early 40's
Spitting Image

Yeah, it's like father and son shared one career that lasted 60 years.

Forget the Professor, Alan Hale Jr.'s father definitely could have invented something to get them off of that island (https://www.metv.com/stories/forget-the-professor-alan-hales-father-could-have-definitely-invented-something-to-get-them-off-of-that-island)

The Skipper's dad was more than just an actor.

The magazine stated, "Perfected by Alan Hale, veteran screen actor, a sliding theater chair allows spectators to push their seats backward instead of rising when latecomers arrive." According to Old Familiar Faces: The Great Character Actors and Actresses of Hollywood's Golden Era, written by Robert A. Juran, Hale was listed as a "successful inventor."

A 1950 Variety article also lists Hale's accomplishments after his death. It reads, "He [Hale] was also an inventor and promoter of inventions, in addition to acting chores. Among products he invented or financed were folding theatre seats, improved auto breaks [sic], hand fire extinguishers, and a formula for greaseless potato chips."

Check out the George Raft/ Humphrey Bogart movie The Drive By Night where Alan Hake stars as well - he Looks & Speaks EXACTLY like his son Jr

BTW Ida Lupino kills him in the movie !