Remembering ~ Dawn Wells
Dawn was an American actress who became known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom Gilligan's Island.
In 1959, Wells was crowned Miss Nevada and represented her state in the Miss America 1960 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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 educational organization with "a vision of education, technical training and economic development in Southeastern Idaho." She also organized SpudFest, a regional annual family movie festival, and was a spokeswoman for Idaho Potatoes.
Dawn also 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.
Born Dawn Elberta Wells on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada and passed away December 30, 2020 in Los Angeles, California from Covid-19 complications at the age of 82.Â
