Natalie Schafer
Also Known As: not available
Biography: Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964–1967). Schafer began her career as an actress on Broadway before moving to Los Angeles in 1941 to work in films. She appeared on Broadway in 17 plays between 1927 and 1959, often playing supporting roles. Most of those appearances were in short-run plays, with the exceptions of Lady in the Dark (1941–42), The Doughgirls (1942–44), and Romanoff and Juliet (1957–58). She was seen in a revival of Six Characters in Search of an Author, directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie (1955–56). She also appeared in stock and regional productions, including the off-Broadway production The Killing of Sister George with Claire Trevor in the title role. She also guest-starred in TV productions beginning in the 1950s, such as an episode (“The Shy Ballerina”) of Sherlock Holmes, and in "The Charm School" episode of I Love Lucy, both in 1954. Schafer performed in many films, usually portraying sophisticates. On TV, her roles included "Lovey Howell" on Gilligan's Island from 1964–67. She reprised her role in three made-for-television spin-off films after the show ended: Rescue from Gilligan's Island (1978), The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (1979), and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (1981). She also voiced Lovey Howell on the animated spinoffs, The New Adventures of Gilligan from 1974–77 and Gilligan's Planet from 1982–83. In 1969, Schafer appeared in The Survivors—a high-profile prime time soap opera aired by the ABC television network. Despite the presence of movie stars like Lana Turner, Kevin McCarthy and George Hamilton, the show was a ratings failure and lasted only one season. For the 1971–1972 television season, Schafer joined the cast of the CBS daytime serial, Search for Tomorrow, portraying Helen Collins, mother of Wade and Clay Collins. Immediately following that role, she played Augusta Roulland on another daytime soap, Love of Life. Her final performance was in the 1990 made-for-television horror film I'm Dangerous Tonight. She guest-starred as well on many other television series, including Goodyear Playhouse/Philco Playhouse ("The Sisters", with Grace Kelly, 1951), I Love Lucy (1954), Producers' Showcase ("The Petrified Forest", 1955), Guestward, Ho! (1960), The Beverly Hillbillies (1964), Mayberry RFD (1970), Mannix (1972), The Brady Bunch (1974), Phyllis (1976), Three's Company (1978), and The Love Boat (1979).
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
Birthday: November 05, 1900
Deathday: April 10, 1991
Adult: No
Gender: Female
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Known For:
Secret Beyond the Door
Overview: After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.
Genres: Mystery Thriller Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-12-24
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Rescue from Gilligan's Island
Overview: When a decaying Russian satellite crashes on the island, the Professor uses a key component for a barometer. With that device, he learns that a massive wave is going to swamp the island. In desperation, the castaways lash their huts together into one structure in order to have any chance to ride the disaster out.
Genres: Comedy Adventure TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-10-14
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Forever, Darling
Overview: Susan and Lorenzo have been married for over five years and they are starting to drift apart. So into her life comes an angel, which only Susan can see, to tell her that there will be trouble ahead if they do not work out their problems. Lorenzo is developing insecticide #383 at Finlay Vega Chemical Co. and plans to test it on a camping trip that he takes with Susan, but the trip becomes an obstacle course for him.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-02-09
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Repeat Performance
Overview: On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.
Genres: Crime Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-22
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Caught
Overview: Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child.
Genres: Drama Romance Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-02-17
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The Snake Pit
Overview: Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions and unable to even recognize her husband, Robert, she is treated by Dr. Mark Kik, who is determined to get to the root of her mental illness. As her treatment progresses, flashbacks depict events in Virginia's life that may have contributed to her instability.
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-11-04
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Anastasia
Overview: Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress must decide her claim.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-12-13
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Female on the Beach
Overview: Lynn Markham moves into her late husband's beach house the morning after former tenant Eloise Crandall fell from the cliff. To her annoyance, Lynn finds both her real estate agent and Drummond Hall, her beachcomber neighbor, making themselves quite at home. Lynn soon has no doubts of what her scheming neighbors are up to, but she finds Drummond's physical charms hard to resist. And she still doesn't know what really happened to Eloise.
Genres: Drama Crime Thriller Romance Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-08-19
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Callaway Went Thataway
Overview: Two smart marketing people resurrect some old films starring cowboy Smoky Callaway and put them on television. The films are a big hit and the star is in demand. Unfortunately no one can find him. When a lookalike sends in a photo, the marketing team hires him to impersonate Callaway. Things get sticky when the real Callaway eventually shows up.
