Alan Hale

Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950), typically credited as Alan Hale, was an American actor and film director. He is best known for his many character roles during the Golden Age of Hollywood, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn. He also played in films supporting Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery, Douglas Fairbanks, James Cagney, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Ronald Reagan. In total, his career in film lasted 40 years.

His son, Alan Hale Jr., also became an actor and remains most famous for playing "the Skipper" on the television series Gilligan's Island.

Early life Hale was born Rufus Edward MacKahan in Washington, D.C. Before becoming an actor, he studied osteopathy at the University of Pennsylvania, and he also worked as an opera singer, journalist, and inventor.

Career His first film role was in the 1911 silent movie The Cowboy and the Lady. He became a leading man while working in 1913–1915 for the Biograph Company in their special feature film productions sponsored and controlled by Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger. Later, he became more of a character actor; he played "Little John" in the film Robin Hood (1922), with Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, reprised the role 16 years later in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone, then played him once more in Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) with John Derek as Robin Hood's son, a unique 28-year string of portrayals of the same character in theatrical films. Hale played Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), featuring a pivotal confrontation with the Earl of Essex, portrayed by Flynn.

His other films include the epic The Trap (1922) with Lon Chaney, Skyscraper (1928); as well as Fog Over Frisco with Bette Davis; Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen with Baby LeRoy and William Frawley; The Little Minister with Katharine Hepburn; and It Happened One Night with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert; (all released in 1934); Stella Dallas with Barbara Stanwyck; High, Wide, and Handsome (both 1937) with Irene Dunne and Dorothy Lamour; The Fighting 69th with James Cagney and Pat O'Brien; They Drive By Night with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart; Virginia City (all 1940) with Errol Flynn, Randolph Scott, and Humphrey Bogart; Manpower (1941) with Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft; and as the cantankerous Sgt. McGee in the This Is the Army (1943) with Irving Berlin. He also co-starred with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in the successful western film Dodge City (1939) where he played the slightly dimwitted but likable and comical Rusty Hart, sidekick to Flynn's character, Sheriff Wade Hatton. Hale co-starred with Errol Flynn in 13 movies.

Hale directed eight movies during the 1920s and 1930s and appeared in 235 theatrical films in total.

Hale also had success as an inventor. Among his innovations were a sliding theater chair (to allow spectators to slide back to admit newcomers rather than standing), the hand fire extinguisher, and greaseless potato chips.

Personal life

Hale's wife of over 30 years was Gretchen Hartman, a former child actress and silent film player. They had three children.

He was the father of actor Alan Hale Jr., best known as "the Skipper" in the Gilligan's Island television series.

Alan Hale Sr. died at age 57 in Hollywood, California, on January 22, 1950, following a liver ailment and viral infection. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, next to his wife.

There is a street named after Hale in San Antonio, Texas.

