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Before “Gilligan’s Island,” comedian Alan Hale, Jr. had a prolific, decades-long career on stage and screen. He made his stage debut in 1931 at the age 10, began a very busy film career in 1941, and made multiple films a year throughout the 1950s. He played the title characters in both the 1953 adventure series “Biff Baker, U.S.A.” and the 1957 Western “Casey Jones.” He was a regular visitor of “The Gene Autry Show,” and had guest spots in many of the more popular TV shows of the day. He was in “Maverick,” “Bonanza,” “The Untouchables,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Rawhide.” There was, it seemed, nothing he couldn’t do.
Hale was reported always friendly and affable, and it was his affability that landed him the role of Jonas Grumby, aka The Skipper, on Sherwood Schwartz’s 1964 sitcom “Gilligan’s Island.” The Skipper had to be the outraged, wrathful friend of the bumbling title character, but also had to remain huggable and likeable even as he lost in temper. Hale was able to play that note in auditions, and landed what would become his most famous role. To this day, most audiences know Hale for playing the Skipper.
While “Gilligan’s Island” wasn’t critically praised, it became a permanent fixture in the pop landscape, and one can credit the seven lead actors for a lot of the show’s lasting charm. Even though Hale wasn’t the title character, he did serve as the leader of the group, being the only one who knows how to captain a ship. When Hale passed away in 1990, he received an outpouring of goodwill. Hale’s performance on “Gilligan’s Island,” thanks to an eternal syndication deal, was enjoyed by kids who had, by 1990, become grandparents. People loved him.
Indeed, even the United States Coast Guard loved Hale, and, according to a story in MeTV, the late actor was offered a military burial at sea for his years of service.
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