Dawn Wells, who starred as “good girl” Mary Ann on the popular 1960s sitcom “Gilligan’s Island”, died on Wednesday from COVID-19-related causes in Los Angeles. She was 82 years old.
With a pig’s tail and dressed in her omnipresent jumpsuit or gingham dress, which is on display at the Hollywood Museum, Mary Ann’s character was Tina Louise’s neighbor, the suggestive Ginger evening gown, who used to be subjected to Malicious comments from male stars in the show’s dialogue.
She told Smashing Interviews magazine that she was happy to change her image with a prostitute role in “The Owl and the Pussycat” right after the show ended, “Mary Ann was a good girl. She was polite. She worked a lot. She would be your best friend. She cooked. She cleaned up. She did all those things and was a really good role model. But the first thing you want to do is break that character and do something else, ”said Wells.
Wells represented Nevada at the 1959 Miss America pageant and appeared on several TV series before being cast on “Gilligan’s Island” in 1964. Born in Reno, Wells also appeared on “77 Sunset Strip”, “Maverick”, “Bonanza” , “The Joey Bishop Show” and “Hawaiian Eye”.
Advertiser Harlan Boll announced his death.
After the series ended in 1967, she returned to several TV movies and spinoff series. She served as a producer on the TV films “Surviving Gilligan’s Island” and “Return to the Bat Cave” with Adam West.
She continued to appear in series including “Growing Pains”, “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “Baywatch” and voiced Gumbalina Toothington in the series “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants”.
In the films, Wells appeared in “Winterhawk”, “The Town That Dreaded Sundown”, “Super Sucker”, “The New Interns”, “It’s Our Time” and “Silent But Deadly”.
Wells had a long career on stage, appearing on national tours of “Chapter Two” and “They Playing Our Song”, as well as in “Fatal Attraction” with Ken Howard ”,“ The Odd Couple ”with Marcia Wallace,“ Steel Magnolias ” and “The Vagina Monologues”.
Although she appeared on several TV shows, films and plays, her role as Mary Ann was the most enduring, leading to shows as Australia’s Channel 9 “castaway correspondent” and spokeswoman for the MeTV network. She wrote the book “A Guide to Life: What Would Mary Ann Do?” in honor of the 50th anniversary of “Gilligan’s Island”.
Her charity efforts included working as president of the Terry Lee Wells Foundation, focusing on women and children in northern Nevada, and she received the trumpet award from the Elephant Sanctuary for her work with the Elephant Sanctuary. She also ran the Film Actors Boot Camp for seven years in Idaho.
Wells leaves his half sister, Weslee Wells. Donations can be made to the Elephant Sanctuary, the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum or the Shambala Reserve.