The Tragic Death Of Gilligan's Island Star Dawn Wells

Although Dawn Wells was forever fond of Mary Ann Summers, she didn't want to be boxed in by role. "The first thing you want to do is break that character and go do something else," she admitted to Smashing Interviews Magazine about leaving the role.

Following Wells' time as Mary Ann, she did just that by nabbing other roles on shows like The Love Boat, ALF, Growing Pains, The Bold and the Beautiful, and even Baywatch among others, per IMDb. She also popped up in movies like 1975's Winterhawk, 1976's The Town That Dreaded Sundown, and 2012's Silent But Deadly. Beyond that, Variety noted that she "had a long career on stage" and "appear[ed on] national tours" for many popular plays. Her final gig appears to have been taking on voicework as Gumbalina Toothington in The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants children's series. When Wells wasn't working, she worked on behalf of charities like the Terry Lee Wells Foundation, which "focus[es] on women and children in Northern Nevada," according to Variety. She also "received the Elephant Sanctuary Trumpeting Award for her work with the Elephant Sanctuary." 

Hollywood may have lost a star when Wells passed away, but the world lost a true treasure.

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