Tina louise now dawn wells

Tina Louise, now the last surviving star of the beloved 1960s TV series “Gilligan’s Island,” paid tribute to her late costar Dawn Wells Wednesday.

“I will always remember Dawn’s kindness to me. We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time,” said a tweet on the 86-year-old star’s official Twitter account. “I hope that people will remember her the way that I do — always with a smile on her face.”

Louise played redheaded “movie star” Ginger Grant on the CBS sitcom. She was a glamorous foil to Wells’ comely girl-next-door Mary Ann Summers on the uncharted desert isle, where they were marooned with other patrons of the infamous “three-hour tour.” Wells died Wednesday of complications from COVID-19. She was 82.

Speaking to the New York Post, Louise described her costar as a “very wonderful person.”

“Nothing is more important than family and she was family. She will always be remembered,” Louise said.

“Gilligan’s Island” starred Bob Denver as the title character, Alan Hale Jr. (the Skipper), Jim Backus (the Millionaire), Natalie Schafer (his wife), Russell Johnson (the Professor), Wells and Louise. The ensemble situation comedy was reviled by TV critics and aired only from 1964 to 1967. Still, it lived on and grew a cult following in syndication for years thereafter.

“I only spent three years doing it,” Louise told The Times in 1992. The series was so successful, she added, because “everybody played their part right. Everybody wants to be on a deserted island. It covers everybody’s fantasy because there is somebody there for everyone.”

And the culture at large still wasn't done with Gilligan, even after all the silly Globetrotters nonsense. In 1982, Schwartz created a second animated series called "Gilligan's Planet," which was more directly connected to the original series and to "New Adventures" than it was to the live-action TV movies. On the show, the castaways built a spacecraft (!) and sailed to a lost planet somewhere in the galaxy. The castaways were also given a space alien pet called Bumper (voiced by producer Lou Scheimer). The entire cast returned, sans Louise, to reprise their roles once again. Dawn Wells, also playing Mary Ann, stepped in to voice Ginger. 

The final actress to play Ginger is only included on a technicality, as she didn't really play the Ginger Grant we all know and love. In the original, unaired pilot episode for "Gilligan's Island," Russell Johnson, Dawn Wells, and Tina Louise hadn't been hired yet, and the show instead featured three different characters besides the Professor, Mary Ann, and Ginger. Instead, it was a high school teacher played by John Gabriel, and a pair of secretaries played by Nancy McCarthy and Kit Smythe. The secretaries were named Bunny and Ginger, meaning Smythe technically played Ginger first. She was, however, a completely different character than the movie star that Louise would play. She just happened to have the same name. The original pilot finally aired to the public on October 16, 1992. 

Louise has, as far as I have been able to determine, never commented on the performances of Smythe, Wells, Forslund, Baldwin, or Webb. We, as fans, can comment on their performances all we like, however.

American actress (born 1934)

Tina Louise (nee Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island. Louise is the last living cast member.

She began her career on stage in the mid-1950s before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God's Little Acre for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

Louise had starring roles in The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. Her other films include The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, The Stepford Wives, and Johnny Suede. She also had a recurring role on the primetime soap opera Dallas.

Early life

Louise was born Tina Blacker on February 11, 1934, in New York City. An only child, she was raised by her mother, Sylvia (née Horn, later Myers), a fashion model. Her father, Joseph Blacker, was a candy store owner in Brooklyn, and later an accountant. Her parents divorced by the time she was four. Louise attended PS 6, Scarborough Day School and Miami University. She is Jewish.

The name "Louise" was added during her senior year in high school when she mentioned to her drama teacher that she was the only girl in the class without a middle name, and he suggested it.

Career

Early work

Louise got her first role at age two after being in an ad for her father's candy store. She began studying acting, singing, and dancing at age 17 under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in Manhattan. Her acting debut c

Actress Tina Louise, forever linked to her fellow Gilligan’s Island castmate Dawn Wells, remembered her today as “a very wonderful person.”

Wells died Wednesday of complications from Covid-19 at age 82.

Louise has kept a low profile regarding Gilligan’s Island over the years, declining to appear in any of the revivals or reboots or even discuss the show, which ended in 1967 but lives on in syndication.

Speaking via Twitter and later to the New York Post, Louise said she wanted everyone to remember Wells’s sunny disposition.

“Dawn was a very wonderful person. I want people to remember her as someone who always had a smile on her face,” Louise told theNew York Post. “Nothing is more important than family and she was family. She will always be remembered.”

Louise heard the news of Wells’s passing during a phone call with a friend. “Nobody wants to get that kind of news — especially that way, with this horrible disease.”

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She is now the last surviving member from the cast, who made a “three-hour tour” a television landmark during its 1964-1967 first run.

“We were part of the wonderful show that everyone loves and has been a great source of comfort, especially during these times,” said Louise.

And in response to that age-old “Ginger or Mary Ann” debate, Louise refused to choose. “There’s a character for every person.  Everyone can identify with a different person,” she said. “We were always a family. She had enormous fans.”