American actress Dawn Wells, who is best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan’s Island, has died of complications related to COVID-19. She was 82.
Wells passed away peacefully in L.A. on Wednesday morning, according to her publicist Harlan Boll.
Gilligan’s Island, which was based around three women and four men stranded on a desert island, ran for 98 episodes between 1964 and 1967.
Boll said in a statement, “There is so much more to Dawn Wells” than the character that brought her fame.
Before becoming famous on the show, Wells represented her state of Nevada in the 1959 Miss America pageant.
Apart from Gilligan’s Island, Wells appeared in other TV shows and films, such as 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, and Bonanza.
Many have paid tribute to Wells on social media.
BrooklynDad_Defiant, aka Majid M. Padellan, tweeted, “RIP to Dawn Wells (Mary Ann on Gilligans Island) who died at 82 from COVID-19 complications. Damn you, 2020.”
In a foreword for her 2014 memoir, Russell Johnson, who played Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan’s Island, captured the character of Mary Ann as played by Wells.
He wrote, “We love Mary Ann because she is the future, the hope of our world. The youngest of the castaways, Mary Ann has her entire life in front of her. Watching her unfailing good cheer, her optimism is never in question. We love her because we need her emotional support and her belief that all will turn out well.” “”We love Mary Ann because of Dawn Wells,” he added. Johnson died from kidney failure on January 16, 2014, aged 89.
