Gilligan’s Island Actress Dawn Wells, Who Played Mary Ann, Dies Of Covid-19

RIP

Dawn Wells, who’s best known for her role as the sweet and lovable Mary Ann Summers on the sitcom Gilligan’s Island, has passed away from coronavirus complications at 82. The actress’ publicist Harlan Boll confirmed the news to CNN.

After graduating in high school, she attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and majored in chemistry before transferring to the University of Washington in Seattle where she graduated with a degree in theater arts and design in 1960. In 1959, she represented her state in the Miss America pageant and it served as her gateway to Hollywood.

After debuting on ABC’s The Roaring 20s, she appeared on several shows like “77 Sunset Strip,” “Maverick,” “Bonanza,” “The Joey Bishop Show” and “Hawaiian Eye.”

She struck gold when she landed the “Gilligan’s Island” gig that originally aired from 1964 to 1967. In 2008, Wells told the TV Academy Foundation: “There hasn’t been a Mary Ann on the air for I don’t know how long. There hasn’t been a good girl over 14, and Mary Ann was very much that. The Mary Ann-Ginger issue is always there. You had to be a real man to understand Ginger, and Mary Ann would’ve gone to the prom with you and been your best friend. A lot of guys would come up to me and say I married a Mary Ann. She had the values.”

She is survived by her stepsister, Weslee Wells.