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The actress Dawn Wells became a household name with her portrayal of castaway Mary Anne on the Classic TV series "Gilligan's Island." Dawn was born in Reno, Nevada, on October 18, 1938, and in 1960 she became Miss Nevada in the Miss America pageant. Then in 1964 she got the famous role of Mary Anne Summers. The series only lasted three years, but it became a classic through reruns. Since "Gilligan's Island," Dawn has preformed in 66 theatrical productions and has many TV credits to her name. She now stays busy by running a "boot camp" for wannabe actors at her ranch in Wyoming.
To an entire generation of viewers, actress Dawn Wells will forever be associated with her recurring portrayal of Mary Ann Summers, the sugar-sweet and open-faced country lass shipwrecked on a desert isle with one of the zaniest television ensembles of the '60s, on the sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964-1967). That part lasted for the entire three-season run of the program, and represented Wells' first career breakthrough (she had previously essayed a number of guest appearances on shows including 77 Sunset Strip, 87th Precinct, and Hawaiian Eye). Following Gilligan, Wells accepted parts in a string of B-movies such as Winterhawk (1975), The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976), and Return to Boggy Creek (1977), and joined most of the Gilligan series cast for several reunion movies and specials, but devoted much of her time to founding and running the Wishing Wells Collection, a clothing line designed especially for the elderly and disabled. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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