LOS ANGELES – Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann among a misfit band of shipwrecked castaways on the 1960s sitcom “Gilligan's Island,” died Wednesday of causes related to COVID-19, her publicist said.
She was 82.Wells died peacefully at a living facility in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said. “There is so much more to Dawn Wells” than the “Gilligan's Island” character that brought her fame, Boll said in a statement.Besides TV, film and stage acting credits, her other real-life roles included teacher and motivational speaker, Boll said.Born in Reno, Nevada, Wells represented her state in the 1959 Miss America pageant and quickly pivoted to an acting career.