In the 1960s, TV audiences were engrossed by the tale of a three-hour boat tour that left seven men and women stranded on a deserted island. Gilligan’s Island ran for just three seasons but has remained a fixture in pop culture. Getting the show filmed and to audiences was a challenging task, and injuries happened. In fact, the actor who played the famed Skipper that Gilligan’s Island fans loved worked through a broken arm. Alan Hale Jr., the actor who played Jonas ‘The Skipper’ Grumby, was just as tough as the character he played. During the final weeks of filming season 1 of the show, Hale reportedly broke his arm but didn’t bother to tell anyone. He just kept on filming.
Alan Hale Jr. broke his arm during season 1 of ‘Gilligan’s Island’
A broken arm is a serious injury that certainly hurts if you don’t have it attended to. When Hale Jr. broke his arm on set, he avoided medical treatment. Reportedly, Hale Jr. didn’t want to miss any filming for Gilligan’s Island, so he opted to keep the on-set injury quiet, claimed Sherwood Schwartz.
Schwartz, a famed screenwriter and TV producer, revealed the injury in his book Inside Gilligan’s Island. According to Schwartz, he got to chatting with the cast member during the wrap party for season 1 of Gilligan’s Island, and the Skipper casually mentioned his plans for the filming hiatus. Hale Jr. calmly said he was happy that filming was over because he could finally take care of his arm. When pressed, he revealed that he had injured himself when he fell out of a tree while filming a scene for the show’s first season three weeks prior.
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Hale Jr. kept the injury to himself. He hadn’t told anyone about it until he mentioned it to Schwartz. Apparently, he was good at hiding the pain because he spent the three weeks between the injury and the wrap party carrying everything from coconuts to Bob Denver around.
The Skipper clearly healed up his arm just fine and returned for season 2
Despite the injury and the delayed treatment, all seemed to work out for the Skipper. During the filming hiatus, he had his arm dealt with and returned for season 2. The famed actor would spend two more seasons portraying the famed Skipper on Gilligan’s Island. Despite a variety of other roles, he is largely remembered for the part.
Hale wasn’t the only person injured on the set of Gilligan’s Island over the years. Bob Denver had a close call with a lion once. Several Gilligan’s Island cast members willingly did their stunts, so bumps and bruises were expected. Who knew filming a show about a deserted island could be so dangerous?
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