnes co-starred as Ruby Akuda.

Besides Elizabeth, which two figures from antiquity do episodes suggest Mr. Roarke once knew?

Roarke's age is never pinned down; the pilot has him call his guests 'so mortal', and hints run through the series that he may not be.