J.J. Pierson

Bio
J.J. Pierson is a multi-millionaire industrialist and entrepreneur who owns Pierson Industries, a robotics company. According to Thurston Howell III, J.J. Pierson is the most determined of his rivals to take down Howell Industries. While on a vacation at The Castaways Resort, he discovers a strange new element he calls Supremium which he has analyzed by Dr. Olga Smetna, one of the scientists of his company. When they discover the element is capable of producing incredible energy, Pierson schemes to gain control of the island through the former castaways, who are silent partners in the resort. He lures Ginger into signing a phony movie contract and and having his robot servant, George, strong-arm Gilligan into signing away his shares before having him taken hostage. He also gets Mary Ann tipsy on champagne to get her to sign away her shares. After the Skipper and Gilligan warn Thurston Howell IV of Pierson's schemes, Pierson wagers the shares for his shares in a game between the Harlem Globetrotters and his robot basketball team, the New Invincibles. The robot team are invincible against the Globetrotters until the Professor reminds them that the robots can't think, and they turn the game around in the last half using their nonsensical moves and creative plays. Having lost the rights, Pierson reveals the whole game was just a distraction, revealing that his robots had mined the island during the game and transported it to his yacht in the event his team lost. The Professor then reveals that Supremium is highly unstable out of its natural habitat, and a huge explosion occurs off shore which sinks Pierson's yacht. Since J.J. Pierson lived on the yacht and had heavily invested in the Supremium, he is left penniless.

Trivia

 * J.J. Pierson was played by television actor Martin Landau.
 * Pierson's scientist, Olga Smetna, was played by his real-life wife, Barbara Bain.

Episode(s)

 * The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island