Taking a role in TV or film is always a gamble, but taking a chance on a series like Gilligan's Island might have seemed like an especially risky bet.

On paper, the series may not have looked like much more than a silly kids' show. But sometimes a risk is worth taking, and that certainly proved to be the case for Gilligan's Island.

Natalie Schafer, who played Lovey Howell, loved the part almost as much as Mrs. Howell loved her wealthy husband, Thurston Howell III. However, according to a 1964 interview with the Houston Chronicle, her love for the series started with a gamble ... and a fortune teller.

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The fortune teller peered into her crystal ball and told her, "Natalie Schafer, your life is dull because you don't gamble enough."

"I bought some stock, and it zoomed up," Schafer said. "I ordered a new Chihuahua puppy from England, and I'm mad about it. And I signed up as a castaway on CBS's Gilligan's Island. Now I adore gambling."

While most people might tell you to stay away from gambling, Schafer was having a pretty good run of luck. And she had a good feeling about her latest bet, too. When Gilligan's Island initially received poor reviews from critics, she said she was horrified by the negative reception.

For a moment, she may have wondered whether her luck had finally run out. But the show was doing well in the ratings, and its growing popularity gave Schafer reason to celebrate.

"Oh, the ratings are doing fine," Schafer said. "Children seem to love the show, and now there's even talk that we're catching on so well, we might be moved to another night to be a lead-in for a show that isn't making it."

As it turned out, the fortune teller's prediction wasn't too far off. A few gambles later, everything had paid off, and quite nicely, too.

The biggest reward, however, wasn't necessarily the show's success. Schafer also loved the people she got to work with.

"They are all lovely people," Schafer said. "Jim Backus is delightful, so is Bob Denver. Alan Hale is like an overgrown St. Bernard puppy, and Dawn Wells is a sweet little newlywed interested in decorating her apartment and learning how to cook."

So, did Schafer hope to spend the rest of her acting career as a castaway, or was she ready to try her luck somewhere else once the series ended? The answer was simple.

"Just long enough for the show to go into reruns so I can stay home and collect those lovely residuals," Schafer said. "I'm doing a needlepoint pillow during my waiting hours, and the motto on that is the best answer I know. It is 'This too shall pass.'"

As it turns out, Schafer's gamble paid off for years to come. And judging by those Gilligan's Island reruns, she certainly got her wish!