Actress Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann in the classic TV sitcom “Gilligan’s Island,” died Wednesday at age 82, according to her publicist.
Wells died in Los Angeles from complications of COVID-19, publicist Harlan Boll said in a Facebook post announcing his death.
Wells was one of the last surviving cast members of the show that featured three women and four men stranded on a desert island after the sinking of the SS Minnow.
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Wells “passed peacefully (Wednesday) morning, without pain, as a result of complications due to COVID,” Boll said in a Facebook post. In the post, Boll referred to her as America’s favorite shipwreck.
“With more than 540,000 fans on his Facebook page and fan clubs across the United States, his followers have remained loyal,” Boll wrote. Dawn would say that Mary Ann adapts today as it did three generations ago, because it is timeless. In a world where industry and society have celebrated their ‘bad girls,’ Mary Ann remains, for many, the fresh air breath like the “good girl.”
Dawn would say that Mary Ann adapts today as she did three generations ago, because she is timeless.
Publicist Harlan Boll
He also described his life as much more than his role in “Gilligan’s Island.” Wells also had many film and theater acting credits and was a motivational teacher and speaker, Boll said.
A native of Reno, Wells was Miss Nevada in the 1959 Miss America pageant before moving to Hollywood and beginning appearing in a number of shows, including “Bonanza,” “Maverick” and “77 Sunset Strip.”
Actress Dawn Wells appears with a promotional poster for “Gilligan’s Island.” Photo by Bill Down, courtesy of The Hollywood Museum.
But she is best known as Kansas ’healthy farm woman, Mary Ann Summers, on Sherwood Schwartz’s“ Gilligan Island, ”the story of seven shipwrecked men and their series of comic setbacks on an unknown island. The program lasted from 1964 to 67, but lived for generations through syndication and continues to air on MeTV. The show also became a series of films intended for television.
Her wardrobe at the show, including a plaid dress and high-waisted shorts, are on display in Los Angeles at The Hollywood Museum.
Tina Louise, who played Ginger, was the original star, the only survivor. The sitcom also starred Bob Denver, as did Gilligan, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer and Russell Johnson.
Instead of flowers, donations can be made on behalf of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum or The Shambala Preserve, Boll said.