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On Gilligan's Island, The Professor's real name was Roy Hinkley Jr.

The Professor, played by Russell Johnson, was almost always called that nickname rather than his real name, Roy Hinkley Jr. His character on Gilligan's Island was a high school science teacher with several advanced degrees. In the backstory, The Professor had taken the three-hour tour to relax before he began writing a book, "Fun with Ferns."

Similarly, the Skipper's real name, Jonas Grumby, is mentioned only twice in the series — in the episodes "Gilligan's Island: Two on a Raft" and "Home Sweet Hut."

According to producer Sherwood Schwartz, the seven castaways were archetypes of the seven deadly sins: Gilligan, sloth; Skipper, wrath; The Professor, pride; Mr. Howell, greed; Mrs. Howell, gluttony; Ginger, lust; and Mary Ann, envy.

Schwartz pitched the idea for the show to CBS executives multiple times and kept getting turned down because they thought it would be a huge failure. Finally, after much persistence, he was given the green light to film the pilot episode in 1963. Gilligan's Island grew to be a success and lasted for three seasons.

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