CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: In Memoriam–Dawn Wells
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
For over a hundred years some of the greatest video treasures of all time have been produced. Some have been lost in the sands of time and others, soon to be rediscovered, will become fan favorites for a whole new generation.
Each week we will feature just one of the many hidden gems that you can see on RCN TV with insights and commentaries on classic television shows and legendary cinematic performances.
The end of 2020 was met with the passing of a famous television actress from a popular 1960s sitcom with a character who survived in people’s minds and hearts for decades.
Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada.
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.
While in college, Wells entered and won the Miss Nevada beauty pageant and represented her state in the Miss America pageant in 1960.
Of course, her biggest break was being cast as Mary Ann for the cult TV classic, Gilligan’s Island, which ran for four seasons beginning in 1964, along with subsequent movies produced over the next 20 years.
But Wells can be seen in projects both before and after she made a name for herself as a shipwrecked member of the doomed SS Minnow.
Dawn made her debut on the ABC Network’s The Roaring 20s and the movie The New Interns and was cast in early career roles in episodes of such television series as The Joey Bishop Show, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Maverick, and Bonanza.
Over the course of the next 50 years, she starred in dozens of TV shows including appearances on Wagon Train, The Wild Wild West, Vegas, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Alf, Herman’s Head, Baywatch and Roseanne.
She also appeared in a few films and nearly a hundred theatrical productions, including Neil Simon’s Chapter 2 and had a one-woman show at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in the mid-1980s.
She was quite busy throughout her life with many humanitarian projects and activities. Wells was the founder of a non-for-profit educational organization with a vision of education, technical training and economic development. Dawn lent her support to the charity, the Denver Foundation – in honor of her former TV co-star Bob Denver. She wrote a cookbook, with many recipes courtesy of her Gilligan’s Island cast mates (an example includes “the Skipper’s Goodbye Ribeyes”), with the proceeds going to charity.
One of the stories that Wells would recount for the rest of her life was boasting that people around the world know what the phrase “Ginger or Mary Ann” means, even for those who have not watched the TV show. According to her obituary posted in The Washington Post, Wells reportedly said that the majority of people has always favored her character over Ginger.
According to multiple sources, Wells had a very enjoyable experience on the “Island.” She was particularly fond of the veteran actors like Alan Hale, Jr. (“the Skipper”) and Jim Backus (“the Millionaire”), saying that both were extremely gracious and very helpful in giving performance tips to the young actress.
There’s a story of a touching exchange between Wells and Backus that the two shared shortly before the latter’s death. We will share that story along with more little known secrets from Gilligan’s Island in an upcoming Showplace entry. (Did you know that at one time Wells actually played Ginger?)
A few years before her death, Wells was named Marketing Ambassador to the MeTV Network (seen on RCN dial position 2) which had begun airing reruns of Gilligan’s Island.
Dawn Wells passed away on December 30, 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 virus. She was 82.
You can see Wells in her famous role as Mary Ann Summers on Rescue From Gilligan’s Island on RCN TV.
To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
