At the height of the show’s fame, the cast of Gilligan’s Island enjoyed a level of fame that was typically reserved for rock and roll legends and movie stars. Though the sitcom had a relatively short shelf life of three seasons before its untimely cancellation, the actors on Gilligan’s Island had earned their place in television history.

But with that level of recognition came a cost, according to actor Jim Backus. Backus played Thurston Howell III throughout the series, a role that he reprised in various follow-up specials that reunited the Gilligan’s Island cast. “Sherwood [Schwartz] called me out of left field to play Thurston Howell III on Gilligan’s Island,” said Backus during an interview with the Sarasota Journal. “We did Gilligan as a series for three years until 1966. Twelve years later, Sherwood called for the first Gilligan special, which we did last season. He’d put me on hold for a dozen years. That’s when I came right back to this same stage after 27 years. I immediately turned into an old man.”

Playing Thurston offered Backus a unique comedic opportunity. “I welcome the opportunity to play Howell again,” said the actor. “I’ve defied the rules by playing funny rich guys...I went against the rules about rich guys not being funny. I grew up in the suburbs in a WASP neighborhood. No hardship jokes for me.”

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Despite Backus’s willingness to join his former co-stars for another adventure, he admitted that he felt trapped while working on a television series.

“Working in a series stifles your life,” said the actor. “I was once thinking of organizing Series Anonymous. Any actor contemplating a weekly show could call headquarters and we’d talk him out of it.”