“Forgotten Hollywood”- Bon Voyage to Mary Ann…
Manny P. here…
“`Dawn Wells was a television actress best remembered for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island. She recently became a Marketing Ambassador to the MeTV Network. Her other work included teacher, motivational speaker, and conservationist.
“`Before her lingering fame, Wells was crowned Miss Nevada and represented her state in the Miss America 1960 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This notoriety led to a career in show business.
“`Before and after landing her signature part, Wells guest-starred in The Joey Bishop Show, Wagon Train, 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, Laramie, Burke’s Law, The Wild Wild West, The Invaders, The F. B. I., Vega$, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and Bonanza. On the big screen, she co-starred in Palm Springs Weekend and The New Interns.
DAWN WELLS
“`Following Gilligan’s Island, Wells embarked on a theater career, appearing in nearly one hundred theatrical productions. She spent the majority of the 1970s, and 1980s, touring in musical theater productions. Dawn also had a one-woman show at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1985. Gilligan’s Island spinoffs followed as well.
“`In 1993, she published Mary Ann’s Gilligan’s Island Cookbook with co-writers Ken Beck and Jim Clark, including a foreword by Bob Denver. She was close to Alan Hale Jr, who played The Skipper, even after the series completed its run. He would contribute a family recipe (Kansas Chicken and Dumplings) to her cookbook.
“`Wells used her fame for charity work, including her participation in the Denver Foundation (founded by Bob Denver’s widow), the Idaho Film and Television Institute, and her personal pet project Wishing Wells Collections, which designs clothes for folks with limited mobility. In 2005, she consigned for sale her original gingham blouse and shorts ensemble that she wore during every season of Gilligan’s Island. Beverly Hills auction house Profiles in History sold the outfit for $20,700.
“`A victim of Covid-19, Dawn Wells was eighty-two.
Until next time> “never forget”
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