Russell Johnson, The Professor on 'Gilligan's Island,' Dies at 89, Agent Confirms [View all]

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Source: The Wrap

@BreakingNews: Russell Johnson, the Professor on 'Gilligan's Island,' dies at 89, agent confirms - @TheWrap http://t.co/GZNUDmGkkf

Russell Johnson, the Professor on ‘Gilligan’s Island,’ Dead at 89

TV | By Josh Dickey on January 16, 2014 @ 12:15 pm

Russell Johnson, who played the professor on “Gilligan’s Island,” died Thursday morning, his agent told TheWrap. He was 89.

Johnson died at his home in Washington state of natural causes, his agent, Michael Eisenstadt said.

Born in rural northeastern Pennsylvania, Johnson graduated from a private boarding school for orphaned children before joining the Air Force, flying dozens of combat missions in World War II – including one that turned him into a real-life castaway in the Philippines in 1945. Johnson’s B-25 bomber was shot down by heavy flak; he broke both his ankles during the mission, and received the Purple Heart.

Johnson’s acting career started nearly a decade later, with early roles in westerns and sci-fi movies and TV shows, including “It Came From Outer Space,” “This Island Earth” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters.” His TV career was robust through the late 1950s and early ‘60s, including as a regular on “Black Saddle” and two episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”

But he’ll be best remembered as Roy Hinkley – “The Professor” – on “Gilligan’s Island.” Johnson’s unwavering, straight-man treatment of the character brought brains and gravitas to the otherwise silliness of Sherwood Schwartz’s creation; it also afforded the otherwise hapless castaways a badly-needed hero, whose fix-it-with-whatever’s-around approach would give way to more modern characters like Richard Dean Anderson’s “MacGyver” and spurned spy Michael Westen on “Burn Notice.”


Read more: http://www.thewrap.com/russell-johnson-professor-gilligans-island-dead-89/