On a recent ranking of the seven main characters on “Gilligan’s Island,” /Film ranked Mary Ann at only #5. This is not to say that she was an insignificant character, though. Indeed, all seven of the characters on “Gilligan’s Island” were invaluable members of the ensemble, and removing any one of them would irreparably damage the established comedic dynamic. Mary Ann ranked low merely because she was given so few stories of her own. Her function, however, was key. Mary Ann was something of an innocent character, and her happiness was a sign that all was well on the island. You knew things were bad when Mary Ann became upset.
Also, actress Dawn Wells embodied the character perfectly. Indeed, the characters on “Gilligan’s Island” have become comedic archetypes for the ages, so deeply ingrained in the American subconscious that they are practically Jungian. It would be hard to imagine “Gilligan’s Island” without the presence of Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Tina Louise, Natalie Schafer, Jim Backus, or Wells.
But, it seems, a bigger movie star was being considered for the role of Mary Ann before Wells landed the role. In a 2003 interview with the website Retrocrush, “Gilligan’s Island” creator Sherwood Schwartz revealed that Racquel Welch was in consideration for the role. /Film previously wrote about Welch’s near-casting recently. In the Retrocrush interview, however, Schwartz revealed the main reason Welch was turned down and why Wells was selected. There were concerns that Welch was “too sexy” for the part, although it seems Schwartz selected Wells for more down-to-earth reasons.
Welch vs. Wells! Fight!
It should be remembered that Mary Ann was, before being washed up on the desert island, a farmworker. She was meant to be the avatar for the working class on the Island. By extension, the Howells were America’s bourgeoisie, the Skipper was its infrastructure, Ginger its entertainers, the Professor its intelligentsia, and Gilligan its innocence. Because at least three of those characters represented glamor, fame, and wealth, Mary Ann had to be decided not glamorous. Racquel Welch, it seems, would have been too dazzling to play a down-to-earth character like Mary Ann. Or, as Schwartz put it:
“Well, I chose Dawn Wells was the one who got the job over Raquel. She’s a wonderful lady. Raquel was a fine actress, but she was just too sophisticated for the role.”
Welch, back when “Gilligan’s Island” was being cast, was still rising to fame. She had a regular gig on the variety show “The Hollywood Palace,” and had turned up in TV shows like “McHale’s Navy,” “Bewitched,” and “The Virginian.” She was also in the Shelley Winters drama “A House is a Home.” It wouldn’t be until 1966 that her star-making turn in the sci-fi film “Fantastic Voyage” would make hers a household name. That same year, Welch starred in “One Million Years B.C.,” and the next year, she would appear in “Bedazzled,” cementing her status as a sex symbol. Having an actress like Welch play Mary Ann, especially opposite Tina Louise as Ginger, would have thrown off the character balance. Two movie stars is one too many for “Gilligan’s Island.”
Sherwood Schwartz definitely sensed correctly that Welch was too sophisticated to play a friendly farmworker like Mary Ann. He made the right decision. Wells was the better choice. Wells passed away in 2020, a victim of COVID-19. Welch died in 2023.
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