James Gilmore Backus was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island, the father of James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause, the voice of the near-sighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo, the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show, and Joan Davis' character's husband on TV's I Married Joan. He also starred in his own show of one season, The Jim Backus Show, also known as Hot Off the Wire.
Publicity still of Backus for The Jim Backus Show, 1962
Virginia Brissac, Backus, Ann Doran, Edward Platt, and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Backus in a guest appearance on The Beverly Hillbillies, with Nancy Kulp (1963)
Backus and his wife, Henny, 1969
Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967. The series follows the comic adventures of seven castaways as they try to survive on an island where they are shipwrecked. Most episodes revolve around the dissimilar castaways' conflicts and their unsuccessful attempts to escape their plight, with the ship's first mate, Gilligan, usually being responsible for the failures.
Gilligan's Island
Bob Denver as Gilligan
Alan Hale Jr. as The Skipper
Russell Johnson as The Professor