Dawn Wells, who parlayed her girl-next-door charm and wholesome beauty into enduring TV fame as the sweet-natured desert island castaway Mary Ann on the classic 1960s sitcom ‘Gilligan’s Island,’ died on Wednesday at age 82, her publicist said.
Wells, who won the title of Miss Nevada in 1959 and competed in the Miss America contest, died from complications of COVID-19, publicist Harlan Boll said in a statement. This Oct. 2, 1978 file photo shows the cast of Gilligan s Island, from left, Russell Johnson, as the professor; Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III; Natalie Schafer, as Mrs. Howell III; Alan Hale Jr., as the skipper; Bob Denver, as Gilligan; Judith Baldwin replacing original cast member Tina Louise, as Ginger, and Dawn Wells, as Mary Ann, posing during filming of a two-hour reunion show, The Return from Gilligan s Island, in Los Angeles.
Vale: Dawn Wells
Much-loved US actress Dawn Wells, best known as ‘Mary Ann’ on
Gilligan’s Island has died, aged 82.
She died on Wednesday of causes related to COVID-19 in Los Angeles.
Wells played Kansas girl-next-door ‘Mary Ann Summers’ for just 3 seasons from 1964 – 1966, but the show by Sherwood Schwartz become such a pop culture hit it has lived on in syndication ever since.
She reprised the role for 3 telemovies from 1978 – 1981 and produced a behind the scenes special in 2001.
“Every character on
Gilligan’s Island was given a broad ‘stock’ comedy role to fill captain, mate, wealthy man, wealthy wife, professor, movie star except me,” Wells once wrote. “She was given a name and location Kansas farm girl. I had to fill in the blanks. So, from the get-go, the Mary Ann character was different. She wasn’t a Hollywood creation.
Alongside Ginger Grant, the late performer's Mary Ann Summers left a mark in the collective pop consciousness that long outlasted "Gilligan's Island" itself.
“Every character on Gilligan’s Island was given a broad ‘stock’ comedy role to fill captain, mate, wealthy man, wealthy wife, professor, movie star except me,” she wrote. “She was given a name and location Kansas farm girl. I had to fill in the blanks. So, from the get-go, the Mary Ann character was different. She wasn’t a Hollywood creation. She was molded by me, from me.”
Her former costar Johnson also gushed about her in the forward.
Dawn Wells in ‘Gilligan’s Island’. Mediapunch/Shutterstock
“We love Mary Ann because she is the future, the hope of our world,” he wrote. The youngest of the castaways, Mary Ann has her entire life in front of her. “Watching her unfailing good cheer, her optimism is never in question. We love her because we need her emotional support and her belief that all will turn out well … We love Mary Ann because of Dawn Wells.”