Overview (4)

Born October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada, USA Birth Name Dawn Elberta Wells Nickname Pooter Height 5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Bio (2)

A wholesome beauty from Reno, Nevada, Dawn Wells was on her way to becoming a ballerina, but bad knees prevented her from realizing the dream. Despite this, she did become Miss Nevada and was in the 1960 Miss America pageant. Wells majored in drama during her collegiate years (she was originally going to study chemistry) and after graduation moved to Hollywood and got parts in several popular television series. Wells got the part of Mary Ann Summers in Gilligan's Island (1964), after CBS decided not to go with Nancy McCarthy (who played Bunny, the forerunner to Mary Ann). After "Gilligan" ended its three-year tour, Wells found work in the theatre and a few movies, but mostly talk shows that emphasized reunion themes. Lately, she has been in a popular commercial for Western Union, capitalizing on her Mary Ann character.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ken Severson

Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. Her father was a real estate owner and developer and her mother was a homemaker. Wells' childhood was a happy and healthy one. She and her mother grew their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens and Dawn rode horses. In her high school years, she was the class treasurer, President of the debate team and an honor rolls student. She was Miss Nevada in 1959 and went on to the Miss America Pageant. Dawn originally wanted to be a doctor, so she enrolled in the elite Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri to study medicine, but then she discovered the Drama Club. She then transferred to the University of Washington, which was known for their Theatre Department, and she graduated with a Degree in Theatre.



Dawn moved to Hollywood and got the role of Mary Ann Summers on CBS's Gilligan's Island (1964). The rest is history. However, there was much more to Dawn than her simple Mary Ann character. Wells refused to be an unemployed actor after the show ended and has never been out of work since the show aired 40 years ago. She has performed in over 66 theatrical productions, including the National Touring Company of "They're Playing Our Song!" She has done countless voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. She worked for the Australian news show "Midday" and interviewed such talents as Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks, to name a few. Dawn has also had great success as a producer and has a number of television movies to her credit. She had a new project in the works for release in 2005.



After years of touring and performing in dramas, comedies, and musical theatre, Dawn finally slowed down a bit. In 1998, she founded the Dawn Wells' Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho. The camp is for the already trained actor looking to make the transition from the amateur to the professional actor. Wells still runs the camp to this day. In 2003, Dawn did tours of the plays "Love Letters" with Adam West and Eve Ensler's Award Winning "The Vagina Monologues". In early 2004, Dawn established and founded The Spud Film Institute in Idaho and Wyoming and will hold the first ever Spud Drive in Film and Music Festival in the summer of 2004. She is also the artistic director of the festival. If that is not enough, Ms. Wells also has her own clothing line for the physically challenged called "Wishing Wells Collections" and she recently launched her own skin care line, Classic Beauty.



Dawn Wells continues to contribute to the business she loves so much and constantly gives back to the acting community. She mentors young actors and travels to colleges all across the United States to teach Master Classes. She has served as Artist in Residence at several Universities. Dawn is in constant demand for personal appearances and speaking engagements, yet she never forgets to give back to the Artistic community. She will surely be remembered for all her good work. You can get information about all of Dawn's organizations at her website, www.dawn-wells.com.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: One of Dawn's Students.

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (5)

Spokeswoman for Idaho Potatoes





Her pigtails and gingham dress as Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island (1964)

Natural brunette hair



Large brown eyes



Attractive figure



Trivia (32)



Her alma mater, Stephens College in Columbia, MO, is a college for women. Joan Crawford was expelled there in the early 1920s.

She received an Associate degree from Stephens College in Columbia, MO, and later a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in 1960.



Miss Nevada 1959; she participated in Miss America 1960.





She co-produced and starred on a television show called Dawn Wells: Reel Adventures (1997).

Her great-great-grandfather was a stagecoach driver during the 1849 California gold rush.



Her father once owned the Las Vegas Thunderbird Hotel.



Owns her own company, Wishing Wells, which makes clothing for people with disabilities.





She and Russell Johnson are best known for their roles on the series Gilligan's Island (1964), but they are also well known for being infamously referred to as "and the rest" in the series' original theme song. The phrase was later replaced by "the Professor and Mary Ann" after protests from the actors.

Runs a "boot camp" for wannabe actors at her ranch in Idaho.



Is a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.





The band Squirtgun has a song called "Mary Ann", which is about the character she played on Gilligan's Island (1964). She appeared in the music video for the song.



She and fellow Gilligan's Island (1964) cast member Tina Louise have both been asked to appear together in numerous television ad campaigns over the years. However, the two actresses have never liked each other and have not spoken in years. They have turned down many of these offers. The most notable one was a commercial for Old Navy clothing stores, which would feature them as Mary Ann Summers and Ginger Grant, still stuck on the island.

