Born in 1924, Russell Johnson grew up in Ashley, Pennsylvania, one of seven children. At age eight, his father passed away and Russell was sent to Girard College, a school for "poor white male orphans." There Russell was an average student and joined the Army after graduating. During World War II, his plane was shot down in the Philippines and he had to crash land on the island of Mindanao. In this mission, he broke his ankles and earned his purple heart. He was also awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf cluster, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of War ribbon with four battle stars, and the Philippine Liberation Medal. He was honorably discharged with the rank of first Lieutenant on November 22, 1945.

After his stint in the military, Russell turned to acting since his G.I. Bill allowed him to enroll in the Actors Lab in Hollywood. During this time, Russell married actress, Kay Levy, worked at a pen-making company, and drove a cab. His first film break was in a film entitled, For Men Only, in which he played a villain. From this Russell made several B-movies, among the most noted were This Island Earth, Attack of the Crab Monsters, and It Came From Outer Space. Russ also made several westerns on both television and the silver screen, including TV's Black and the feature film, Law and Order, with Ronald Reagan. Russ acted in two episodes of The Twilight Zone - an episode entitles "Back There" and another titled "Execution" - work that Russ is still very proud of doing today.

After "Gilligan's Island," Russ has made numerous guest appearances on television and spent two seasons on the hit show "Dynasty." Today, he is married to his second wife, Connie, has a son, David (who unfortunately died in 1996), a daughter, Kim, a stepson, Courtney, and a grandson, Max. He lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington.

Credit: gilligansisle.com