Russell Johnson: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
Bxmuchacho (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
|spouse = [[Edith Cahoon]] (1943–1948)<br/>[[Kay Levey]] (1949–1980) (her death)<br/>[[Constance Dane]] (1982–present)}} |
|spouse = [[Edith Cahoon]] (1943–1948)<br/>[[Kay Levey]] (1949–1980) (her death)<br/>[[Constance Dane]] (1982–present)}} |
||
'''Russell David Johnson''' (born November 10, 1924) is an [[United States|American]] [[television]] and [[film]] [[actor]] best known as "[[The Professor (Gilligan's Island)|The Professor]]" on the [[CBS]] [[television]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. Since the passing of co-star [[Bob Denver]] in |
'''Russell David Johnson''' (born November 10, 1924) is an [[United States|American]] [[television]] and [[film]] [[actor]] best known as "[[The Professor (Gilligan's Island)|The Professor]]" on the [[CBS]] [[television]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. Since the passing of co-star [[Bob Denver]] in 2005, he is the last surviving major male cast member from that show. |
||
==Early life== |
==Early life== |
||
Revision as of 02:24, 5 September 2012
- For other people with this or similar names see Russell Johnson (disambiguation).
Russell Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Russell Johnson in Black Saddle, 1960 | |
| Born | Russell David Johnson November 10, 1924 Ashley, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Cahoon (1943–1948) Kay Levey (1949–1980) (her death) Constance Dane (1982–present) |
Russell David Johnson (born November 10, 1924) is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island. Since the passing of co-star Bob Denver in 2005, he is the last surviving major male cast member from that show.
Early life
Born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, Johnson is a graduate of Girard College, a private boarding school for children in need in Philadelphia.
Military career
After high school, in the midst of World War II, Johnson joined the United States Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet; upon commissioning as a second lieutenant, Johnson was assigned the service number 0 765 497. He flew 44 combat missions as a bombardier in B-25 bombers. While flying as a navigator in a B-25 with the 100th Bombardment Squadron, 42nd Bombardment Group, 13th Air Force, his plane and two other B-25s were shot down in the Philippines in March 1945 during a low level bombing and strafing run against Japanese targets. The planes were hit by intense flak and had to ditch in the waters off the port of Zamboanga. During the ditching, he broke both his ankles and the radioman next to him was killed. Russell Johnson earned a Purple Heart for this mission. 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 Reserve and used the GI Bill to fund his acting studies at the Actor's Lab in Hollywood. At acting school he met actress Kay Levey and they married on July 23, 1949.
Movie and television career
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 with Loan Shark, also released in 1952 and 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).
During the 1950s, he guest starred on Rod Cameron's syndicated crime drama, City Detective. He appeared three times as the character "Beach" on the syndicated military drama The Silent Service, based on actual stories of the submarine section of the United States Navy. Johnson was cast as Hugh Grafton and as Tom Richards in two 1960 episodes, "Intermission" and "The Desperate Challenge", both with June Allyson on her CBS's anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson. On September 16, 1963, Johnson appeared in the series premiere of the ABC medical drama Breaking Point starring Paul Richards and Eduard Franz.
Black Saddle
From 1959 to 1960, Johnson had a recurring role as Marshal Gib Scott on the ABC half-hour western series, Black Saddle with Peter Breck as the gunslinger-turned-lawyer Clay Culhane, Anna-Lisa as Nora Travers, J. Pat O'Malley as Judge Caleb Marsh, and Walter Burke as Tim Potter.
Twilight Zone episodes
Johnson appeared in two episodes in The Twilight Zone. He attempted to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in "Back There". He appeared as a college professor in the episode, "Execution". The plot of both episodes involved time travel from the 20th to the 19th centuries.
Outer Limits episode
He appeared as a crew member at the rank of major, on a U.S. space station in "Specimen: Unknown".
"The Professor" on Gilligan's Island
He is best known for playing Prof. 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, as Johnson himself pointed out, 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 they would be accurate.[citation needed]
After Gilligan's Island
After Gilligan's Island, he appeared in several other movies and television shows, especially the latter. He appeared in several dramatic series, including The Invaders, Death Valley Days, Lassie, Ironside, The F.B.I., and Gunsmoke. 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.
In an interview with Starlog magazine in the early 1980s, Johnson expressed an interest in appearing on Star Trek, during its original run on NBC (1966–1969), although this did not come about. An episode of Newhart featured the Beavers (a men's organization) watching a Gilligan's Island episode on television. 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. He 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".
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 [MIT]! 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 1980s.[citation needed]
Johnson once participated in the Ig Nobel award presentation ceremony, credited as "The Professor Emeritus of Gilligan's Island".
Family
His son, David, ran the AIDS program for Los Angeles, California until David's own death from complications of AIDS in 1994. Johnson has been a full-time volunteer for AIDS research fundraising since his son was diagnosed. [citation needed] He also has a daughter, Kim Johnson. As well has his step-son Courtney Dane. Johnson's grandson, Max, is a Civil Engineer in the U.S. Air Force [citation needed]
Recent years
Johnson has written his memoirs, Here on Gilligan's Isle. He currently lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
References
- Johnson, Russell (1993). Here on Gilligan's Isle (1st edition ed.). Perennial. ISBN 0-06-096993-8.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)