In the opening scene of the 1963 movie, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” Jim Backus (best known as Thurston Howell III in ... The base of the drink can be whiskey, bourbon or rye.

In his New York Times column Tuesday, David Brooks calls Mitt Romney “ Thurston Howell Romney,” a reference to the wealthy and privileged “Gilligan’s Island” character played by Jim Backus.

One of the central characters on 'Gilligan's Island' is Thurston Howell III. Jim Backus played the beloved millionaire throughout the show's three seasons. It's hard to imagine anyone but Backus ...

Q.. Why do some rich people talk as though they have lockjaw? A.This is the Thurston Howell III accent that Jim Backus immortalized in that prescient TV psychodrama about individual perseverance ...