Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island, died Dec. 30 of causes related to COVID-19. She was 82.
Sherwood Schwartz created Gilligan’s Island, about seven castaways attempting to survive on an island after a boat crash. The comedy ran from 1964 to 1967, and reached new viewers via syndication. Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr. and Tina Louise were also in the cast.
Raised in Reno, Nevada, Wells was named Miss Nevada, according to IMDb, and was in the 1960 Miss America pageant.
Besides Gilligan’s Island, Wells also appeared in 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, The Everglades, Fantasy Island and Roseanne.
Four years ago, Wells signed on as a brand ambassador for classic hits network MeTV. That saw her meeting with affiliated stations and chatting up the network at events.
“I surf the channels a lot, and there’s an awful lot of programing you don’t want your kids to see,” she told B+C. “I really believe in MeTV.”