Filmography

The Cowboy and the Lady (1911, film debut) Jane Eyre (1914) Strongheart (1914) as Ralph Thorne The Woman in Black (1914) Pudd'nhead Wilson (1916) as Tom Driscoll The Purple Lady (1916) as Count Louis Petelier The Woman in the Case (1916) as Julian Rolfe The Beast (1916) Rolling Stones (1916) as Jerry Braden The Scarlet Oath (1916) as John Huntington The Love Thief (1916) as Captain Arthur Boyce The Americano (1916) The Price She Paid (1917) as Stanley Baird One Hour (1917) as G.D. Stanley Life's Whirlpool (1917) as Dr. Henry Grey The Eternal Temptress (1917) as Count Rudolph Frizel Moral Suicide (1918) as 'Lucky' Travers The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) as Karl von Hartrott The Barbarian (1921) as Mark Grant A Voice in the Dark (1921) as Dr. Hugh Sainsbury A Wise Fool (1921) as George Masson Over the Wire (1921) as James Twyford The Fox (1921) as Rufus B. Coulter The Great Impersonation (1921) as Gustave Seaman One Glorious Day (1922) as Ben Wadley A Doll's House (1922) as Torvald Helmer The Trap (1922) as Benson The Dictator (1922) as Sabos Robin Hood (1922) as Little John Shirley of the Circus (1922) as Max Quicksands (1923) as Ferrago The Covered Wagon (1923) as Sam Woodhull Hollywood (1923) as himself (cameo) Main Street (1923) as Miles Bjornstam The Eleventh Hour (1923) as Prince Stefan de Bernie Cameo Kirby (1923) as Colonel Moreau Long Live the King (1923) as King Karl Black Oxen (1923) as Prince Rohenhauer Code of the Wilderness (1924) as Willard Masten Girls Men Forget (1924) as Jimmy Masson One Night in Rome (1924) as Duke Mareno For Another Woman (1924) Troubles of a Bride (1924) as Gordon Blake Dick Turpin (1925) as Tom King Flattery (1925) as Arthur Barrington The Crimson Runner (1925) as Gregory The Wedding Song (1925, director) The Scarlet Honeymoon (1925, director) Ranger of the Big Pines (1925) Braveheart (1925) (directed) Hearts and Fists (1926) as Preston Tolley Forbidden Waters (1926, director) Vanity (1927) as 'Happy' Dan Morgan Rubber Tires (1927) (directed) The Wreck of the Hesperus (1927) as Singapore Jack The Leopard Lady (1928) as Caesar Skyscraper (1928) as Slim Strede The Cop (1928) as Mather Oh, Kay! (1928) as Jansen Power (1928) as Hanson Sal of Singapore (1928) as Captain Ericsson The Spieler (1928) as Flash The Leatherneck (1929) as Otto Schmidt Sailor's Holiday (1929) as Adam Pike The Sap (1929) as Jim Belden Red Hot Rhythm (1929) as Walter She Got What She Wanted (1930) as Dave Aloha (1931) as Stevens The Night Angel (1931) as Bezel Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise) (1931) as Jeb Mondstrum The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) as Hubert U-67 (1931) as Greg Winters The Sea Ghost (1931) as Capt. Greg Winters Union Depot (1932) as The Baron – a.k.a. Bushy Sloan So Big! (1932) as Klass Poole Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932) as Mr. Simpson The Match King (1932) as Borglund What Price Decency (1933) as Klaus van Leyden The Eleventh Commandment (1933) as Max Stager Destination Unknown (1933) as Lundstrom Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934) as Sam The Lost Patrol (1934) as Cook It Happened One Night (1934) as Danker Picture Brides (1934) as Von Luden Little Man, What Now? (1934) as Holger Jachman Fog Over Frisco (1934) as Chief O'Malley Of Human Bondage (1934) as Emil Miller The Scarlet Letter (1934) as Bartholomew Hockings Imitation of Life (1934) as Martin the Furniture Man Great Expectations (1934) as Joe Gargery There's Always Tomorrow (1934) as Henry Broadway Bill (1934) as Orchestra Leader (uncredited) Babbitt (1934) as Charlie McKelvey The Little Minister (1934) as Rob Dow Grand Old Girl (1935) as Click Dade The Good Fairy (1935) as Maurice Schlapkohl The Crusades (1935) as Blondel The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) as Burbix Another Face (1935) as Charles L. Kellar – Studio Head Two in the Dark (1936) as Police Inspector Florio A Message to Garcia (1936) as Dr. Ivan Krug The Country Beyond (1936) as Jim Alison Parole! (1936) as John Borchard Yellowstone (1936) as John Alexander Hardigan Our Relations (1936) as Joe Grogan -Denker's waiter God's Country and the Woman (1937) as Bjorn Skalka Jump for Glory (1937, a.k.a. When Thief Meets Thief) as Jim Diall 'Col. Fane' Thin Ice (1937) as Baron The Prince and the Pauper (1937) as Captain of the Guard High, Wide, and Handsome (1937) as Walt Brennan Stella Dallas (1937) as Ed Munn Music for Madame (1937) as Detective Flugelman The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) as Kaidu Four Men and a Prayer (1938) as Mr. Furnoy The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) as John Little, a.k.a. Little John Algiers (1938) as Grander Valley of the Giants (1938) as 'Ox' Smith The Sisters (1938) as Sam Johnson Listen, Darling (1938) as J.J. Slattery Pacific Liner (1939) as Gallagher Dodge City (1939) as Algernon 'Rusty' Hart The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) as Porthos Dust Be My Destiny (1939) as Mike Leonard The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) as Earl of Tyrone On Your Toes (1939) as Sergei Alexandrovitch The Fighting 69th (1940) as Sgt. 'Big Mike' Wynn Green Hell (1940) as Doctor Loren Alice in Movieland (1940, Short) as Carlo's Guest (uncredited) Three Cheers for the Irish (1940) as Gallagher Virginia City (1940) as Olaf "Moose" Swenson The Sea Hawk (1940) as Carl Pitt They Drive by Night (1940) as Ed J. Carlsen Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940) as Capt. Bullwinkle Santa Fe Trail (1940) as Tex Bell The Strawberry Blonde (1941) as Old Man Grimes The Great Mr. Nobody (1941) as 'Skipper' Martin Footsteps in the Dark (1941) as Inspector Mason Thieves Fall Out (1941) as Rodney Barnes Manpower (1941) as Jumbo Wells The Smiling Ghost (1941) as Norton Captains of the Clouds (1942) as 'Tiny' Murphy Juke Girl (1942) as Yippee Desperate Journey (1942) as Flight Sergeant Kirk Edwards Gentleman Jim (1942) as Pat Corbett Action in the North Atlantic (1943) as Alfred "Boats" O'Hara This Is the Army (1943) as Sgt. McGee Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) as Alan Hale Destination Tokyo (1943) as 'Cookie' Wainwright The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) as Steve Gillis Make Your Own Bed (1944) as Walter Whirtle Janie (1944) as Prof. Matthew Q. Reardon Hollywood Canteen (1944) as himself (cameo) Roughly Speaking (1945) as Lew Morton Hotel Berlin (1945) as Herman Plottke God Is My Co-Pilot (1945) as Big Mike Harrigan Escape in the Desert (1945) as Dr. Orville Tedder Perilous Holiday (1946) as Dr. Lilley Night and Day (1946) as Leon Dowling The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) as John Braden The Man I Love (1947) as Riley That Way with Women (1947) as Herman Brinker Pursued (1947) as Jake Dingle Cheyenne (1947) as Fred Durkin My Wild Irish Rose (1947) as John Donovan My Girl Tisa (1948) as Dugan Adventures of Don Juan (1948) as Leporello Whiplash (1948) as Terrance O'Leary South of St. Louis (1949) as Jake Everts The Younger Brothers (1949) as Sheriff Knudson The House Across the Street (1949) as J.B. Grinnell Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) as Sam Washburn The Inspector General (1949) as Kovatch Stars in My Crown (1950) as Jed Isbell Colt .45 (1950) as Sheriff Harris Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950) as Little John (final film)