Dawn Wells Biography
Dawn Wells born Dawn Elberta Wells, is an American actress, producer, author, spokesperson, journalist, motivational speaker, and teacher. She was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada.
Dawn Wells went to Reno High School before she attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she majored in chemistry. Later she transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated in 1960 with a degree in theater arts and design.
Dawn Wells Age
She was born on October 18, 1938. She is 80 years old as of 2018.
Dawn Wells Children – Dawn Wells Husband
She married Larry Rosen, a talent agent, in 1962. The couple had no children and were divorced in 1967.
Dawn had a dream of being a ballerina but bad knees prevented her from pursuing it . In 1959, she competed and won in the Miss Nevada pageant and went on to compete in the 1960 Miss America pageant. After graduating University of Washington, Dawn moved to Hollywood to start her acting career.
She was arrested by Idaho police for reckless driving and possession of marijuana on October 18, 2007 and was found guilty . She served six months of unsupervised probation apart from giving a fine. Her humanitarian and charitable works include running her own clothing line ‘Wishing Wells Collections’ for physically challenged people and supporting Denver Foundation among others. She is also a spokeswoman for ‘Idaho Potatoes’.
Wells has continued to lend her support to the Denver Foundation, a charity chaired by Dreama Denver, widow of Wells’ Gilligan’s Island co-star Bob Denver.She appeared at the Denver Foundation’s Christmas Wish Celebrity Auction, in November 2009, helping to raise funds for the disabled and disadvantaged in West Virginia.
Dawn Wells Movies and TV Shows
Dawn has appeared in over 150 Television shows, over 70 theatrical productions, and a number of Feature Films. She was also Co-Executive producer of one of the highest rated CBS movie-of-the-week, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, in which she starred and hosted. She also Co-Executive produced, another movie-of-the-week about the 60’s Batman TV series, Return to the Batcave, . She also appeared in the feature films This is Our Time and Silent but Deadly. She also appeared in the feature film, Super Sucker, written, produced, directed, and starring Jeff Daniels.
She has had recurring roles on numerous television shows including Growing Pains, The Love Boat, Bonanza, Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6, and 77 Sunset Strip. Some of her other television credits include: Three Sisters, Meego, Roseanne, Columbo, Herman’s Head, Baywatch, ALF, Matt Houston, Gilligan’s Planet, Fantasy Island, Hagen, Vega$, The FBI, The Wild Wild West, The Invaders, Burke’s Law, The Joey Bishop Show, Channing, The Third Man, Ripcord, Laramie, It’s a Man’s World, Lawman, 87th Precinct, Tales of Wells Fargo, Everglades, The Detectives, Wagon Train, Cheyenne, Maverick, and The Roaring 20’s. Some of her Television movies-of-the-week credits include: High School USA, The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island, The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island, and Rescue from Gilligan’s Island. She was also seen on such shows as Today Show, Steve Harvey, FOX News, Tonight Show, Joey Bishop Show, Password, and more.
Dawn’s feature film credits include; The New Interns, Forever for Now, Lover’s Knot, Soulmates, The Princess and the Drawf, Return to Boggy Creek, The Town that Dreaded Sundown with Andrew Prine, Winterhawk; which she starred in and also narrated .
She has also starred in theatrical productions by playwrights such as Noel Cowards and Neil Simon, as well as the National Tours of Chapter Two and They’re Playing Our Song. She also appeared in Fatal Attraction with Ken Howard, the revised female version of The Odd Couple with Marcia Wallace, The Allergist’s Wife, Love Letters with Adam West, Steel Magnolias, Nuncrackers, Always Patsy Cline,the North American premiere of Lawrence Roman’s Make Me a Match, as Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter, and The Vagina Monologues. Dawn also starred as Gingy in Love, Loss and What I Wore in New York, Chicago, Delaware, Scottsdale, San Jose, and Laguna Beach.
