That’s odd. I thought he died in the 1970s, of kidney failure.
He was also known for the science fiction movie It Came From Outer Space (1953), in 3-D, which was very popular in the midnight movie circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mostly written by Ray Bradbury, it was of “less malevolent” aliens, who just wanted to repair their ship and leave, but looked scary. It is now thought of as one of the better science fiction films of the time.
Was one of the aliens named 'Gilligan' by any chance?...................
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Planet