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{{Infobox person
| name = Natalie Schafer
| image = Natalie Schafer in Dishonored Lady.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = In the film ''[[Dishonored Lady]]'' (1947)
| birth_date = {{birth date|1900|11|05}}
| birth_place = [[Red Bank, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|04|10|1900|11|05}}
| death_place = [[Beverly Hills, California]], U.S.
| death_cause = Liver cancer
| years_active = 1927–1990
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = [[Louis Calhern]] <br><small>(m. 1933–1942; divorced)</small>
}}

'''Natalie Schafer''' (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known as [[Lovey Howell|Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell]] on [[CBS]]'s sitcom ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' (1964–67).

==Early life and career==
Natalie Schafer was born November 5, 1900 in [[Manhattan, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|title="New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909" database|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WWV-DPK|accessdate=March 18, 2016}}</ref> She was the eldest of the three children of Jennie Elizabeth (née Tim) and Charles Emanual Schafer,<ref>[https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M57Q-H93 "United States Census, 1910" Charles Schafer, Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York]; retrieved July 31, 2012.</ref><ref name=amj1>[http://americanjewisharchives.org/FAJF/results.php?pg=295 Profile], americanjewisharchives.org; accessed March 18, 2016.</ref> both of [[German Jewish]] descent.<ref name=amj1/> She began her career as an actress on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] before moving to Los Angeles in 1941 to work in films.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

Schafer appeared on Broadway in 17 plays between 1927 and 1959, often playing supporting roles. Most of these appearances were in short-run plays, with the exceptions of ''[[Lady in the Dark]]'' (1941–42), ''The Doughgirls'' (1942–44), and ''[[Romanoff and Juliet (play)|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 appeared in stock and regional productions of plays, including an [[off-Broadway]] production of ''[[The Killing of Sister George]]'', with [[Claire Trevor]] in the title role. {{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

Schafer appeared in many films, usually portraying beautiful sophisticates, but she is best known for playing the role of [[Lovey Howell]] on ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. She reprised her role in made-for-television [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off films]] after the show ended, along with the animated spinoff, ''[[Gilligan's Planet]]'', in 1982.<ref name="imdb">{{IMDb name|0769791|Natalie Schafer}}</ref>

She was a guest star on many television series, including ''[[Goodyear Television Playhouse|Goodyear Playhouse]]''/''[[The Philco Television 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), ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' (1974), ''[[Three's Company]]'', ''[[The Love Boat]]'', and ''[[Phyllis (TV series)|Phyllis]]'' (1976). In 1971–72, Schafer joined the cast of the CBS daytime-serial, ''[[Search for Tomorrow]]'' as Helen Collins, mother of Wade and Clay Collins. Immediately following, she played Augusta Roulland on another daytime soap, ''[[Love of Life]]''. Her final performance was in the 1990 television film ''[[I'm Dangerous Tonight]]''.<ref name="imdb"/>

==Personal life==
[[File:Natalie Schafer (210411645).jpg|thumb|Schafer in September 1990, less than a year before her death]]
Schafer was married to actor [[Louis Calhern]] from 1934–42; they had no children. Long after their [[divorce]], the two appeared together in the 1956 film ''[[Forever, Darling]]''.<ref name="imdb"/>

Schafer was legendarily secretive about her age, never even telling Calhern. The year 1912 was generally given as her birth year for many years, which few believed, yet her actual year of birth (which was not discovered until after her death) of 1900 shocked even her intimate friends. She was reportedly also a breast cancer survivor, a fact she withheld from her fans and friends.<ref>Michael Karol (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=758mUmQxV6gC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=Natalie+Schafer+breast+cancer&source=bl&ots=duv2tvMHny&sig=XoQ0GAZ5-KsRHLNsde4XKYGzxfo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=doOUT-r3GY39iQKS_eEi&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Natalie%20Schafer%20breast%20cancer&f=false ''Funny Ladies'']; retrieved July 31, 2012.</ref>

Her investments, particularly in [[real estate]], made her a multi-millionaire. Differing sources state that most of this fortune was bequeathed to either her ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'' co-star [[Dawn Wells]], or to care for her dogs. Wells did not comment on that but did claim, on [[Vicki Lawrence]]'s talk show, ''Vicky!'', that Schafer spent her last years living with Wells, who was her caretaker. Wells also stated that one of Schafer's favorite things on ''Gilligan's Island'' was "falling through quicksand".{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

==Death==
Schafer died of [[liver cancer]] in her [[Beverly Hills]] home, aged 90. She was cremated; her ashes were scattered into the [[Pacific Ocean]], off San Pedro's [[Point Fermin Light]].

She bequeathed between $1.5 million and $2 million to the [[Lillian Booth Actors Home]] to renovate the hospital's outpatient wing, which was renamed, in 1993, the '''Natalie Schafer Wing'''.<ref>{{cite news | author=Frank Manning | url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-14/local/me-8830_1_woodland-hills | title=Hospital Marks Opening of Wing | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=December 14, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The Lillian Booth Actors Home: History of the Home | url=http://actorsfund.org/history-home | accessdate=September 13, 2014}}</ref>

==Partial filmography==
{{div col||20em}}
* ''[[The Body Disappears]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Reunion in France]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Marriage Is a Private Affair]]'' (1944)
* ''[[Keep Your Powder Dry]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Molly and Me]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Dishonored Lady]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Repeat Performance]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Secret Beyond the Door]]'' (1947)
* ''[[The Snake Pit]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Caught (1949 film)|Caught]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]'' (1951)
* ''[[The Law and the Lady (film)|The Law and the Lady]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Callaway Went Thataway]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Payment on Demand]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Just Across the Street]]'' (1952)
* ''[[The Girl Next Door (1953 film)|The Girl Next Door]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Casanova's Big Night]]'' (1954)
* ''[[Female on the Beach]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Forever, Darling]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Anastasia (1956 film)|Anastasia]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Bernardine (film)|Bernardine]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Back Street (1961 film)|Back Street]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Susan Slade]]'' (1961)
* ''[[40 Carats (film)|40 Carats]]'' (1973)
* ''[[The Day of the Locust (film)|The Day of the Locust]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Beverly Hills Brats]]'' (1989)
* ''[[I'm Dangerous Tonight]]'' (1990)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|0769791|Natalie Schafer}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{amg name|id=63537}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Natalie}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Actresses from New York City]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Breast cancer survivors]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:People from Red Bank, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Jewish American actresses]]

Natalie Schafer - Revision history

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