She also hosted a CBS variety show called, TVs All Time Favorites, a Western Union commercial, many voice–overs, and countless radio and television talk show appearances, including The Today Show (four times). While serving as Australia’s Castaway Correspondent she interviewed talents such as Robin Williams, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, Ron Howard, Richard Donner, and Julia Roberts. In 2013, for the premiere of Sandra Bullock’s movie Gravity, Dawn presented her with a Coconut Cream Pie, as the two women both know what it’s like to be stranded. Dawn has been a guest Chef Du Jour for a week on the TV Food Network (which is no surprise), as she has also written her first cookbook called, Mary Ann’s Gilligan’s Island Cookbook and her second cookbook is due out soon. Dawn has co-produced and hosted the Children’s Miracle Network Broadcast for 15 years in Mid-Missouri as well as her own female fishing show called, Dawn Wells’ Reel Adventures, on which she has gone fly fishing all over the world.
She has also produced many television movies. She founded Dawn Wells’ Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho, in 1998 and The Spud Film Institute in Idaho and Wyoming in 2004. She has also been Artist in Residence in many universities.
American bi-weekly magazine TV Guide ranked her #50 on its list of ‘50 Sexiest Stars of All Time’ in 2005.
She co-wrote the book ‘What Would Mary Ann Do? A Guide to Life’ with Steve Stinson and released it on September 8, 2014 to coincide it with Gilligan’s Island’s 50th anniversary. She was named as Marketing Ambassador of MeTV Network in May 2016.
Dawn Wells Movies and Tv Shows
- 1961: The Everglades ‒ as Piney
- 1961: The Cheyenne Show ‒ Lone Patrol; as Sarah Claypool
- 1961: Maverick ‒ The Deadly Image; as Caprice Rambeau
- 1961: 77 Sunset Strip ‒ The Rival Eye Caper; as Nixie Martin
- 1961: 77 Sunset Strip ‒ The Inverness Cape Caper; as Connie Kenwood
- 1962: Bonanza ‒ The Way Station; as Marty Johnson
- 1962: It’s a Man’s World ‒ 2 episodes; as Molly
- 1963: Palm Springs Weekend
- 1963: Ripcord – Willie; as Evvie Eden
- 1963: Laramie ‒ The Violent Ones; as Millie
- 1964: The New Interns
- 1964: The Joey Bishop Show – Joey and Roberta Sherwood Play a Benefit
- 1964–67: Gilligan’s Island (98 episodes)
- 1967: The Invaders – Dark Outpost
- 1968: The Wild Wild West – The Night of the Headless Woman; as Betsy Jeffers
- 1968: Bonanza ‒ The Burning Sky; as Moon Holt
- 1975: Winterhawk
- 1976: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
- 1977: Return to Boggy Creek
- 1978: Rescue from Gilligan’s Island (TV movie)
- 1979: The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island (TV movie)
- 1981: The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island (TV movie)
- 1982–83: Gilligan’s Planet ‒ voices of Mary Ann and Ginger Grant
- 1983: High School U.S.A. (TV movie)
- 1983: Family Feud: Gilligan’s Island vs. Lost in Space
- 1983: Family Feud: Gilligan’s Island vs. Batman
- 1987: ALF ‒ Somewhere Over the Rerun; as Mary Ann
- 1988: Fox Late show with Ross Shafer. Cast reunion. As herself
- 1989: The Princess and the Dwarf
- 1992: Soulmates as Lucille Perkins
- 1992: Baywatch – Now Sit Right Back and You’ll Hear a Tale; as Mary Ann
- 1994: Space Ghost Coast to Coast ‒ Gilligan; as herself
- 1995: Roseanne (Sherwood Shwartz, a loving tribute) as Darlene
- 1996: Lover’s Knot
- 2000: The Man Show ‒ episode 206, as herself
- 2001: Surviving Gilligan’s Island as herself (TV movie)
- 2002: Super Sucker
- 2004: Forever for Now
- 2005: Cyber Meltdown
- 2005: Girlfriends as herself
- 2010: RuPaul’s Drag U ‒ “A Star Is Born Again”; as herself
- 2012: Hotel Arthritis
- 2016: The Bold and the Beautiful; one episode
Dawn Wells Net Worth
Dawn Wells has an estimated net worth of $7 million.
Dawn Wells Photo
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