As one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s, “Gilligan’s Island” featured several big-name guest stars. Phil Silvers, Rory Calhoun, and even a young Kurt Russell appeared on the CBS series during its 1964 to ’67 run. Even after the show went off the air, the castaways continued to welcome such esteemed company as the Harlem Globetrotters in the imaginatively titled 1981 TV reunion movie “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.”
All of these guests brought something special to the show. But as detailed by the late Bob Denver (whose bumbling Gilligan was one of the dumbest characters in TV history) in his 1993 autobiography, “Gilligan, Maynard & Me,” Russell Johnson (aka the Professor) found one visitor to the island pretty much intolerable.
The man in question was comedian Don Rickles, who showed up in the Season 3 episode “The Kidnapper.” In the episode, which aired November 28, 1966, Rickles plays Norbert Wiley, who has somehow found his way to the island and wastes no time kidnapping Lovey Howell (Natalie Schafer). He demands a ransom of $10,000 for her return. When that plan fails, Wiley captures Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) and raises the ransom to $20,000. Of course, Mary Ann escapes and the hapless conman kidnaps Ginger (Tina Louise), upping his demand to $30,000. After the gang finally manages to capture Wiley, he charms his way out and eventually steals their wallets and belongings.
Russell Johnson and Don Rickles didn’t get along
A decorated U.S. Army Air Force vet, Russell Johnson made a decent career for himself as a character actor, appearing in B-movies and such shows as “The Twilight Zone,” before he was cast as the Professor on Sherwood Schwartz’s “Gilligan’s Island.” He didn’t quite gel with Don Rickles’ infamous brand of insult comedy.
“The only time I saw Russ lose his temper was when Don Rickles guest-starred,” Bob Denver wrote in “Gilligan, Maynard & Me.” “Don could make anybody lose it.” According to Denver, Johnson had a “dry sense of humor,” which was ideal since the rest of the cast always “went for the big joke.” For whatever reason, this comedic sensibility just didn’t mesh well with Rickles. However, in 2011, just three years before his death at age 89, Johnson spoke with the TV Academy Foundation, where he reminisced about his time on the show, stating, “We had some interesting guests. We had Don Rickles. He was a funny guy.”
Denver was overall very positive when discussing Johnson in his book, writing, “Russ, Dawn [Wells] and I do about two or three personal appearances a year. I always look forward to sitting with Russ and talking about the memories.”