In 1966, Russell was signed to a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company, where he became, according to Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". Russell's first movie for Disney was "Follow Me, Boys!" (1966). In January 1967, Russell played Private Willie Prentiss in the episode "Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders" in "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color", released theatrically in some markets as "Mosby's Marauders" (1967). During this time Russell continued to guest star on non-Disney TV shows. He, Jay C. Flippen and Tom Tryon appeared in the episode '"Charade of Justice" of the NBC western series "The Road West" starring Barry Sullivan. In a March 1966 episode of CBS's "Lost in Space" entitled "The Challenge", he played Quano, the son of a planetary ruler.