Before Gilligan's Island, Russell Johnson Guest-Starred In Beloved A DC Superhero TV Show

Like most character actors of the mid-20th Century, Russell Johnson's filmography featured a heck of a lot of Westerns. As well as multiple guest spots on "Gunsmoke" and even an appearance on Clint Eastwood's "Rawhide," Johnson also had a main role in the short-lived Western series "Black Saddle," in which he played Marshal Gib Scott. But he wasn't entirely bound to the Old West. In 1953, he took a trip to Metropolis where he faced off against the Man of Steel in "Adventures of Superman."

Long before David Corenswet led James Gunn's charming crowd-pleaser "Superman" and even before Christopher Reeve had convinced us all a man could fly in 1978's "Superman," George Reeves starred as the titular superhero in "Adventures of Superman." Though the character had appeared in film serials and radio shows, this NBC (and later ABC) series was the first TV show to feature a live-action Superman. It ran for 104 episodes between September 1952 and April 1958, during which time it welcomed several guests who would go on to become stars in their own right.

Chuck Conners played a hillbilly on "Adventures of Superman" before going on to star in classic Western TV show "The Rifleman." Similarly, Johnson played a crime boss on the show more than a decade before he made his debut as The Professor on "Gilligan's Island." Interestingly enough, his episode featured its own professor with several similarities to Johnson's best-known character.

By the time he came to lead "Adventures of Superman," George Reeves had already worked with multiple big-name stars, having made several films with James Cagney and Ronald Reagan. That was something he and Russell Johnson had in common. At least, eventually. The future "Gilligan's Island" star hated making classic Western "Law and Order" with Reagan in 1953. When he guested on "Adventures of Superman" in 1952, however, he was yet to encounter the future POTUS.

Johnson appeared in Season 1, Episode 17, "The Runaway Robot," which first aired on January 9, 1953 — four months before "Law & Order" bowed. The episode sees Johnson play Chopper, the ringleader of a gang of crooks who knock over a jewelry store and make off with a hi-tech robot created by Daily Planet correspondent and scientist Horatio Hinkle (Lucien Littlefield). As the police search for Hinkle, who they've determined to be a suspect in the jewelry store robbery, Clark (Reeves), Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates), and Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) do their best to clear his name. 

Meanwhile, the robbers take Hinkle and Lois hostage and use the scientist's creation, known as Hero, to loot the First National Bank. They're successful — that is, until Superman shows up to rescue Lois and Hinkle, reducing Hero to a pile of parts in the process.

Fans will surely have noticed the similarities between Johnson's "Gilligan's Island" character and Littlefield's Professor Hinkle. Not only are their names similar — Hinkley and Hinkle — Johnson's Professor was also known for his wacky inventions, though none of them were ever pulverized by Superman.

When Russell Johnson guested on "Adventures of Superman," both the show and his career were in their early stages. Johnson had made his film debut in the 1952 film noir "For Men Only" and only had a handful of credits to his name when he played Chopper. Meanwhile, "Adventures of Superman" had only been on the air for roughly four months before it welcomed the future Professor actor.

As the decade went on, Johnson continued to work fairly consistently, mostly appearing in TV Westerns and sci-fi B-movies, including 1953's "It Came from Outer Space" and 1955's "This Island Earth." Johnson also appeared alongside his future "Gilligan's Island" co-star Alan Hale Jr. in the 1955 Western "Many Rivers to Cross," before the pair re-teamed for an episode of Hale Jr.'s short-lived Western series "Casey Jones." It was only when the castaways set sail for Gilligan's Isle in 1964 that Johnson found fame.

By that point, "Adventures of Superman" had been off the air for six years, having ended under tragic circumstances, following the death of George Reeves in 1959. Though officially ruled a suicide, the actor's death remains suspicious to this day. Afterwards, producers tried to launch a spin-off/prequel series in the form of the canceled "Adventures of Superboy." Only the pilot was ever filmed. 

Ben Affleck later portrayed Reeves in the underrated mystery movie "Hollywoodland," which was a much more fitting tribute than the time Andy Muschietti inserted a creepy CGI Reeves as Superman into his box office bomb of super-heroic proportions "The Flash."