Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success.

He was the son of Russell Gould Backus a mechanical engineer and Daisy Gilmore (née Taylor) Backus. Magoo. He also did revivals of Mr.

Magoo the rich Hubert Updike III on the radio version of The Alan Young Show Joan Davis's character's husband (a domestic court judge) on TV's I Married Joan James Dean's character's father in Rebel Without a Cause and Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island. An avid golfer Backus made the 36-hole cut at the 1964 Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament. He also starred in his own show of one season The Jim Backus Show also known as Hot off the Wire.