Russell Johnson

After Gilligan's Island he appeared in several other movies and televsion shows, perhaps most notably the miniseries Vanished, based on a novel by Fletcher Knebel (1971), uncredited in the Robert Redford spy thriller, Three Days of the Condor (1975), and on the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara. A vocal opponent of abortion, Thomas has been active in various Pro-Life activities and causes. Unlike fellow cast member Tina Louise, who was equally typecast as retro-glamourous movie queen Ginger Grant, he has willingly participated in all reunion movies, cartoons, and other events related to the program. Jonathan also took time out to attend Harvard University and a few years at a college in England. He is still instantly recognizable to the show's legions of fans, but his ability to be cast in other sorts of roles has been quite limited. He had a guest role on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in early 2004, and appeared in the WB's Smallville in 2003 and 2004. Johnson was typecast in this sort of role, and seems to have regarded his stint as The Professor as a mixed blessing. He also appeared in the movies Man of the House, Tom and Huck, Wild America, "Walking Across Egypt," "Common Ground" and Speedway Junky.

The Professor was a genius who could build and devise ways of doing almost anything, except something which would get himself and the other castaways off of the island. In 1998 he starred in the Christmas comedy I'll Be Home for Christmas, which although heavily hyped as his break into movies, was a commercial flop. However, he is by far best known to the public as "The Professor" (a/k/a "Roy Hinckley") on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island, which was in first-run from 1964 to 1967 but has been shown in reruns essentially continuously since that time. As Thomas got older, he earned a reputation as a teen heartthrob and was a leading cover boy on teen magazines. He also appeared in a Ma and Pa Kettle vehicle. He went on to voice Young Simba in Disney's The Lion King and Pinocchio in the live action Adventures of Pinocchio. He stayed with Home Improvement well into his teenage years, before leaving the show to pursue other options. Johnson's Hollywood career began in 1952, and his early roles were primarily in westerns and science fiction. As a young child, he got his big break playing Randall William Taylor on the television show Home Improvement.

He became a close friend of Audie Murphy and later appeared with him in one of his films. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He had a very distinguished record and was higly decorated for his service. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (born September 8, 1981 as Jonathan Taylor Weiss) is an American actor, sometimes nicknamed "JTT". Mister Johnson joined the Army Air Corps in World War II and served as a gunner on bombers. Johnson (born November 10, 1924) is an American television and film actor.

Russell D.