Russell David Johnson (born November 10, 1924, in Ashley, Pennsylvania), is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island. He is a graduate of Girard College, a private boarding school in Philadelphia, PA.
After high school, in the midst of the Second World War, Johnson joined the United States Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet. He flew 44 combat missions as a bombardier in B-25 Mitchell bombers. During the war, his plane was shot down in the Philippines in March 1945 during a bombing run against Japanese targets. The plane had to crash land on the port of Zamboango. In this mission, he broke both his ankles and earned his Purple Heart. He was also awarded the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged with the rank of first Lieutenant on November 22, 1945. He then joined the Army Reserves and used the GI Bill to fund his acting studies.
He became a close friend of Audie Murphy and later appeared with him in three of his films, "Column South" and "Tumbleweed" in 1953 and "Ride Clear of Diablo" in 1954. Johnson's Hollywood career began in 1952, with the college fraternity hazing exposé For Men Only, and Loan Shark also released in 1952, starring George Raft. His early roles were primarily in westerns and science fiction such as It Came from Outer Space (1953), This Island Earth (1955), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1956), and The Space Children (1958). He also appeared in a Ma and Pa Kettle vehicle, Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955).
Russell Johnson on The Twilight Zone.
Johnson appeared in two episodes of note in The Twilight Zone. He attempted to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in the time-travel episode "Back There". He also appeared as a college professor in the episode "Execution".
"The Professor" on Gilligan's Island
He is best known for playing Roy Hinkley (usually referred to as "The Professor"), the erudite polymath who could build all sorts of inventions out of the most rudimentary materials available on the island, but could not fix the hole in the boat. Gilligan's Island aired from 1964 to 1967, but has been shown in reruns continuously ever since.
Johnson was asked to take off his shirt when auditioning for the Gilligan's Island role; he refused, but still got the job.
Before accepting the role of Roy Hinkley, he made Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz promise him that when he made scientific statements that they would be accurate.
Johnson was typecast, but willingly participated in all the reunion movies, cartoons, and other events related to the program. When recognized as "The Professor" in public, he is gracious and friendly, and doesn't object to being addressed as such. He has also appeared at least once alongside Nobel Prize-winning scientists as part of the awards presentation panel at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies.
After Gilligan's Island, he appeared in several other movies and television shows, perhaps most notably the miniseries Vanished, based on a novel by Fletcher Knebel (1971), uncredited in the Robert Redford spy thriller, Three Days of the Condor (1975), and on the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara.
An episode of the show Newhart featured the Beavers (a men's organization) watching a Gilligan's Island marathon on TV. When they are suddenly evicted from the room, one of them, portrayed by Johnson, protests, "I want to see how it ends!" He is assured that the castaways don't get off the island.
Johnson entertained fans at the 1996 MST3K ContevtioConExpoFest-a-Rama 2: Electric Boogaloo on the "Celebrity Panel". Johnson was invited for his role in the movie-within-a-movie of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, This Island Earth, but spent most of the time answering questions about his Gilligan's Island days. He shared an amusing anecdote:
"I was at a speaking engagement for MIT...and I said...the Professor has all sorts of degrees, including one from this very institution ! And that's WHY I can make a radio out of a coconut, and NOT fix a hole in a boat!"
Johnson also had a brief appearance in MacArthur, in which he played United States Navy Admiral Ernest J. King.
Russell provided the narration for the animated short episodes of "The Adventures of Stevie and Zoya" that appeared on MTV during the mid 1980's.
His son David ran the AIDS program for Los Angeles, California until his death of AIDS in 1994. Johnson has been a full-time volunteer for AIDS research fundraising since his son was diagnosed.
Johnson has written his memoirs of the show, a book titled Here on Gilligan's Isle.
He currently lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
The name Russell Johnson was used on ABC TV Series LOST as one of the lottery winners, as the show takes place on an island.
