Russell Johnson Interview

Did you know that "The Professor," Russell Johnson earned the Purple Heart in WWII? Or that he worked in movies with Ronald Reagan? You'll hear about those things and much more from this interview I did with him at WGLD, Indianapolis in 1999.
We spent most of the day with Mr. Johnson, which included sitting in with us for the entire morning show, and then out to a boat store, where he signed autographs and posed for pictures with hundreds of fans. I found him to be open, friendly, interesting and smart. I'm VERY glad I got to spend one day with the guy who played my favorite castaway!

[@bullwinkle2380]

Great interview with the professor!!! By the way, Ginger's the sole surviver!!!

[@jubalcalif9100]

Yes! I loved this interview. That's true....only Tina Louise is left alive from the TV cast.

[@jkorshak]

The guy is in a two engine bomber, extremely loud engines, a hundred feet high at around 250 mph, and a cannon shell explodes, kills the guy next to him, and breaks his ankles. Then he has to belt in and prepare for a water landing/crash. Crashes, gets out, helps another injured crewman into a raft, and is picked up an hour later by a flying boat. Several hours of flying later, he is delivered to a base hospital. Mind blowing to go through all that and survive and be lucky enough to go on, raise a family, do good work, and live a good life. RIP

[@countbelalucozade]

R.I.P. Russell. Thank you for your War service.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I heartily concur!

[@jubalcalif9100]

What a class act Mr. Johnson was! Thanks for sharing this wonderfully entertaining & informative interview with us!

[@bowtieguy377]

Russell Johnson was a very good, solid working actor. Saw him in many TV and movies over the years. Always enjoyed his work.

[@jubalcalif9100]

You said it! Always solid & dependable!

[@bowtieguy377]

@@jubalcalif9100 Yes, sometimes you just like the way an actor is coming across on the screen and it is nothing deeper than that. Thanks for the response!

[@jimmyginus]

I laughed a lot listening to this...if your having a bad day listen to this

[@ZoneZero-sm9jv]

What a remarkable life he had.

[@jubalcalif9100]

I certainly have a notion to second THAT emotion !!

[@Brian-uy2tj]

This was a very interesting interview.

[@jedijones]

Thanks for posting it. Other than Dawn Wells, there aren't a lot of interviews out there with the rest of the Gilligan's cast. This one told a lot about Johnson's life in a relatively short interview.

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you! I really enjoyed talking with him. I have a similar interview with Dawn which I haven't published, but as you say there are a lot of Dawn Wells interviews out there already.

[@larrymrobinson1051]

One of my favorite actors, saw him first as Hank in "Attack of the Crab Monsters" !

[@jubalcalif9100]

I hope he was able to get some medication for that. They can itch like crazy!

[@philipselden7264]

What an interesting person Russell Johnson was.

[@Brucieee1]

Wasn't he? Yes, I really enjoyed talking with him. There was so much that the public didn't know about "The Professor!"

[@jubalcalif9100]

As I do when I take off my hat, you make a good point !!

[@ouradoptedmilitary]

Such a wonderful listen! Great job! You put him at ease; the chat was fluid and bubbly personality just poured forth.

[@Brucieee1]

Thanks. I'd done my research on him, and it felt like he relaxed when he knew I was going to take him and his career seriously. Talking with him later, I got the feeling he was tired of the same old "Hey Professor, why couldn't you fix the boat? questions that he got every day.

[@johnschuh8616]

He could have done serious roles, too. What worked against him was the series has never been forgotten.

[@cdgates1]

Fun trivia: Russell tested for the Ben Casey role. He 1st worked with Alan Hale on Hale's previous series Casey Jones in 1957

[@harperstacey9604]

Courtney Gates, you're a trivia queen. From Ms. Harper Stacey.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Heavens to Murgatroyd ! That is some truly TANTALIZING trivia ! Thanks for sharing !

[@JustanObserver1]

Great interview Bruce. I've listened to this about 10 times already.

[@Brucieee1]

Thank you! That was one of the most exciting days of my radio career. Glad I could share it with everybody!

[@sailordude2094]

I love Russell, thanks for posting this great interview! BTW, when Russell worked with Reagan, Reagan was a Democrat, lol. BTW, @16:10 they are asking him why the Professor never fixed the boat. He didn't say this on the radio, but at Harvard he said why would he want to fix the boat when he was with two hot women on an island? lol

[@jkorshak]

It wasn't as simple as partisan party politics. Reagan was a democrat but by the time Johnson did the western with Reagan, Reagan was an Eisenhower supporter and he was an influential force behind the Hollywood blacklist of the late 1940s-50's.

[@jamesspence5801]

Russell is so hot,still in 2021,google this

[@larriveeman]

Why are actors mostly liberal

[@gregh7400]

Because they accept all kinds of people and don't hate people who happen to be different.