The son of the great character actor (and Errol Flynn sidekick) Alan Hale Sr., 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; A Game Called Love and The West Point Story, as well as many westerns. He did a lot of television guest appearances as well before getting his role as The Skipper on the cult comedy _Gilligan's Island_ . After the show went off the air, Hale continued to act and even teamed up with Gilligan co-star Bob Denver in the The Good Guys, a CBS-TV comedy that lasted only two years. After that ended, Hale kept busy acting in guest shots and maintained his business interests which included a restaurant and travel agency.


Son of Alan Hale. Best known as the skipper on "Gilligan's Island" (1964). Ashes scattered at sea. Served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. Used to own a travel agency after he closed his restaurant. Played a character called "Gilligan" in an episode of the TV series "Batman" (1966). While battling cancer, he lost a lot 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. It was while filming Bullet for a Badman (1964) that he got his casting call for "Gilligan's Island" (1964). He had to ride out of Zions National Park in St. George, Utah, on horseback to the highway and hitchhike to Las Vegas to fly out to the interview.