“Gilligan’s Island” star Dawn Wells passed away at the age of 82 last week after suffering COVID-19 complications, according to her publicist.<\/p>\n
Wells, who played Mary Ann Summers in the show, passed away peacefully at a residential facility in Los Angeles. Publicist Harlan Boll said in a statement that \u201cThere is so much more to Dawn Wells\u201d than the \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d character that brought her fame.<\/p>\n
Tina Louise, the last surviving member of the cast, portrayed movie star Ginger Grant on “Gilligan’s Island” and said in a statement to CNN, “I was sad to learn of Dawn’s passing, I will always remember her kindness to me.”<\/p>\n
“We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time,” the statement read. “I hope that people will remember her the way that I do — always with a smile on her face.”<\/p>\n
Debuting on CBS in 1964, \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d followed an unlikely septet of day-trippers who ended up stranded on a desert island. Mary Ann Summers was a farm girl from Kansas who had won the trip in a local radio contest. Alongside her were a science professor, an older rich couple, and other wacky characters.<\/p>\n
Her last onscreen appearance was in a 2018 episode of \u201cKaplan\u2019s Korner,\u201d about actors running an employment agency. Her only soap opera appearance was in a 2016 episode of \u201cThe Bold and the Beautiful,\u201d in which she played a fashion buyer from a wealthy family.<\/p>\n
She also taught acting, creating the nonprofit Idaho Film and Television Institute while living at her ranch in the Teton Valley. But a screen career was never her childhood dream.<\/p>\n
Dawn is survived by her stepsister, Weslee Wells.<\/p>\n