What “Gilligan’s Island” fan, when faced with a sticky situation, hasn’t asked themselves: “What would Mary Ann do?”
Well now Dawn Wells has the answer. The still-adorable 76-year-old actress has written a “guide to life” based on her loveable character from the 1960s sitcom entitled, of course, “What Would Mary Ann Do?”
“There was really nobody like her,” Wells, in Boston for a Jimmy Fund fundraiser, told the Track. “Here were these seven misfits from all over the world living together and Mary Ann was the voice of reason.”
Mary Ann’s alter ego gives advice on just about everything from work ethic to manners to today’s wired world and cult of celebrity.
“We’re all interested in the $500 person, the Kardashians of the world,” she said. “But when you’re looking for a partner you should be looking at who would be kind, who would be your helpmate, instead of what they are wearing.”
Mary Ann, of course, had only a few outfits to wear during her three-season tour of duty on “Gilligan’s Island”: a gingham dress, the occasional bathing suit and her iconic halter top and short-shorts.
“They were the first short-shorts on television — way before Daisy Duke,” she recalled. “But we couldn’t show my navel; the censors wouldn’t allow it. Tina (Louise, who played movie star Ginger,) couldn’t show her cleavage and I couldn’t show my navel. It’s amazing when you think about what they show on TV today!”
“Gilligan’s Island” ran for only three seasons on CBS before it was canceled — ironically when it was No. 1 in the ratings — to make room for “Gunsmoke.” But it has never been off the air since. The show’s reruns have been on TV somewhere continuously for 50 years, in 30 languages.
“It had to resonate in some way,” Wells said. “But we thought it was the stupidest show and that it wouldn’t last six weeks!”
Wells was in town last week to sign books and meet fans at Raise Your Glass for Jimmy, a wine-tasting event to benefit adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber.
“Boston has such a wonderful reputation for the medical facilities here,” she said. “And this is really a fabulous cause so I was really thrilled to be here.”
File Under: Mary Ann’s Faithful.
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