Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Before Russell Johnson became the cerebral Professor on Gilligan’s Island, he flew 44 combat missions in B25 Mitchell bombers and survived being shot down in the Pacific. His real life was considerably more dangerous than anything that ever happened on that uncharted island.
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip that started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship…
The mate was a mighty sailing man
The skipper brave and sure
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three-hour tour…a three-hour tour…
The weather started getting rough
The tiny ship was tossed
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, that Minnow would be lost
The ship set ground on the shore of this
Uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan, the skipper, too
The millionaire and his wife
The movie star
The professor and Mary Ann
Here on Gilligan’s Isle…
The Show
Table of contents
- Gilligan’s Island Hid One Remarkable WWII Backstory
- Gilligan’s Island Professor: The Character Everyone Remembers
- Russell Johnson Before Gilligan’s Island: The Man Behind the Professor
- B25 Mitchell: The WWII Bomber Behind Russell Johnson’s War Story
- B25 Mitchell Variants Kept Getting Meaner
- B25 Mitchell Specs: The Numbers Behind the Gunship
- 4 March 1945: Russell Johnson’s B25 Gets Shot to Pieces
- From B25 Combat Veteran to Hollywood Character Actor
- Russell Johnson’s Real Legacy Was Bigger Than the Professor
- Related Reads from GunsAmerica Digest
Gilligan’s Island Hid One Remarkable WWII Backstory
Every American of a certain age can quote the lyrics to the Gilligan’s Island theme song. I am embarrassed to admit that I count myself among them. Tragically, the brain space that could have been occupied with quantum physics, Biblical teachings, or haute poetry is actually irretrievably dedicated to those vapid snappy verses. What a waste…
Gilligan’s Island ran for three seasons beginning in 1964. Its unique combination of farcical plot lines and innocent slapstick comedy captivated generations of Americans in syndication. The show cataloged the adventures of seven utterly dissimilar castaways thrown together, trying to survive on an uncharted Pacific island after a storm blows their small tour boat off course.
We could spend a column exploring the quirky details of this show. As an example, Gilligan was actually the lead character’s last name. Per the backstory, his first name was Willy. However, as this is a firearms website, we will obviously be exploring some military nexus. We find that in Russell Johnson, the actor who played Dr. Roy Hinkley, the island’s token intellectual.
Gilligan’s Island Professor: The Character Everyone Remembers
We don’t know a great deal about the Professor’s backstory beyond that he was a renowned polymath back in the world. A radio announcer in the first episode describes Dr. Hinkley as a research scientist and Scoutmaster. These honorifics would give him some handy skill sets that could be used to help the group survive.
Dr. Hinkley created all manner of bizarre devices using the most rudimentary of materials in an effort to get the castaways off of the island. This was a recurrent plot device. However, as the actor himself pointed out, despite being able to make a radio out of a coconut, he yet seemed inexplicably incapable of simply fixing a hole in a boat.
Russell Johnson Before Gilligan’s Island: The Man Behind the Professor
Like most able-bodied men of this era, Russell Johnson was a veteran. Born in 1924 in Ashley, Pennsylvania, Johnson was in the cohort of young American males who were called upon to serve in uniform during WW2. Upon graduation from High School, Johnson enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. Commissioned as a second lieutenant, he trained as a navigator and was assigned to B25 Mitchell bombers in the Pacific Theater. LT Johnson flew 44 combat missions.
Serving as military aircrew sounds cool. That’s because it was cool. However, this was one of the most dangerous of all combat assignments during the war.
16 million total Americans served. 407,300 died. One in thirty-nine WW2-era American servicemen perished in training and combat.
Out of around 603,000 total aircrew, operational fatalities topped 52,000. Roughly 15,000 of those took place during stateside training accidents. While 1-in-39 American troops was killed across the board, that number was 1-in-5 for aviators.
B25 Mitchell: The WWII Bomber Behind Russell Johnson’s War Story
The North American B25 Mitchell was one of my favorite WWII airplanes. If I won the lottery and money were no object, I would have bought myself one of these amazing machines back when my kids were young. I think the B25 would be the ultimate cross-country airborne RV. I can just imagine packing our luggage into the bomb bay and striking out on vacation. En route, the kids could wander the plane from the front bombardier’s position to the tail gunner’s seat while taking in the sights.
As I’ve never technically purchased a lottery ticket, the chances of my winning the lottery are actually quite small. Truth be known, those odds would still be pretty darn long even if I bought scads of lottery tickets. That’s kind of the point.
The B25 first flew in the summer of 1940. 9,816 copies were produced. The B25 was widely distributed to the British RAF as well as the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease program. These rugged all-purpose medium bombers were used by both the US Army Air Corps and the USMC. The last operational B25 was retired from the Indonesian Air Force in 1974. The B25 was the most-produced American medium bomber of the war.
B25 Mitchell Variants Kept Getting Meaner
The versatile plane evolved considerably over time. Sixteen early B-models famously flew off of the flight deck of the USS Hornet in 1942 as part of the Doolittle raid on Tokyo. These planes had no tail gun position but sported the dorsal turret located in the rear aft of the bomb bay. B-models also included a retractable remotely-operated ventral turret in the belly. Each of these two turrets carried a pair of .50-caliber machine guns. This defensive arrangement was retained through the D-model variants.
As the war progressed, the need for heavily armed gunships to combat Japanese shipping became obvious. Starting with the G-model, the ventral gun position was deleted, and the dorsal turret was moved forward to just behind the cockpit. There was a pair of swiveling fifties set in a tail gun position. These planes also included four extra .50-caliber guns in blister mountings on the sides of the fuselage.
