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Jim Backus

A witty and talented performer who excelled in no less than four mediums - film, television, music and radio - Jim Backus was a character actor whose skill at portraying the idle and addled rich was epitomized by his turn as Thurston Howell, III on "Gilligan's Island" (CBS, 1964-67). If that role had been the cultural cap of Backus's career, it would have been a sufficient endnote, as the show remained exceptionally popular for decades after its cancellation. But Backus also provided the voice of the near-sighted Mr. Magoo in countless cartoons, and made memorable performances in everything from "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955) to dozens of television shows. An urbane and bemused presence in real-life who could shift into high insanity at the drop of the hat, Backus was a television favorite whose work stood the test of time.