Before the Professor got stranded on “Gilligan’s Island,” he had to strip down. Russell Johnson, the actor who played Professor Roy Hinkley on all three seasons of the classic ’60s sitcom, got the part after a CBS executive wanted to see what he looked like shirtless.
As Johnson recalled in his book “Here on Gilligan’s Isle,” which is full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, he’d already been offered the part when CBS’ head of casting, Ethel Winant, called him. She explained that one of the high-up executives at the network, Hunt Stromberg Jr., wanted a meeting with him … sans shirt.
According to his story, Johnson initially balked, saying he was “a serious actor” and that he knew he had “a good body.” Winant, who Johnson was friendly with, offered a compromise. Instead of disrobing in front of the exec, he could take his shirt off in the privacy of Winant’s office. She took a Polaroid and sent it to Stromberg.
“I think the main concern was whether or not CBS wanted the Professor to have some sex appeal or not to have any sexual allure at all,” Johnson wrote.
Russell Johnson was initially hesitant to play the Professor
Russell Johnson’s hesitancy when it came to “Gilligan’s Island” wasn’t limited to this shirtless tryout. Already an established actor by the time of “Gilligan’s Island,” having appeared in 1950s sci-fi B-movies, a couple episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” and TV Westerns like “Gunsmoke,” Johnson seemed like a good candidate to play the straight man among the castaways.
CBS reached out to Johnson to try out for the part and he initially turned them down. As he claimed in an interview with The Press and Sun-Bulletin, they auditioned more than 30 actors to play the Professor and couldn’t find the right man.
“They called me three times and I finally said ‘yes,'” he recalled.
Johnson ultimately played the Professor and met all sorts of guest stars who visited “Gilligan’s Island.” He even reprised the role in three made-for-TV movies and a pair of animated series in the ’70s and ’80s.