These gunships often included a lightweight T13E1 75mm cannon adapted from that of the M4 Sherman tank. This gun was reloaded manually via a crawlway by the navigator. I suspect this was a fairly nerve-wracking job if undertaken during a diving attack on a Japanese destroyer bristling with antiaircraft guns.
The standard B25H included this cannon along with eight fixed forward-firing fifties. An additional two waist guns complemented the two in the tail and the last pair in the top turret for a grand total of fourteen .50-caliber guns in addition to the cannon. The subsequent B25J traded the cannon for another four forward-firing fifties for a total of sixteen guns. Thusly configured, these heavily-armored gunships packed enough firepower to cut a Japanese destroyer in half.
In addition to all of these machine guns, the B25 could also carry 3,000 pounds’ worth of bombs or a single Mk 13 torpedo mounted on the centerline. Later versions could accommodate eight 5-inch high-velocity aircraft rockets as well. The plane cruised at 230 mph and had a maximum speed of 272 mph. The service ceiling was 24,200 feet, and the Mitchell boasted a 1,350-mile range on internal fuel.
B25 Mitchell Specs: The Numbers Behind the Gunship
| Aircraft | North American B25 Mitchell |
|---|---|
| First Flight | Summer of 1940 |
| Total Produced | 9,816 |
| B25H Forward Armament | 75mm cannon and eight fixed forward-firing fifties |
| B25H Total .50-Caliber Guns | Fourteen |
| B25J Total Guns | Sixteen |
| Bomb Load | 3,000 pounds |
| Alternative Ordnance | Single Mk 13 torpedo |
| Later Rocket Armament | Eight 5-inch high-velocity aircraft rockets |
| Cruising Speed | 230 mph |
| Maximum Speed | 272 mph |
| Service Ceiling | 24,200 feet |
| Range | 1,350 miles on internal fuel |
4 March 1945: Russell Johnson’s B25 Gets Shot to Pieces
On 4 March 1945, Johnson was flying as navigator/cannoneer on a B25 with the 100th Bombardment Squadron of the 42d Bombardment Group of the 13th Air Force. While on a low-level strafing run against Japanese targets in the Philippine Islands, Johnson’s Mitchell took heavy antiaircraft fire. His B25 was one of three gunships brought down that day.
Johnson’s plane was shot absolutely to pieces. The pilots ditched the stricken bomber in the ocean near Zamboanga. The plane’s copilot was killed, and LT Johnson broke both ankles. The surviving members of the crew were rescued shortly thereafter, and Johnson eventually recovered.
Russell Johnson ended the war with a Purple Heart, an Air Medal, and the obligatory campaign decorations. He was honorably discharged from active duty in November of 1945 and served after the war with the USAF Reserve. It seems Russell Johnson came curiously close to finding himself marooned in the Pacific for real years before he assumed the role of the Professor on Gilligan’s Island.
From B25 Combat Veteran to Hollywood Character Actor
Johnson used his GI Bill to study acting after the war and was a close friend of Audie Murphy. He starred in a huge variety of films and TV roles alongside such greats as Ronald Reagan, Marlene Dietrich, William Shatner, and Alan Hale Jr, the jovial, rotund actor who went on to play the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island. His filmography includes scads of respectable titles alongside such stuff as It Came from Outer Space, The Island Earth, The Space Children, and Attack of the Crab Monsters. In Episode 17 of Season 1 of The Adventures of Superman, Russell headed up a gang of crooks who went toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel.
He starred in standalone episodes of both The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. Russell also reprised the Professor role for three subsequent made-for-TV movies. These were titled Rescue from Gilligan’s Island, The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island, and, bizarrely, The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.
Despite such an extensive resume, Gilligan’s Island inevitably typecast him. Mark Hamill and Leonard Nimoy found themselves in a similar space. No matter what else he starred in, folks always saw Russell Johnson as the Professor. However, where some actors might resist that, Johnson eventually leaned into it.
In a 2004 interview, the actor said, “It used to make me upset to be typecast as the Professor…But as the years have gone by, I’ve given in. I am the Professor, and that’s the way it is…Besides, the show went into syndication and parents are happy to have their children watch the reruns. No one gets hurt. There are no murders, no car crashes. Just good, plain, silly fun. It’s brought a lot of joy to people, and that’s not a bad legacy.”
One of Johnson’s greatest regrets was not being cast for a recurring role in the original Star Trek series that ran from 1966 through 1969.
Russell Johnson’s Real Legacy Was Bigger Than the Professor
Like most famous people, Johnson’s personal life was a bit chaotic. He was married three times and fathered two kids, one of whom later died of AIDS. This experience drove Russell to use his celebrity status to raise money for AIDS-related charities.
Russel Johnson succumbed to kidney failure on 16 January 2014, at his home in Bainbridge Island, Washington. He was 89 years old. While the world knew him as the cerebral intellectual counterpoint to silly Gilligan, vapid “Lovey” Wentworth, and sultry Ginger Grant, in his younger days the Professor actually crewed a gunship and nearly lost his life fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. As was the case with so many of those extraordinary old guys, his was a truly amazing story.
Related Reads from GunsAmerica Digest
- James Ward Crawled Onto a Burning Bomber at 13,000 Feet
- Donald Pleasence: Art Imitates Life
- Charles Bronson: Will Fight For Food
Will is still trying to figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up. However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation.
Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o’clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times…always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains.
Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal and the movie “Aliens.”
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