Biography

Alan Hale Jr.

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The son of the great character actor (and Errol Flynn sidekick) Alan Hale, Alan Hale Jr. (he dropped the Jr. after his father passed away) was literally born into the movies. Hale did his first movie as a baby and continued to act until his death. Unlike other child actors, Hale made a smooth transition in the movies and starred in several classics like Up Periscope (1959), The Lady Takes a Flyer (1957) and The West Point Story (1950), as well as many westerns. He did many television guest appearances as well before getting his role as Skipper Jonas Grumby on the cult comedy Gilligan's Island (1964). After the sitcom went off the air, Hale continued to act and even teamed up with Gilligan co-star Bob Denver in The Good Guys (1968), a CBS-TV comedy that lasted only two years. After that ended, Hale keep busy acting in guest appearances and maintained his business interests which included a restaurant and travel agency. On January 2, 1990, Alan Hale Jr. died at age 68 of thymus cancer at St. Vincent Medical Center (SVMC) in Los Angeles, California. Upon his death, his remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ken Severson

During his final days of life in the hospital while very sick from cancer, he still took time to visit the children in the cancer ward.
Resided not too far from his former Gilligan's Island (1964) co-star Dawn Wells. He also played golf and went out to lunch with her.
While battling cancer, he lost a great deal of weight. When a child inquired about his weight loss, Hale simply told him that he was going to be playing Gilligan in a new Gilligan's Island show.
On an episode of Gilligan's Island (1964), his character said the ring belonged to his "pop" and was over 200 years old, which was exactly the ring he wore in real-life, which belonged to his father.
According to former Gilligan's Island (1964) co-star Bob Denver, he said that Hale broke his wrist and did not tell anyone on the set until the following year, because he did not want to shut down production.

Of course, I never met a man who didn't like dad.
[Who said of his long career]: I was making a movie in India and they called me "Skipper Sahib".
I don't so much enter it, I put it on.
[As to how he got into show business]: Well, I've got to say, it was certainly, yesteryear, my parents (of course) ... my mother was on the boards, before any of us. She drives the boards, a long time ago; this was way out of yesterday. Henry Dicksey and all, if you recall, the early Motion Picture, and certainly, early stage and all that sort of thing. She was doing 10 shows, one-night stands, as long ago as that. She was probably like the Shirley Temple of her day, her name was: Gretchen Hartman, and (of course), segued a few years, dad (Alan Hale Sr.) came into the business (of course), and a picture, out of yesterday. D.W. Griffith and all that.
[Who said in 1988 about his best remembered role]: I must say, "The Skipper" has become my alter ego. I'm one and the same now.

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