Alan Hale

 Alan Hale, Jr. (March 8, 1921 – January 2, 1990)

The son of character actor Alan Hale, Sr., he is best known for his role as the "Skipper" on the sitcom Gilligan's Island, which aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967. After its cancellation, the series would remain a popular staple in syndication. Hale reprised the role of the Skipper in three Gilligan's Island television films and two spin-off cartoon series. Over the course of his 55-year career, Hale appeared in more than 200 television and film roles. In 1931, Hale made his Broadway stage debut in Caught Wet. The play opened on November 4th and closed later that month. He made his screen debut two years later in Wild Boys of the Road. However, his part was deleted out of the film's final release but he still received screen credit for the role. He later appeared in roles in To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), Yanks Ahoy (1943), Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946), and When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950). During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he frequently appeared in Gene Autry films and also had a recurring role from 1950 to 1952 on The Gene Autry Show. In 1952, Hale landed the starring role in CBS's Biff Baker, U.S.A., but the series was canceled in 1954. Hale continued his career with guest spots on The Range Rider (five times), Annie Oakley, Fireside Theater, Frontier, Matinee Theater, Fury, Northwest Passage, and The Man from Blackhawk (as Miles Mackenzie in the 1960 episode "The $100,000 Policy"). He also had roles in The Gunfighter (1950), Silver Lode (1954), The Sea Chase (1955), The Three Outlaws (1956), The True Story of Jesse James (1957), and Up Periscope (1959). Throughout the early 1960s, Hale continued in guest-starring roles on episodes of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Real McCoys, Mister Ed, Assignment: Underwater, Hawaiian Eye, Adventures in Paradise, Lock Up, The Andy Griffith Show, Lassie, Tales of Wells Fargo, Route 66, and Hazel.

In 1964, Hale won the co-starring role as the Skipper on the CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island. The series aired for a total of 98 episodes from 1964 to 1967. The role proved to be the most prominent role for Hale, as the show continued to be popular for later generations of viewers due to syndicated reruns. While some of the cast didn't like being typecast as a result of the series, Hale did not mind being so closely identified with the Skipper. According to Sherwood Schwartz, he often visited children in hospital dressed as the Skipper. Alan Hale died on January 2, 1990, of thymus cancer at age 68.