Private Russell is a US Army G.I. who makes a one-time appearance in the Season 7 episode "Point of View". Russell is played by Brad Gorman.
About Private Russell[]
Russell is cheerful and very talkative. He seems to fancy himself as something of a Lothario, as he is first seen in Pre-Op flirting with Margaret calling her "Tall, blond and hubba-hubba". When she tells him "You're wounded, Private", he replies "Right in the heart." Margaret can only roll her eyes before she says to Nurse Jennifer, "They're such leches. Bless 'em".
Russell is also something of a clown; he is in the Post Op bed to the right of Private Rich (who takes the camera's point of view). He introduces himself to Rich and says he knows his own injury is not serious enough to get him sent home, but he plans to play it up, pretending to be in agony any time a doctor or a nurse comes by. Unfortunately, he chooses to do his act with Charles, who is not at all fooled. Charles tells him he has nothing more than a minor laceration in his shoulder, adding that Russell's act was "the worst performance I've ever seen in here! It lacked sincerity, depth! You're lucky I stayed through the whole show!" A chagrined Russell looks back at Rich as if to say, "Well, I tried."
The last we see of Russell is when he again turns to Rich and, with all sincerety, says to him, "Don't worry. They take real good care of ya here", but we later hear Russell one final time; After Margaret gives Private Rich his sponge bath Russell calls to her saying, "Hey, Lambchop, do me next", to which she replies, "Sorry, you're too eager".
Cover of the 1959 edition of "Visiting Nurse" by Margaret Howe, for comparison.
Russell's novel[]
In post-op Russell is holding a paperback novel (see photo above) whose cover is clearly visible, a 1959 edition of Visiting Nurse by Margaret Howe; though the book cover itself is an anachronism, the story was originally released in 1938, the third in a series of seven Sue Barton novels released between 1936 and 1952.