Dawn Wells Remembered By Fellow ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Castmate Tina Louise

Bruce Haring
·2 min read

Actress Tina Louise, forever linked to her fellow Gilligan’s Island castmate Dawn Wells, remembered her today as “a very wonderful person.”

Wells died Wednesday of complications from Covid-19 at age 82.

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Louise has kept a low profile regarding Gilligan’s Island over the years, declining to appear in any of the revivals or reboots or even discuss the show, which ended in 1967 but lives on in syndication.

Speaking via Twitter and later to the New York Post, Louise said she wanted everyone to remember Wells’s sunny disposition.

“Dawn was a very wonderful person. I want people to remember her as someone who always had a smile on her face,” Louise told the New York Post. “Nothing is more important than family and she was family. She will always be remembered.”

Louise heard the news of Wells’s passing during a phone call with a friend. “Nobody wants to get that kind of news — especially that way, with this horrible disease.”

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She is now the last surviving member from the cast, who made a “three-hour tour” a television landmark during its 1964-1967 first run.

“We were part of the wonderful show that everyone loves and has been a great source of comfort, especially during these times,” said Louise.

And in response to that age-old “Ginger or Mary Ann” debate, Louise refused to choose. “There’s a character for every person. Everyone can identify with a different person,” she said. “We were always a family. She had enormous fans.”

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