Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress who became known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island.

Early life

Wells was born in Reno, Nevada, where she attended Reno High School. Her father owned a local Reno shipping company called "Wells Cargo". After high school graduation, Wells attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she majored in chemistry. She transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated in 1960 with a degree in theater arts and design. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

Career

In 1959, Wells was crowned Miss Nevada and represented her state in the Miss America 1960 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In Hollywood, Wells made her debut on ABC's The Roaring 20s and the movie The New Interns and was cast in episodes of such television series as The Joey Bishop Show, 77 Sunset Strip, The Cheyenne Show, Maverick, and Bonanza, before she took the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. She reprised her character in the various Gilligan's Island reunion specials, including the reunion cartoon spin-off Gilligan's Planet and three reunion movies: Rescue from Gilligan's Island, The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island.

She also appeared as a guest star on Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, 87th Precinct, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, Ripcord, The Everglades, The Detectives, It's a Man's World, Channing, Laramie, Burke's Law, The Invaders, The Wild Wild West, The F.B.I., Vega$, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Matt Houston, ALF, Herman's Head, Three Sisters, Pastor Greg, and Roseanne.

Wells had small roles in the early 1960s films Palm Springs Weekend and The New Interns, and later starred with Michael Dante in the independent 1975 film Winterhawk, playing a Western settler kidnapped by a Native Ametican chief. Her other films include The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Return to Boggy Creek, Lover's Knot, Soulmates, Forever for Now, and Super Sucker. In fall 2011, she began filming Silent But Deadly (originally titled Hotel Arthritis), a comedy horror film released in 2012.

Following Gilligan's Island, Wells embarked on a theater career, appearing in nearly one hundred theatrical productions as of July 2009. She spent the majority of the 1970s, and 1980s, touring in musical theater productions. She also had a one-woman show at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1985.

In 1993, Wells 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 on Gilligan's Island, even after the series completed its run, and he contributed a family recipe ("Kansas Chicken and Dumplings") to her cookbook. Hale's character was the inspiration behind such concoctions as Skipper's Coconut Pie, Skipper's Navy Bean Soup, and Skipper's Goodbye Ribeye, and he is depicted as Skipper Jonas Grumby in numerous photographs throughout the book. She said in a 2014 interview with GoErie.com, "Alan could not have been kinder to a young actress. He was a real peach."

In 2005, Wells consigned her original gingham blouse and shorts ensemble for sale from her signature role. Beverly Hills auction house Profiles in History sold it for $20,700.

In 2014, Wells released What Would Mary Ann Do? A Guide to Life, which she co-wrote with Steve Stinson. The book was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Gilligan's Island.

In May 2016, Wells was named Marketing Ambassador to MeTV Network. In January 2019, she promoted the Gilligan's Island television series on the MeTV television network.

Humanitarian and charity work

For several years, Wells operated a business, Wishing Wells Collections, making clothing for people with limited mobility. She was the founder of the Idaho Film and Television Institute, a not-for-profit (501c3) educational organization with "a vision of education, technical training and economic development in Southeastern Idaho." She organized SpudFest, a regional annual family movie festival, and was a spokeswoman for Idaho Potatoes.

Wells lent her support to the Denver Foundation, a West Virginia charity chaired by Dreama Denver, widow of Wells' Gilligan’s Island co-star Bob Denver. In November 2009, she appeared at the Denver Foundation's Christmas Wish Celebrity Auction, helping to raise funds for the disabled and disadvantaged in West Virginia.

Personal life and death

Wells married Larry Rosen, a talent agent, in 1962. The couple had no children and were divorced in 1967.

In 2018, a GoFundMe page was set up to help Wells cope with financial trouble.

Wells died on December 30, 2020 at the age of 82 in Los Angeles, due to COVID-19 complications. Her death leaves Tina Louise as the only survivor of the original Gilligan's Island regular cast.

Filmography

• 1961: Wagon Train - "The Captain Dan Brady Story"; - as Mrs Murray
• 1961: The Everglades ‒ as Piney
• 1961: The Cheyenne Show ‒ "Lone Patrol"; as Sarah Claypool
• 1961: Maverick ‒ "The Deadly Image"; as Caprice Rambeau
• 1961: 77 Sunset Strip ‒ 4 episodes; as Yvonne Martell / Judy Rogers / Nixie Martin / Connie Kenwood
• 1961: ‘’Tales of Wells Fargo’’ - “Kelly's Clover Girls”; as Molly
• 1961-62: Surfside 6 ‒ 2 episodes; as June / Consuelo Hernandez
• 1962: Hawaiian Eye ‒ 2 episodes; as Carolyn Barnes / Lois Corey
• 1962: Bonanza ‒ "The Way Station"; as Marty Johnson
• 1962: It's a Man's World ‒ 2 episodes; as Molly
• 1962: Lawman - "No Contest"; as Elly Stratton
• 1963: Palm Springs Weekend; as Girl at Police Station (uncredited)
• 1963: Ripcord - "Willie"; as Evvie Eden
• 1963: Laramie ‒ "The Violent Ones"; as Millie
• 1964: The New Interns
• 1964: The Joey Bishop Show – "Joey and Roberta Sherwood Play a Benefit"
• 1964–67: Gilligan's Island (98 episodes)
• 1967: The Invaders – "Dark Outpost"
• 1968: The Wild Wild West – "The Night of the Headless Woman"; as Betsy Jeffers
• 1968: Bonanza ‒ "The Burning Sky"; as Moon Holt
• 1975: Winterhawk
• 1976: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
• 1977: Return to Boggy Creek
• 1978: Rescue from Gilligan's Island (TV movie)
• 1979: The Castaways on Gilligan's Island (TV movie)
• 1981: The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island (TV movie)
• 1982–83: Gilligan's Planet ‒ voices of Mary Ann and Ginger Grant
• 1983: High School U.S.A. (TV movie)
• 1983: Family Feud: "Gilligan's Island vs. Hawaiian Eye"
• 1983: Family Feud: "Gilligan's Island vs. Lost in Space"
• 1983: Family Feud: "Gilligan's Island vs. Batman"
• 1987: Growing Pains: "Carnival"; as Myrtle
• 1987: Growing Pains: "Broadway Bound"; as Casting Receptionist
• 1987: ALF ‒ "Somewhere Over the Rerun"; as Mary Ann
• 1988: The Late Show with Ross Shafer. Cast reunion; as herself
• 1989: The Princess and the Dwarf
• 1992: Soulmates as Lucille Perkins
• 1992: Baywatch - "Now Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale"; as Mary Ann
• 1994: Space Ghost Coast to Coast ‒ "Gilligan"; as herself
• 1995: Roseanne - "Sherwood Schwartz: A Loving Tribute" as Darlene
• 1996: Lover's Knot
• 2000: The Man Show ‒ episode 206, as herself
• 2001: Surviving Gilligan's Island as herself (TV movie)
• 2002: Super Sucker
• 2004: Forever for Now
• 2005: Cyber Meltdown
• 2005: Girlfriends as herself
• 2010: RuPaul's Drag U ‒ "A Star Is Born Again"; as herself
• 2012: Hotel Arthritis
• 2016: The Bold and the Beautiful- 1 episode; as Alice
• 2019: The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants-"The Ghastly Danger of the Ghost Dentist" as Gumbalina Toothington