Has appeared in nearly 100 theatrical productions since 1967, averaging two plays a year.





Auditioned for the role of Lois Lane in Superman (1978), but lost to Margot Kidder

Has been a spokeswoman for Idaho Potatoes since 2004. A publicity video released by the Idaho Potato Commission, which features Wells demonstrating the perfect way to peel an Idaho potato, was posted on YouTube. It went viral and has over 10 million views.





As of January 2009 she was dividing her time between her home in Los Angeles and her ranch in Idaho. She also serves, along with fitness celebrity Denise Austin , as a spokeswoman for Idaho Potatoes.

As of July 2009, she had sold her Idaho and Los Angeles homes to take up residence full-time in Palm Springs, CA.



As of November 2005 she was producing television in Los Angeles, CA.



As of July 2004 she was serving as founder and Artistic Director of the Spud Drive in Film and Music Festival, in Driggs, ID, and Jackson Hole, WY.





Just before Alan Hale Jr. 's death, he contributed a family recipe ("Kansas Chicken and Dumplings") to her 1993 cookbook, "Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook". Hale, whose character was the inspiration behind such included concoctions as, "Skipper's Coconut Pie", "Skipper's Navy Bean Soup" and "Skipper's Goodbye Ribeye", can be seen depicted as Skipper Jonas Grumby, in numerous photographs throughout the book.

Former President of the Idaho Film & Television Institute.





Former Western actor Alan Hale Jr. took her under her wing, since she was 25. Their friendship lasted for 26 years, until Hale's own death in 1990.



As an actress, she was highly influenced by Alan Hale Jr.



Has highly praised Alan Hale Jr. for her stardom in acting.



Her acting mentor was the late Alan Hale Jr.



Credits Alan Hale Jr. as her favorite acting mentor/best friend.

Personal Quotes (13)

Acting is my first love.





[in 2004, on her Gilligan's Island (1964) co-star Tina Louise ] I saw Tina recently and she is so thin! I mean, I give her credit for staying in shape, but the woman needs to eat some lunch!

Just because a woman is over 50 does not mean she no longer has anything to offer. If anything, we have so much more to offer! We have lived life, we get better with age. I do my best work now in my 60s. Sure, I could retire; but what would I do? Play Bingo? I think not!



Mary Ann has been such a big part of my life these past 40 years, it's really impossible to get away from it. But why would I want to? Everywhere in the world that I go, I am greeted with love. Some kids who watched the show back then are still watching, but with their grandchildren now. That is a really wonderful thing! As an actress, I have succeeded, I created a character that meant something to some people and it has lasted. So I refuse to ignore it and run away from it.



The industry has changed somewhat over the years. I think the opportunity of being who you are is a little easier. You don't have to fit into the mold of the beautiful sexpot or the beautiful leading lady. Your essence of your personality is more of a key.



I hate to admit that because it brings false hopes to the poor kids thinking of going into the business, but I came here [Los Angeles] and got an agent within six weeks and got my first job within six weeks.





It bothers me at times when people say, "Oh, her career went nowhere after Gilligan's Island (1964)." In actual fact, doing more film and TV was not my interest. My theater career has flourished and I cherish that. As an actor, I have always believed theater is the true art form. I have played in nearly 100 productions in my career, with roles ranging from Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" to doing "Menopause: The Musical". In film or TV, I would never have been given the opportunity to play such a range of characters.



[on her supposed arrest for marijuana possession in 2007] I think it is so hysterical that people went nuts over it. I am what, now, 102 years old? I get booked for the first time in my life and suddenly I am a drug-using bum? I have told people the facts, but facts don't interest people or the media. They only trust headlines. The only reason I even cared was because it negatively affected my film festival and film school and my sponsors were concerned. If I did not own a not-for-profit school, I would be on Saturday Night Live (1975) making fun of it!

[on "The Vagina Monologues"] I wrote the producers and said I'd like to do it. And they said "Are you out of your mind? Mary Ann?".





[on the death of Jim Backus in 1989] We got letters like it was my family. Flowers were sent to our house.

I don't think you as an actor would accept a job on a series hoping it will be a failure. If you accept that role, you accept the responsibility.



I have been a working actress for nearly 50 years. In those 50 years, my only source of income has been from my acting career. Not many actors can say that! I feel very lucky that I have been able to earn a very comfortable living my entire adult life from this work that I love so much. But what I tell younger actors all the time is that you have to think of yourself as a brand. Much of the money that I make has been from being a spokeswoman. I have made millions of dollars by doing commercials, endorsing products and producing. If you want to be wealthy in this business, you have to do more than Shakespeare!





[about her relationship with Alan Hale Jr. ] [He] embodied the teddy-bearish Skipper, was a wonderful man. I never saw him angry.

Salary (2)