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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,...

Dick Halligan, who won two Grammys for his early work with the group Blood, Sweat and Tears and later turned to film and television work, died Jan. 18 in Rome, Italy at age 78. The family cited natural causes.

Halligan was a member of Blood, Sweat and Tears for the horn-driven rock band’s first four albums. He played trombone on the group’s heralded 1968 debut, “Child is Father to the Man,” then moved over to keyboards and flute for their second album, the self-titled, “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” after co-founder and keyboardist Al Kooper left the band. With David Clayton-Thomas coming in as the grittier new lead vocalist, the group had a major commercial breakthrough and went from the counterculture cult popularity of the debut to winning the 1969 album of the year Grammy for the sophomore release. Halligan remained on board for two more albums before taking his leave in 1971.

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Bruce Kirby, a character actor best known for his roles in “Columbo” and “Stand by Me,” died in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 95.

Kirby’s son, John Kirby, announced the news on Facebook on Monday.

“Thank you Dad for everything you taught me about acting and how to have such a strong work ethic while sharing your love for the arts and the craft of it all,” John wrote. “I will miss you & love you always. I’m glad you’re up there with Bruno and so many of our loved ones.”

Kirby, born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, began his career at the Actor’s Studio in New York and studied under the famed acting coach Lee Strasberg. He debuted on stage in the 1950s and then launched a steady career in television primarily playing smaller roles as unimposing law enforcement figures.

He played the gullible Sergeant George Kramer from the detective series “Columbo.