Dawn Wells, the real Mary Ann Summers of ‘Gilligan’s Island’, was just as sunny and nice off screen as her on-screen co-star Tina Louise, the only surviving cast of the show, The Post said on Wednesday.
Louise, who played the indelible flame-haired Ginger Grant in the CBS show, spoke fondly of Wells, who died in Los Angeles on Wednesday at the age of 82 after fighting COVID-19.
“I’m very sad,” said Louise, who has reportedly refused to appear in revivals and restart or discuss the program during the decades since its end in 1967.
Dawn was a very wonderful person. “I want people to remember her as someone who always had a smile on her face,” said Louise, who lives on Manhattan’s East Side. ‘Nothing is more important than family and she was a family. She will always be remembered. ‘
Louise, a lasting beauty who asked The Post not to mention her age, was shocked to hear of her friend’s death during a call from a Hollywood girlfriend. “Nobody wants to get that kind of news – especially in this way, with this terrible disease,” she said, adding that the health-conscious actress is doing her part to strengthen her. “I exercise today and eat a vegetarian lunch today,” she said, grieving, “Everything is complicated now.”
The beloved show, which ran for three seasons from 1964 to 1967 and followed a shipwreck of disabled strangers on an island, is as lasting as ever – especially during the closing, when new generations discovered its captivating charm.
“We were part of the amazing show that everyone loves and was especially a great comfort, especially in these times,” Louise said.
While notoriously refusing to appear in the 1978 TV movie “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island,” in 2001 “Surviving Gilligan’s Island,” and several other revivals, she brushes aside her rumors of the years she indulged in the role and performance.
“Never true – I loved doing my part, especially after they really started writing for my character, who was originally a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ type character,” Louise told The Post. took over another director and really started writing for my character, “she adds, admitting she was originally thinking of quitting.” I loved my character very much. “
She also made some comparisons between the beloved girl, Mary Ann, and her roommate, Ginger, who were less hindered. “There is a character for every person. Everyone can identify with another person, ” she said, noting the close relationship between the seamless cast. “We were always a family. She had huge fans. ”
While saying, ‘Dawn was wonderful on her part’, she even had special moments with her late co-star, recalling her favorite memory when she was invited to Wells’ house around 1966.
‘I just got married and it was Thanksgiving. I especially did not know how to cook. She invited me to her house with her mother, ”said Louise, who learned how to make a recipe for potato soufflé that has become a lasting favorite. “It became something I did every year on Thanksgiving,” she said. “I never forgot it.”
Louise, who has starred in ‘The Stepford Wives’, ‘The Love Boat’ and ‘Dallas’, said she was grateful for the outpouring of ‘Gilligan’s Island fans’ fans over the past few months. “We have brought a lot of joy to people and still do. “This show is an escape from so many things going on,” she said. ‘Fathers now share it with their children. I get letters about it all the time. ”
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Wells, who has starred in popular shows including “Bonanza” and “Maverick,” could always be indelibly linked to her sweet “Gilligan’s Island” character, Louise said. “She should always be remembered with a smile on her face – she was a person full of joy and shared her joy with everyone.”
While it had been a while since the two co-stars spoke, Louise said that Wells’ smile was imprinted in her heart and that fans were writing to tell her that they had bought the series set for their children.
‘The program will live on forever – and so will she. We’re going to remember her with a smile. ‘