RIP Dawn Wells

I always called those types “sleepers”, hot just not as initially glamorous as the Ginger/Loni type but better if you just look below surface.

 

The thing is, Dawn Wells is a former Miss Nevada.

 

She and Russell Johnson originally weren't supposed to be on the show, then they were put in the first few episodes, and then became a permanent part of the cast. Which is why there are some early episodes with the opening song referring to them as "and the rest," and then afterward, the lyrics are changed to a throw-in at the end as "the Professor and Mary Ann."

RIP. Loved her when I was a kid. Liked Ginger a lot too.

 

She was charged in pre legalization days
When Bob Denver got busted in 1998 he said he got it from Wells, but recanted in court

“Gilligan’s” Mary Ann busted for marijuana – The Denver Post

 

Her dad had a shipping company called "Wells Cargo."

 

I took photos of and met Dawn Wells while she was appearing at a dinner theater in the early 80s when I was in college and stringing for the KC Star.

It was a bit surreal.

 

And in keeping with NBC Standards and Practices at the time, no navel.

 

The only thing close to Barbara Eden and Jeannie was Anne Francis, who starred in Honey West for two seasons
West was a hot LA private detective who had a pet ocelot

 

In one old interview it was said Tina Louise's contract stipulated she would be the last person in the credits.

In another interview, Bob Denver claims that after the first season, he insisted that Johnson and Wells be added; otherwise he would exercise a clause in his contract stating control over who was last, and he would take it. Don't know if Louise's contract was reworked or what.

And he wasn't sued?

Pizza joint in Fort Lauderdale was sued by Blockbuster's Wayne Huizenga for calling itself "Clockbusters" (with guaranteed 30-minute delivery).

 

As a kid who had relatives in Texarkana when that movie came out, I did NOT want to visit them.

 

For my money, Jan Smithers/Bailey Quarters is the ultimate sleeper.