"Gilligan's Island" isn't exactly known for its sophisticated humor. The show was a light-hearted sitcom about castaways who somehow never managed to escape their isolated locale despite multiple guests visiting them throughout their three-season run. "Gilligan's Island" was nonsense, but it knew what it was and fully embraced its silliness. As a result, it became a beloved TV classic, especially since it became widely syndicated after its final season wrapped up in 1967.

But for all its absurdity and campiness, the show did at least try to provide somewhat of a balance, most notably in the form of Jim Backus' Thurston Howell III and his wife, Natalie Schafer's Mrs. Thurston. The billionaire couple were envisioned as a way to break up the slapstick humor provided by Bob Denver's Gilligan and Alan Hale Jr.'s Skipper, and certainly brought an air of refinement to an otherwise ridiculous sitcom. Much of that was down to Backus himself, who by the time he was cast on the show had become an illustrious star in his own right.

"Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz was lucky to have an actor of his pedigree onboard, especially since Backus remained a part of the "Gilligan's Island" universe for decades after the original show wrapped up. The actor not only voiced his character in two "Gilligan Island" animated series that most people forgot about, "Gilligan's Planet" and "The New Adventures of Gilligan," he appeared on all three TV movies based on the series: "The Castaways on Gilligan's Island," "Rescue From Gilligan's Island," and, of course, "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island," to which Backus contributed a brief cameo due to his personal health deteriorating.

The importance of Backus to "Gilligan's Island" certainly wasn't lost on Schwartz, either. The show creator had to jump through numerous hoops in order to get his number one pick for the role of Thurston Howell III, and remained grateful for Backus' presence.