Genres: Comedy Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-11-15
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Payment on Demand
Overview: David gives his wife, Joyce, an unexpected—and unpleasant—surprise when he suddenly demands a divorce. When she then learns that David has taken up with a younger woman, Joyce decides to make the most of this separation by taking a solo trip to the Caribbean. However, just before diving into a vacation fling, she runs into Emily, an old chum whose own divorce has left her embittered. Joyce then debates giving married life one last chance.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-02-03
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Susan Slade
Overview: A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass her secret baby off as her own.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1961-11-08
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The Castaways on Gilligan's Island
Overview: In the second of three additional Gilligan's Island movies following the series, the gang finds a way of getting rescued from the "uncharted desert isle" for a second time through a series of misadventures but comes back to turn it into a tropical resort for uptight mainlanders.
Genres: TV Movie Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-05-03
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Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Overview: Arthur Turner's bored housewife Mildred seeks psychiatric help from Dr. Alan Coles who also has his own emotional problems to solve.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-02-22
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Take Care of My Little Girl
Overview: A young woman enters college and learns some hard truths about sorority life, including snobbery and the cruelty of hazing.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-07-06
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Keep Your Powder Dry
Overview: A debutante, a serviceman's bride and a girl from a military family join the Women's Army Corps.
Genres: Drama War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-04-01
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The Law and the Lady
Overview: A former housemaid now works as a confidence trickster, but her plans for a big job in California go awry.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-07-20
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The Time of Your Life
Overview: Joe spends a lot of his time at Nick's Pacific Street Saloon. Tom, who credits Joe with once saving his life, stops by regularly to run errands for Joe. Today, Tom notices a woman named Kitty when she comes into Nick's, and he quickly falls in love with her. Meanwhile, a distraught young man repeatedly calls his girlfriend, begging her to marry him. Nick himself muses on all the various persons who come into his bar, some to ask for work and others just to pass the time.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-09-03
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Back Street
Overview: Ambitious but thwarted, Rae Smith meets handsome Marine Paul Saxon, (of the Saxon department store chain), as he passes through Lincoln, Nebraska, on his way home from World War II. There's a definite spark between them but circumstances intervene and he leaves town without her. Later she learns he's married. Determined to make it as a fashion designer, Rae moves to New York and becomes a great success. One day she happens to meet Paul again and again there's that spark but he's still married so, as a form of escape, Rae moves to Rome to set up shop. Once again she meets Paul and finally they begin an actual affair since Paul's shrewish, drunken wife, Liz, won't give him a divorce. Time passes, the affair continues whenever time and place permit, but then, Paul's young son finds out about Rae and Rae's back-street world begins to crumble.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1961-10-11
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Casanova's Big Night
Overview: Italy 1757, Pippo Popolino, a lowly tailor, disguises himself as the great Casanova in order to romance the attractive widow Francesca. He little suspects what awaits him... Locked into the incongruous role by the desperation of the real Casanova's creditors, Pippo must journey to Venice on a delicate mission far beyond his capabilities.
Genres: Comedy Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-04-07
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I'm Dangerous Tonight
Overview: An ancient Aztec cloth with a curse accidentally finds its way into the possession of a young woman. She decides to make a dress from the cloth. Whoever wears this cloth/dress comes under its spell; all inhibitions and moral responsibilities are lost.
Genres: Horror Thriller TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-08-08
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Wonder Man
Overview: Boisterous nightclub entertainer Buzzy Bellew was the witness to a murder committed by gangster Ten Grand Jackson. One night, two of Jackson's thugs kill Buzzy and dump his body in the lake at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Buzzy comes back as a ghost and summons his bookworm twin, Edwin Dingle, to Prospect Park so that he can help the police nail Jackson.
Genres: Comedy Fantasy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-06-08
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Masquerade in Mexico
Overview: An American singer stranded in Mexico is hired by a banker to distract a Mexican matador who is making a play for the banker's wife. They hatch a scheme whereby she pretends to be a Spanish countess.
