She was 82 years old.
Tina Louise played the movie star Ginger Grant on “Gilligan’s Island” and said in a statement to CNN: “I was sad to hear of Dawn’s passing, I will always remember your kindness to me.”
“We share the creation of a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time,” says the statement. “I hope people remember her as I do – always with a smile on their face.”
Born in Reno, Nevada, Wells represented her home state at the Miss America pageant in 1959.
This opened the door for her to start a career in Hollywood, where she appeared on a plethora of television shows, including “77 Sunset Strip”, “Maverick”, “Bonanza”, “The Joey Bishop Show” and “Hawaiian Eye”.
She defeated 350 other actresses to take the role of neighboring Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island”, which aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967 and later in distribution.
“A mistake is that we must be rich, rolling in the dough, because we have waste. We didn’t actually get a cent, ”she said. “I think my salary – of course, I was bad on the totem pole, Ginger (Tina Louise) and Thurston (Jim Backus) earned more – it was $ 750 a week. Sherwood Schwartz, our producer, would have earned $ 90 million in runs again alone! “
She starred in more than 150 TV shows, seven films including “Winterhawk” (which she also narrated) and more than 60 productions on and off Broadway.
In addition to acting, Wells has also served as a producer, author, journalist, motivational speaker, teacher, humanitarian, spokesperson and president of the Terry Lee Wells Foundation, an organization for women and children in northern Nevada, as well as managing its Film Actors Boot Camp. for seven years in Idaho.
She received the trumpet award from the elephant sanctuary for her activism in supporting the elephant sanctuary. The sanctuary, founded in 1995, is the country’s largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for African and Asian elephants.
But it was her ponytail character on “Gilligan’s Island” that made her a beloved star – and she had fun with that.
Wells served as a “castaway correspondent” for Channel 9 in Sydney, Australia, where he interviewed actors and directors, including Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Julia Roberts, René Russo, Mel Gibson, Ron Howard and Richard Donner.
At the premiere of the film “Gravity”, she presented the star Sandra Bullock with a coconut cream pie, in honor of the shared experience of being “stranded”.
“Gilligan’s Island” was an unexpected success and in honor of the series’ 50th anniversary, Wells released “A Guide To Life: What Would Mary Ann Do?” in which she wrote about the meaning of the character Mary Ann and noted the cultural changes that have taken place since she was on the island.
Her wool dress and the famous “Gilligan’s Island” short shorts are currently on display in the lobby of the Hollywood Museum.
She leaves her stepsister, Weslee Wells.