Posted on 01/16/2014 12:45:00 PM PST by Timber Rattler
Russell Johnson, the actor best known for playing the Professor on "Gilligan's Island," has died.
ABC News confirmed with the actor's wife, Constance, that the 89-year-old TV star died early this morning of kidney failure.
"He died at home, peaceful, in his sleep at 5:21 am today," she said. "[He was] a very brave guy who knew what he wanted, and he wanted to be at home."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
RIP Prof...to bad you couldn’t build a kidney out of a coconut.
Dawn Wells still looks pretty good. On the other hand, time has not been kind to Tina Louise.
By all testimony, he had a great sense of humor about his “Professor” role and never declined an autograph request or a question about the show.
Cut from the old mold, when celebrities actually appreciated their fans.
“Rest” in peace.
That’s odd. I thought he died in the 1970s, of kidney failure.
He was also known for the science fiction movie It Came From Outer Space (1953), in 3-D, which was very popular in the midnight movie circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mostly written by Ray Bradbury, it was of “less malevolent” aliens, who just wanted to repair their ship and leave, but looked scary. It is now thought of as one of the better science fiction films of the time.
The pilot movie was never released, except on the DVD collection of the entire series which I bought last year.
It did not have the Professor, Mary Ann or Ginger. Instead there was a secretary and another married couple, younger than the Howells, perhaps mid thirties. After watching it, I can see why it was never released. It wasn’t all that funny and there was no clash between any of the characters. The parts of the Skipper and Gilligan were not as slap-stick as they eventually became. Had it remained as the pilot, it would never made it thru the first season...................
Well, more of my yute passes on. Oh well.
There are ‘several’ mentions of his ‘inventions’ etc and still wasn’t smart enough to get them off the island.
MAYBE, he was smart enough to know that if he got them off the island the show would end .....(sooner)
I always liked Mary Ann best. She looks human in that photo.
One look at old rubber-lips and I have another reason.
Right you are!
Nothing. They're both dead.
IIRC, most of the cast didn’t like RR because when he was president of SAG(?) his position on residuals. They could not get paid for re-runs of the shows. I remember an interview with Natalie Schafer (Lovey Howell) back in the late 80’s and she was really vitriolic about RR because of that...................
Maybe there's a correlation...
I would say her plastic surgeon has not been kind to her. Way, way too much work done.
About a week before Obama was inaugurated in Jan. 2009, I saw one of the dvd-sets for sale at Wal-Mart. The show was never ‘entirely’ my cup of tea, but I did grow up with it, and still harbored some potent nostalgia, despite its silliness. Anyway, upon seeing that dvd-set at Wal-Mart, I thought that would be a grand way to spend that whole depressing inauguration day, watching a marathon of “Gilligan’s Island.” And that’s exactly what I did. I avoided the news and live-coverage completely. Spent the time with the castaways of the Minnow!
Did it have the Pilot movie in your collection set?................
Remember Tina Louise in “Stepford Wives”? (the original -not the remake). Wow.
He played Captain Bob Loft
Was one of the aliens named 'Gilligan' by any chance?...................
I think it did.
I know I’ve seen it. Had some different cast members.
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