LOCAL : ‘Gilligan’ Skipper Alan Hale Dies

Alan Hale Jr., who played shipwrecked skipper Jonas Grumby in the hit television series “Gilligan’s Island,” died late Tuesday of cancer at the age of 71, a family spokeswoman said today. He will be cremated and his ashes spread over the Pacific.

Hale, who had been fighting cancer for a year, died at St. Vincent Medical Center with his wife of 25 years, Naomi, and his sister, Karen Hale Wokey, at his bedside. He leaves four children.

“Naomi said the sun was just setting, and it was very peaceful when Alan died,” spokeswoman Bonnie Churchill said. “She said it was his final curtain call.”

Hale, who closely resembled his late father, actor Alan Hale, appeared in numerous films but was best known as the boisterous skipper continually frustrated by Gilligan, played by Bob Denver, in the television series.

The series ran from 1964 to 1966 and is still seen in reruns.

After leaving show business, Hale opened a Los Angeles restaurant and a travel agency.