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Prior to "Gilligan's Island," Natalie Schafer had a professional acting career that lasted for decades. When she was still in her 20s, Schafer began appearing in numerous Broadway productions, often in smaller roles, and rarely in a play that ran for a very long time. She was an expert in playing a certain kind of high-society bourgeoisie biddy, and tended to play comedically clueless archetypes. Beginning in the 1940s, Schafer started to appear in films as well, appearing in multiple features a year. In the 1950s, she stretched into television, and was soon playing guest characters on many of the hottest anthology shows of the day.

At some point along the way, Shafer began telling people that she was 12 years younger than she actually was, likely hoping to avoid a stubborn, unjust stigma in Hollywood against older women. She had a stipulation in her contract that she receive no extreme closeups,...

Actor Pat Renella has died, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.

Renella, who starred in the 1970s TV series "Mannix," as well as gangster Johnny Ross who's killed by Steve McQueen in the 1968 crime thriller "Bullitt," was 83.

The legendary character actor, who worked in Hollywood for more than five decades, died on Nov. 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif., after a lengthy illness, his niece Judy Portone told THR.

Renella's film resume also includes "Riot on Sunset Strip" (1967), "Run for the Roses" (1977), "General Hospital" (1980) and "Beverly Hills Brats" (1989). He was a member of SAG for more than 50 years.

Renella is survived by his sister Florence, nephew Steven and Portone.