{"id":37285,"date":"2014-09-23T02:58:11","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T02:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=37285"},"modified":"2014-09-23T02:58:11","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T02:58:11","slug":"tinseltown-talks-dawn-wells-celebrates-50-years-of-gilligans-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/23\/tinseltown-talks-dawn-wells-celebrates-50-years-of-gilligans-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinseltown Talks – Dawn Wells celebrates 50 years of \u2018Gilligan\u2019s Island\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Recent Dawn Wells photo from publicist.<\/p><\/div>\n

What should have been \u201ca three-hour tour\u201d turned into a 50 year journey for Dawn Wells, who played castaway Mary Ann Summers in the zany sitcom \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d that debuted on CBS in September, 1964.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still talking and writing about the show and it continues to gain new fans,\u201d said Wells, from her Los Angeles home. \u201cIf you\u2019re a 10 year old kid watching the show today, there\u2019s not much to date it \u2013 a desert island is a desert island!\u201d<\/p>\n

To celebrate the show\u2019s 50th anniversary, Wells recently released her new book \u201cWhat Would Mary Ann Do? – A Guide to Life,\u201d co-written with Steve Stinson (see www.dawnwells.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote the book partly in response to fans over the years,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that so many people still appreciate Mary Ann\u2019s sense of values.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there are a few \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island\u201d stories in the book, the focus is on down-to-earth advice from Mary Ann \u2013 and Dawn\u2019s \u2013 perspective.<\/p>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Cover of Dawn’s latest book from publicist.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt was a fun, silly show that made you laugh and didn\u2019t preach to the audience,\u201d she says. \u201cBut there was an awful lot in the character of Mary Ann that kids could learn from today: she was fair, she pitched in to help, she had standards, she wasn\u2019t worried about a $500 purse, and she would be your best friend you could trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond \u201cGilligan\u2019s Island,\u201d Wells says she performed in over 150 television and film roles, and appeared in more than sixty theatrical productions in which she continues to work today.\u00a0 But acting, she says, was never her original career plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be a pediatric surgeon!\u201d said Wells, who turns 76 in October. \u201cI took a theater course and my professor said I was so good that I should major in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a theater major at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wells was asked to enter the Miss America contest. In 1959 she ran for Miss Nevada \u2013 her home state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would be fun to get up in front of an audience and do a dramatic scene for the contest, but never thought I would win because I was so tiny and short,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut I won! After graduating, I told myself I would give acting a chance for one year and if it was not successful, would go back to medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tinseltown<\/a>

Dawn Wells, right, with Gilligan’s Island cast Publicity photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

She never returned to med school!<\/p>\n

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., with features, columns, and interviews in over 450 magazines and newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What should have been \u201ca three-hour tour\u201d turned into a 50 year journey for Dawn Wells, who played castaway Mary Ann Summers in the zany…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nTinseltown Talks - Dawn Wells celebrates 50 years of \u2018Gilligan\u2019s Island\u2019 - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/23\/tinseltown-talks-dawn-wells-celebrates-50-years-of-gilligans-island\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tinseltown Talks - 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