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Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson shared ''a mutual fondness," and spent time together offstage
Johnson wrote of their relationship in his 1993 memoir.
Television is so powerful that we often confuse actors for their characters. Some all-time sitcom greats are plagued by lifelong association with their most famous characters. As fans, we're so affected by our favorite shows, that we want to learn that the stars are like the people they portray. We want the heroes in our stories to be played by forthright champions, and we always ascribe villainous traits to the actors who play the baddies.
On Gilligan's Island, Dawn Wells was Mary Ann Summers. She was a farmgirl in a gingham dress, who won a trip on the tour boat via lottery. When that three-hour tour ended in a shipwreck, Mary Ann was thrust into life as a castaway. She wasn't in Kansas anymore.
There's good news for everyone who fell in love with Mary Ann: Dawn Wells' coworkers agreed that she was perfectly cast in the role. The actress, apparently, had a lot in common with the wholesome character she performed.
Russell Johnson played The Professor on Gilligan's Island and discusses the other stars of the show in his 1993 Here on Gilligan's Isle. He wrote that Dawn Wells was "pure Americana," noting that she competed in 1960 for the Miss America crown. He added some historical context for the claim as well, stating that Wells' great-grandfather drove a stagecoach during the Gold Rush. It doesn't get more all-American than that.
Tellingly, Johnson also said that Mary Ann's popularity was a surprise to Wells. She assumed that her costar, Tina Louise, would get the most fan mail as Ginger Grant. However, the truth was that people were much more vocal in their admiration of Wells' "girl next door character."
"You may be glad to know that Dawn Wells has always been very much like Mary Ann: kind, gentle, and extremely good with children," wrote Johnson.
"I guess if I had to identify the one I was closest to in the cast, it would be Dawn. We've always shared a mutual fondness for one another. It was always platonic. At the outset, we were both neglected in the opening credits and referred to as 'the rest,' and our roles were about the same proportion in the beginning. As time went by, I think the producers and writers began to realize that the professor and Mary Ann were the lone voices of logic. We were very important to the show, and they expanded our parts."
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