Alan Hale decided on a film career after his attempt at becoming an opera singer didn't pan out. He quickly became much in demand as a supporting actor, starred in several films for Cecil B. DeMille and directed others for him. With the advent of sound Hale played leads in a few films, but soon settled down into a career as one of the busiest character actors in the business. He was one of the featured members of what became known as the "Warner Brothers Stock Co.", a core of character actors and actresses who appeared in scores of Warner Bros. films of the 1930s and 1940s. Hale's best known role is probably in The Adventures of Robin Hood, one of several films he made with his friend Errol Flynn, in which he played Little John, a role he played in two other films - Robin Hood and Rogues of Sherwood Forest.


Father of Alan Hale Jr., who became known as 'Alan Hale' after his father's death. He holds the record for appearing as Little John in separate productions: he played the part in Robin Hood (1922), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), filmed just a year before he died.