R.I.P. The Professor on 'Gilligan's Island,' Russell Johnson

I know some are not aware of who he was, but he was a huge part of my very young childhood TV watching. He was also the handsomest and had two hot chicks vying for him.
Alas, he was too into his rescue experiments to notice... Sleep well, Professor <3





Russell Johnson, the actor who played Professor Roy Hinkley on "Gilligan’s Island," has died of natural causes, The Wrap reports. He was 89.

Johnson, whose genius professor character was always one coconut away from inventing a way off the island, got his Hollywood start in '50s science fiction classics "This Island Earth" and "It Came From Outer Space." He also scored two appearances on "The Twilight Zone" and once acted opposite Ronald Reagan in the 1953 western film "Law and Order."

Prior to acting, Johnson served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He earned a Purple Heart when his plane was shot down over the Philippines in 1945.

Johnson was married three times, most recently to actress Constance Dane.

Following news of his death, former co-star Dawn Wells, who played MaryAnn on "Gilligan's Island," took to Facebook to express her sadness.




The other person Wells was referencing was castmate Bob Denver, who died in 2005 at the age of 70.






Fans also took to Twitter to pay tribute to the TV icon.

http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/r...lligan-s-island--is-dead-at-89-205226838.html

 

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan
The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star
The professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligans Isle.


So this is the talel of the castways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the tropic island nest.

No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primative as can be.

So join us here each week my freinds,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven stranded castways,
Here on "Gilligan's Isle."

 

Bummer. That show gave me many laughs as a kid. R.I.P.

 

The Professor had a name as did Gilligan and the Skipper. The show is on DVD. Russell Johnson was also in a film prior to Gilligan's Island called Attack Of The Crab Monsters, directed by Roger Corman. When he auditioned for the Professor, he was recognized for his work in science fiction films(actress Faith Domergue remarked that doing science fiction was fun, but it limited an actor's range and that actor ends up typecast). But, he got the role. I liked the Profesor because he knew everything about...everything. He maintained a cool head when everything was not going so well. He is always thinking of or doing something to help in the survival of the castaways. His mind was never idle. Rest In Peace. Thank you for the memories.

 

Classic show. Truly one of my all time favorites. R.I.P. Professor Hinkley

 

'Rueben Kincade" the manager from The Partridge Family also died yesterday. Another fun show I watched, though only here and there, (unlike Gilligan's, The Brady Bunch and Get Smart, I dream of Jeanie and Bewitched which I was a regular viewer of.)

 

count me in on all those shows...when i pulled up the lyrics to gilligan's island...and of course :smt034 belted it out...it brought back so many memories:smt049

 

:smt045 Yup. :smt057 Pure escapism.... loved my childhood TV years.

 

Even as a kid I had a crush on the lady from bewitched lol. I loved when she would wrinkle her nose to do her "magic" lol. I don't know if it was the eyes or what, but she had your big homie's lil heart lol

 

Dave Madden(Rueben Kincade) has passed, too? He was a funny actor. I remember seeing him in the film Eat My Dust! with Ron Howard. Shows back in the days were funny without even trying. May he Rest In Peace.

 

Yes he did, sadly. Story is on TMZ.

LOl, Samantha was so classy and always cool, calm and collected next to her frazzled hubby. Who didn't love that adorable nose twitch of hers. I used to love to do it..along with the Wonder-Woman twirl, lol :smt061

 

When I was 23, I worked as a busboy at this restaurant. We had live entertainment(they were guitarists and keyboardists). One of the musicians was the only guy who would sing Led Zepplin's Stairway To Heaven and incorporate The Ballad Of Gilligan's Island into it. The people really got into it. Some of the regulars would request it often.

 

my favorite request at piano bars is "puff the magic dragon"

it's so funny how all the words and melody comes back to you when old tunes are played...that's the fun of piano bars...singing along

 

The hell??? lol

Again, the hell??? lol

 

Looking back on Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeanie, both Jeanie and Samantha had mischievous brunette sisters. Barbara Eden had played her sister on I Dream Of Jeanie. I had forgot who played Samantha's sister Serena. Darren was played by Dick Sargent and Dick York. They both worked out well with the character who is trying to accept the fact that he had married a witch and that he was trying to live as much of a normal life as possible.

 

Elisabeth Montgomery also played both Samantha & Serena, who was actually her cousin and not her sister.

 

Yep. This guitarist would sing Stairway To Heaven and mid way into that song he would sing the opening measures of The Ballad Of Gilligan's Island and then sing the part that goes, "It makes me wonder..." That part gets everybody every time he plays it.

 

haven't you ever been to a sing along dual piano bar...so much fun

 

It's bee a while since I saw the show. Thanks for the clarification.

 

No, and certainly not those songs, lol. Have at it, luv :smt020

I knew she played both roles, but I always thought it was her sister, too. Damn, I totally missed that to this day.