Genres: Comedy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-12-03
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The Other Love
Overview: Seriously ill, concert pianist Karen Duncan is admitted to a Swiss sanitorium. Despite being attracted to Dr Tony Stanton she ignores his warnings of possibly fatal consequences unless she rests completely. Rather, she opts for a livelier time in Monte Carlo with dashing Paul Clermont.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-14
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The Girl Next Door
Overview: Stage-and-night club star Jeannie Laird buys her first home, and everyone who is anyone comes to her first garden party only to be blinded by smoke from next door. Jeannie charges next door to bawl out her new neighbor and meets comic-strip artist Bill Carter. Bill has devoted himself to his strip, and raising his ten-year-old son Joe since the death of his wife. Joe bases his strip on the everyday happenings of he and his son and is proud of keeping it scrupulously honest. When Jeannie and Bill fall in love, young Joe is hurt, especially when Bill starts using a lot of the father-son time to be with Jeannie. Bill cancels a father-son trip to Canada, and Joe decides to write a letter to Bill's syndicate pointing out that the current plot line of the script being set in Canada isn't honest, since they didn't go.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-05-13
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Molly and Me
Overview: A vivacious actress needing work becomes a housekeeper for a crusty retired politician, and gives his life the shaking-up that it needs.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1945-05-25
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The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
Overview: The Harlem Globetrotters' chartered plane crash lands on the atoll inhabited by the happily marooned Gilligan and fellow castaways, and they all must play basketball against a specially programmed squad of robots controlled by a mad scientist.
Genres: Comedy Family TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1981-05-15
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The Body Disappears
Overview: Wealthy scion Peter DeHaven, about to marry socialite Christine Lunceford, wakes up after bachelor party revelry to find he's been turned invisible by eccentric college professor Reginald Shotesbury. An unbelievable series of events is revealed by several witnesses testifying in a "mystery trial" to determine the reason for DeHaven's "disappearance".
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-11-22
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Beverly Hills Brats
Overview: A rich young boy arranges to be kidnapped so he'll get more attention from his parents.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-10-06
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The Poor Fish
Overview: Harry comes home unexpectedly and overhears his wife calling another man 'sweetheart' on the telephone. It turns out that both men are avid fishermen. They leave, so Daisy calls Mr. Gill at the Aquarium and asks if he likes fish. He doesn't, so she invites him over.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-06-07
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Dishonored Lady
Overview: Art editor Madeleine Damian carries on numerous loveless affairs. After a failed relationship with advertiser Felix Courtland, the increasingly depressed Madeleine attempts suicide. When Jack Garet, her secretary and former lover, tries to blackmail her, Madeleine resigns and seeks a reclusive life. Neighbor David Cousins befriends Madeleine, but soon Courtland and Garet discover her whereabouts and disrupt her new life.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-16
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40 Carats
Overview: After an overnight fling with a man nearly 20 years her junior while vacationing in Greece, Ann Stanley returns to New York assuming she'll never see Peter Latham again. Until, that is, he shows up on her doorstep to take her daughter to a party. Despite her yearning for Peter and the encouragement of her friends and family, Ann initially rebuffs him when he pursues her, but slowly she yields to his charm and her own stifled emotions.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-06-28
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Marriage Is a Private Affair
Overview: Theo has had many boyfriends who wanted to marry her. Since her mother, Mrs. Selworth, has been married many times, Theo is unsure of commitment. Without much thought, she finally accepts the proposal of Air Corps Lieutenant Tom West. After the honeymoon, Tom's father dies and Tom goes into the defense industry. When Theo has a baby, she hates the idea of being matronly and wants to be the old party girl. The problem is that her husband is working constantly. She looks to her friends, who are having their own problems, and to her old flame Captain Lancing. To decide on what she wants to do with her baby and her life, Theo must grow up.
Genres: Comedy War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-08-23
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The Day of the Locust
Overview: Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-05-07
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Bernardine
Overview: A teenager pines for (and sings about) his dream girl.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-07-24
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Reunion in France
Overview: Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country.
Genres: Drama Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-12-25
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Just Across the Street
Overview: A plumber's secretary poses as the daughter of a prominent society couple.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-06-15
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The Petrified Forest
Overview: Gabrielle Maple works in a dusty desert gas station-café, but yearns for the life of an artist in France, knowing there must be something finer than the provincial dead-end she is trapped in. A hitch-hiking writer, the disillusioned Alan Squier, appears and revitalizes her dreams of a better place, and finds his own sense of worth refreshed by this vital young girl. When Duke Mantee and his gang, wanted killers, show up and take hostages, Gabrielle falls in love with the poetic Alan, and Squier begins to see a way to give Gabby the life she deserves.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1955-05-30
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The Canterville Ghost
Overview: An American ambassador moves his family into a haunted English castle.
Genres: Comedy Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-11-02
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