The Gilligan's Island Character You Likely Forgot Kurt Russell Played

Before Kurt Russell became a bona fide movie star, he made a guest appearance on "Gilligan's Island" ... wearing a loincloth, no less. As Russell told Today in 2017 when asked about his "Gilligan's" gig, "I still remember some of my lines. I didn't have very many."

Despite being roughly 14 years old at the time, Russell was already an experienced TV actor, having starred in the Western series "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters." On "Gilligan's Island" – specifically Season 1, Episode 19, "Gilligan Meets Jungle Boy" from 1965 — Russell appears as Jungle Boy, an island native who crosses paths with the castaways and gets a lesson in etiquette from Lovey Howell (Natalie Schafer) before departing the island in an unexpected way.

Jungle Boy may be a silly role even by "Gilligan's Island" standards. Still, he's an important part of his episode. After running into Gilligan (Bob Denver), Jungle Boy leads him to a source of helium, which gives the Professor (Russell Johnson) an idea to build a hot air balloon and escape the island.

But as per the usual with this classic '60s show, the plot goes awry. Instead of the castaways getting off the island, only Jungle Boy does. Unable to communicate with his rescuers on an aircraft carrier — Jungle Boy can only repeat the last thing said to him — the outside world remains oblivious to the existence of Gilligan and the other castaways.

While Russell hasn't donned a loincloth on television again, his appearance on "Gilligan's Island" happened right before a stint of wacky Disney comedies, including 1969's "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," 1971's "The Barefoot Executive," and 1972's "Now You See Him, Now You Don't."