2020 had one last kick in the balls to give us. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/30/entertainment/dawn-wells-obit/index.html
Fucking COVID. I used to watch syndicated reruns of Gilligan's Island every day after school when I was a kid. Dumbass show, but Wells was charming and remained so, all the way through the recent promos she did for MeTV. She finally got off the island, hopefully to a better place. RIP.
Just read the news article. I think anyone who grew up watching TOS in the '60s '70s and '80s probably also couldn't help catching a rerun of Gilligan's island from time to time. Dawn Wells as "Mary-Ann" was the stereotypical 'nice girl next door'; but she was always a fun character to watch, And I'm sure many a young man had some impure thoughts from time to time about Mary-Ann as they were going through puberty. She did a number of other guest shots in shows, and movies of the week on TV in addition to the later Gilligan's island reunion movies and she always came across as a talented professional. Condolences to her family and friends; RIP (And yeah, FUCK COVID-19)
Condolences to family and friends as well. Was as sweet in real life as well as multi-talented. And was working in production as recently as 2019. May she journey well.
The irony that the only castmember left is the one that wishes she hadn't done the show is not lost on me. RIP Dawn Wells. She will be missed.
Aw, my heart is broken. She was one of my big crushes back in the 60s. A big part of the sweetness and light in the world just went away. RIP, Dawn Wells.
It's sad she felt that way too. It may not be how you wanted to be remembered or celebrated, but at least the culture at large does remember & in some way celebrate you. Something the other cast members came to terms with. I seem to recall Russell Johnson never being all that fond of being remembered only for the professor either, but hey, it is what it is. Do you rememder that 1987 Ray Bolger obituary editorial cartoon of the Scarecrow scurrying to catch up with rest of the Wizard of Oz Crew, because he was the last to pass? It would've been sweet to have something similar for these folks, when the last one "Leaves the Island" but it doesn't seem as fitting when you realize Tina Louise would rather not be remembered that way
OTOH, she didn't do the reunion movies, so in a sense, she's the only one who hasn't left the island....
On to the next journey for the ever-nice Dawn Wells. Although best known for one role, it was a role that millions appreciated over several generations, which is a feat not shared by that many stars of old TV series. Well, Louise has claimed that the bad experiences come from her agent originally promising her that the Ginger character was the actual star of the series (despite the series title...), but she found out that he (and probably Sherwood Schwartz) lied, but she was stuck in a contract, so the negativity set in early on. Still, it has not prevented her from saying kind things about Wells in general, and at the time of the latter's passing.
I don't think I've ever heard any of them say anything negative about Wells ever. By all rights, she was probably the nicest one among them, & IIRC maintained a friendship with Bob Denver for many years afterward... even being peripherally implicated in his 1998 marijuana bust
I don't find it cruel. She was 82. Had a good, long life. Blessed many people. I was definitely in her camp (never even found Ginger attractive, frankly).