Natalie Schafer

 Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991)

She was best known as Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell on Gilligan's Island. Schafer appeared on Broadway in seventeen plays between 1927 and 1959, often playing supporting roles. Most of these appearances were in short-run plays, with the exceptions of Lady in the Dark (1941–1942), The Doughgirls (1942–44), and Romanoff and Juliet (1957–58). She was also seen in a revival of Six Characters in Search of an Author, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie (1955–56). She also appeared in stock and regional productions of plays, including an off-Broadway production of The Killing of Sister George, with Claire Trevor in the title role. Schafer appeared in many films, usually portraying beautiful sophisticates, but she is best known for playing the role of Lovey Howell on Gilligan's Island. She reprised her role in made-for-television spin-off films after the show ended, along with the animated spinoff, Gilligan's Planet, in 1982. She was a guest star on many television series, including Goodyear Playhouse/Philco Playhouse: (The Sisters, with Grace Kelly, 1951), I Love Lucy (1954), Producers' Showcase (The Petrified Forest, 1955), Guestward, Ho! (1960), The Beverly Hillbillies (1964), Mayberry RFD (1970), The Brady Bunch (1974), Three's Company', 'The Love Boat and Phyllis (1976). Schafer was legendarily secretive about her age, never even telling Louis Calhern (her one time husband). 1912 was generally given as her birth year for many years, which few believed, yet her actual year of birth (which was not discovered until after her death) of 1900 shocked even her intimate friends. Schafer died of liver cancer in her Beverly Hills home, aged 90. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.