Russell Johnson

Actor Russell Johnson played the part of "The Professor" on both the CBS-TV series Gilligan's Island and the made-for-TV movie specials Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978), Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979) and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981).

Johnsonm who became a close friend of 1950's western film star Audie Murphy, appeared with him in three of his films, Column South and Tumbleweed in 1953 and Ride Clear of Diablo in 1954.

Acting career
Russell's Hollywood acting career began in 1952, with the college fraternity hazing exposé film For Men Only, and with Loan Shark, also released in 1952 and starring George Raft. His early roles were primarily in westerns such as Law and Order (opposite Ronald Reagan), 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).

During the 1950s, he guest starred on Rod Cameron's syndicated crime drama TV series City Detective. He played the head of a gang of crooks in episode 17 of season 1 of The Adventures of Superman (originally broadcast in January, 1953, filmed in 1951). Johnson was also cast on the religion anthology series Crossroads. He also played "The Sundown Kid" in an episode of the 1958 NBC western series Jefferson Drum and guest starred in another NBC western series, The Californians.

He appeared three times on the syndicated military drama The Silent Service, based on actual stories of the submarine section of the United States Navy. He then appeared on two episodes of The DuPont Show with June Allyson.

Russell then co-starred with William Shatner (later of TV's Star Trek:The Original Series) in "The Hungry Glass", a 1961 episode of Thriller. Johnson was cast as John T. Metcalf in the 1962 episode "Mile-Long Shot to Kill" of CBS's anthology series GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In 1963, he was cast in an episode of the short-lived ABC/Warner Brothers western series The Dakota. Later in that same year, he was cast in the series premiere of the ABC medical drama Breaking Point, starring Paul Richards and Eduard Franz.

Roles after "Gilligan's Island" series
After Gilligan's Island was cancelled by CBS, Johnson appeared in several other movies and television shows, especially the latter. He appeared in several dramatic series, including The Big Valley with Peter Breck, The Invaders, Death Valley Days, Lassie, That Girl, Ironside, The F.B.I, and Gunsmoke. He appeared perhaps most notably in 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. Johnson played the sheriff in several episodes of season 9 of Dallas; his character did not return in season 10, however, as season 9 turned out to be the infamous "dream season".

Later years and death
Johnson published his memoirs, Here on Gilligan's Isle in 1993. He died from kidney failure at his home in Bainbridge Island, Washington, on January 16, 2014, at the age of 89. He was one of three original surviving cast members of Gilligan's Island, the other two being Tina Louise, who played the part of Ginger Grant, and Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann.