Mary Ann Didn’t Learn the Professor’s Secret Until the ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Star’s Funeral
Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson had a special connection from the start of Gilligan’s Island. While the five other characters stranded on that uncharted desert isle were called out individually during the show’s theme song, the Professor and Mary Ann were initially lumped into a lyrical afterthought (“And the rest!”). In the second season, “The Professor and Mary Ann” were officially added to the song, but Wells still sent Johnson holiday cards signed, “Love, The Rest.”
There was another connection as well. Wells confessed to Oprah in 2016 that she had a crush on Johnson, per SlashFilm. Both actors were married, however, and Wells wasn’t the type to go after a married co-star. “If either one of us had been single or both of us had been single, there would have been some chemistry,” Wells told Oprah. “He had the best sense of humor. He was the funniest. And he was a hunk!”
Johnson returned Wells’ affection, although his feelings were more platonic. “I guess if I had to identify the one I was closest to in the cast, it would be Dawn,” he wrote in his memoir, Here on Gilligan’s Isle, per MeTV. “We’ve always shared a mutual fondness for one another.”
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But despite the co-stars’ friendship, Johnson kept his past private. Unbeknownst to Wells or the other Gilligan’s Island actors, Johnson was a war hero, a bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps who flew a remarkable 44 combat missions during World War II. When his plane was shot down over the Philippine island of Mindanao in 1945, he broke both his ankles. “We ended up in the ocean,” ed Johnson. “We were shot up a bit. Our radio operator was killed.”
Russell won the Purple Heart for his service, as well as a number of other military decorations, including a Bronze Star, an Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, a good conduct medal, an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three service stars, a Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and a World War II Victory Medal with Honorable Service Lapel Button.
After his honorable discharge, Russell used money from his G.I. Bill payout to take acting lessons. He was cast in a number of Westerns, and eventually, the classic sitcom Gilligan’s Island. A Professor was born, for better or worse. “It used to make me upset to be typecast as the Professor,” he told hometown newspaper The Citizen’s Voice. “But as the years have gone by, I’ve given in. I am the Professor, and that’s the way it is.”
His cast mates had no idea that the Professor was also a decorated war hero. “I did not know until the funeral that he got the Purple Heart,” Wells confessed. “I knew he fought in World War II, but he was not a bragger.”
Johnson’s humble demeanor was one reason Wells liked him so much. “Very witty, very handsome, good man,” she said. “Miss him.”
