# The Professor has died \[Russell Johnson of "Gilligan's Island"\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997 "2014-01-16T20:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/41 "2014-01-17T03:17:03Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t. 😕 > **[A Piece of the Action (episode)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/A_Piece_of_the_Action_(episode))** > > Returning to a planet last visited by an Earth ship 100 years earlier, the Enterprise finds a planet that has based its culture on the Chicago gangsters of the 1920s. The USS Enterprise arrives at Sigma Iotia II. This remote planet had been visited... ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/42 "2014-01-17T03:18:19Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t. 😕 Star Trek TOS - [“A Piece of the Action”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Piece_of_the_Action_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/43 "2014-01-17T03:21:03Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t. 😕 Three-way with Ginger and Mary Ann? RIP, Professor. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/44 "2014-01-17T03:26:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Three-way with Ginger and Mary Ann? Yes, please! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/45 "2014-01-17T03:38:48Z")
Just so it wasn’t with Gilligan and the Skipper! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/46 "2014-01-17T03:39:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As terenti said, it depends on the contract. And Gilligan’s Island was broadcast back in the sixties before there were cable networks and home viewing. I doubt anyone anticipated how many times those episodes would end up being shown. Natalie Schafer did the pilot thinking the show would never be picked up, and just wanted the free trip to Hawaii where the pilot was shot. She others didn’t expect to make much money at all. Dawn Wells claims that her fiance(?) at the time was an agent who negotiated decent residuals for her while the rest of the cast received next to nothing, common at the time for anyone on a TV show who was not already a star. She kept this quiet for years knowing that the rest of the cast didn’t have that lucrative deal. It was later on, the late 70s I believe, when standard contracts gave actors decent residual income. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/47 "2014-01-17T03:52:43Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Remember, they did repair the _Minnow_ in one episode? Problem was, the glue turned out to be no good and the boat fell apart! > > You’d’ve thought, though, that he could have come up with something a lot better than that… ☹ 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! —Russell Johnson > **[Russell Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Johnson#Later_years_and_death)** > > Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in Gilligan's Island and Marshal Gib Scott in Black Saddle. > Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, on November 10, 1924, to Russell Kennedy Johnson (1901–1932) and Marion Wenonah Smink Johnson (1902–1976). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/48 "2014-01-17T04:21:02Z")
So sad to hear of this, my favorite Gilligan’s Island character was always Professor Andaltherest. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/49 "2014-01-17T10:22:07Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wonder if ultimately Gilligan’s Island a good thing or bad thing in his life. > > Bad: It hopelessly typecast him, and while he had some talent you couldn’t look at him without thinking “it’s the Professor”, and while I doubt he died indigent it certainly didn’t make him rich because shows didn’t pay much then and no residuals. Had to get irritating being recognized for something you did decades ago that hamstringed you without paying. > > Good: It did enable him to get recognized, and even low level fame has its perks. And acting is not a logical profession; there are numerous actors just as talented or more who were never able to make a living at it. > > So I’ll go with ‘Chaotic Neutral’. I saw this quote on his IMDb page: > [@](#): > > It used to make me upset to be typecast that way. But as the years have gone on, I have given in. I am the Professor, and that’s the way it is. The show has brought a lot of joy to people, and that’s not a bad legacy. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/50 "2014-01-17T14:25:58Z")
And his coffin will be made entirely of coconuts. Rest in Peace! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/51 "2014-01-17T14:28:10Z")
If you wanted to make Johnson mad, you just had to ask him about Ronald Reagan. Johnson HATED Reagan for his anti-commie witch hunts. He blamed Reagan for much of the blacklisting phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/52 "2014-01-17T16:27:39Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And the rest in peace, Professor. I love this, and you. I simultaneously hate you for making the reference before I could, though. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/53 "2014-01-17T16:37:29Z")
Given the two remaining cast members, the question of “Ginger or Mary Ann?” can take on a different meaning. Who will be the last to go? Dawn is younger by almost 4 years and definitely looks a lot more than 4 years younger. Both could easily last 10 years more, barring cancer or some such. Dawn might even last another 20. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/54 "2014-01-17T16:40:07Z")
Did Tina have botched work done? Because I agree Dawn is aging better. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/55 "2014-01-17T17:13:21Z")
I never understood the question in the first place. Which of these women do I want more than the other to share time with? Mary Ann. Which of these women are better lovers? Mary Ann. Which of these women are better looking? Mary Ann. Though, I must say that the episode where Ginger’s gown reacts poorly to the new cleaning solution devised by The Professor and thereby falls off, well honestly that was pretty sexy to me at the time. But, pretty much Mary Ann. Anyone who disagrees is just plain wrong. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/56 "2014-01-17T17:39:59Z")
IRL, they were about equal. Pre-GI, Tina Louise was a model; Dawn Wells was Miss Nevada. I still hope to meet Wells, so I can ask her what her talent was in the pageant. I know it wasn’t singing. **Hypno-Toad** , Johnson also mentioned in his autobio that he was seen by Reagan and others as a commie sympathizer because he’d attended Actor’s Lab. Really. And Walter Brennan once asked him to sign some anti-commie petition. Johnson refused, on the grounds that since he’d served and been shot down in the Pacific theater, he’d already proven his patriotism. Don’t know about Brennan, but Reagan didn’t serve in the war at all. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/57 "2014-01-17T17:59:09Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > IRL, they were about equal. Pre-GI, Tina Louise was a model; Dawn Wells was Miss Nevada. I still hope to meet Wells, so I can ask her what her talent was in the pageant. I know it wasn’t singing. > > **Hypno-Toad** , Johnson also mentioned in his autobio that he was seen by Reagan and others as a commie sympathizer because he’d attended Actor’s Lab. Really. And Walter Brennan once asked him to sign some anti-commie petition. Johnson refused, on the grounds that since he’d served and been shot down in the Pacific theater, he’d already proven his patriotism. Don’t know about Brennan, but Reagan didn’t serve in the war at all. Reagan DID enlist, but he didn’t serve in any capacity that would have entailed combat or heroism. Mainly, he made training films. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/58 "2014-01-17T18:02:32Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Johnson also mentioned in his autobio that he was seen by Reagan and others as a commie sympathizer because he’d attended Actor’s Lab. Really. He also mentioned that _Law & Order_ was his favorite of his movies… because he got to shoot Reagan in that one. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/59 "2014-01-17T18:03:36Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > And his coffin will be made entirely of coconuts. Not true! The handles will be made of bamboo. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997/60 "2014-01-17T18:04:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > He also mentioned that _Law & Order_ was his favorite of his movies… because he got to shoot Reagan in that one. … Hinkley shot Reagan? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-professor-has-died-russell-johnson-of-gilligans-island/678997.md?page=4)