Russell Johnson

Enlisted in the United States Army in November 1942. Was assigned the service number 13 154 406 and served for two years, before being discharged in January 1944 to accept a commission as an officer.

Served for over twelve years as an officer of the Air Force, first as an active duty World War II bombardier (1944-45) and then as an inactive member of the Officer Reserve Corps. Upon the creation of the U.S. Air Force, in the late 1940s, was augmented to the U.S. Air Force Reserve and briefly was a member of the 4th Air Reserve District in San Francisco. In 1953, became an inactive officer once again and received final discharge from the Air Force Reserve in August 1957.

During World War II, he enlisted to become an aviation cadet and rose to the officer's rank of First Lieutenant, under the service number 765 497. Flew as bombardier in B-25 aircraft on a total of 44 combat missions over the Netherlands East Indies, and the Philippines. World War II decorations include the Bronze Star, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory Medal with Honorable Service Lapel Button. Earned his Purple Heart (for injuries during battle) when the B-24 Liberator bomber he was a crewman on was shot down during a bombing run against Japanese targets in the Philippine Islands in March 1945.

Was enrolled in a Hollywood drama school when he was spotted by Paul Henreid, who cast him in For Men Only (1952).

Had twice starred on The Twilight Zone (1959), both times in time travel stories.

Auditioned for the title role on the television series Ben Casey (1961), but lost out to actor Vince Edwards.

Long before he was known as "The Professor" in the cult comedy classic Gilligan's Island (1964), Russell Johnson was a well-known character actor, starring in several Westerns and Sci-Fi classics as This Island Earth (1955) and It Came from Outer Space (1953). Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania and was sent to a boarding school in Philadelphia with his brothers when his father died. Unlike his Professor character, Johnson said he was not a bright student and was in fact held back a grade. Johnson did redeem himself later on in his school career and made the National Honor Society in high school.

Had appeared in the television movie The Man from Independence (1974) about the life of Harry Truman, followed by the story of the conflict between Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur in Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976), followed by the movie biography MacArthur (1977) about the life of Douglas MacArthur.

Known for narrating the long-running anime series Robotech (1985).

Son David died of AIDS at age 39 on October 27, 1994. Before, and especially since, David's death Johnson devotes a great deal his time to AIDS fund-raising.

Immortalized by the obscure Canadian band Show Business Giants in their song, "I Can't Get Russell Johnson Off My Mind", from their 1995 album "Let's Have a Talk With the Dead".

Johnson revealed on Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the Longest Three Hour Tour in History (2001) that producers wanted him to take off his shirt during the screen test to determine his sex appeal, but he refused. The producers settled for a photo instead. [2001]

With the death of Bob Denver on September 2, 2005, he was the last surviving male cast member of Gilligan's Island (1964).