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Actor Alan Hale Jr. was a regular fixture in the film world when he made the jump from the big screen to the smaller one to star as the the Skipper on “Gilligan’s Island” — but why did he make the move in the first place?
The performer, who was known for appearing in Western films, decided to take on the Skipper — also known as Captain Jonas Grumby — after he was scouted by creator Sherwood Schwartz while he was out for dinner one random night. According to co-star, Russell Johnson, who played fellow castaway The Professor (and wasn’t happy with the fame the show brought him), Schwartz then requested Hale do a screen test through his agent.
At the time, Hale was focused on acting for film. But according to Johnson’s book, “Here on Gilligan’s Isle,” when “Gilligan’s Island” came around for Hale, his career was experiencing a dry period and he was willing to start branching out — so the timing was somewhat kismet. Snagging the role of the Skipper on “Gilligan’s Island” came down to a test scene that Schwartz wrote, featuring the character going off on Gilligan, Skipper’s first mate. The actor who would go on to play the Skipper had to get that scene right, and the casting process was difficult.
The Gilligan’s Island creator knew Alan Hale Jr. was Skipper
“I knew the Skipper would be yelling at Gilligan all the time and, as it turned out, hitting him on the head with his hat,” Sherwood Schwartz explained of casting the Skipper in “Here on Gilligan’s Isle,” “I needed somebody who could sincerely play a Skipper, who would remain lovable and warm, no matter how much he yelled at his true friend Gilligan.”
That said, it seems as though the showrunner at least refined the character with Hale in mind after seeing him out at dinner. “When I got there, Mr. Sherwood Schwartz said, ‘Alan, it was so nice of you to come in for this. I wrote this part for you, so you are definitely the Skipper if you so desire. I just want to see you with these other people,'” Alan Hale Jr. explained of his screen test. “I was flattered. He put me up front like that.'”
Either way, the actor took a gamble by leaving his movie-starring life behind for “Gilligan’s Island,” one of the great 1960s shows that could never be made today. But after three seasons, nearly 100 episodes, and several TV movies, the risk clearly paid off.
