 I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong. There is so much more to this story
than you can imagine. Maynard Wells founded Wells Cargo in Reno,
Nev., back in 1954 to manufacture cargo trailers. But this story is
not about him; it's about his daughter Dawn and her friend Tatiana
Blacker.
Dawn grew up wanting to be a ballerina, but bad knees prevented
her from fulfilling that dream. She had a pretty successful career
anyway. She entered the Miss Nevada pageant in 1959 -- and won. The
following year she entered the Miss America pageant -- and lost. She
moved to California to become an actress and ended up in a sitcom
that made her and her character a household name both during and
after the show's three-season run from 1964 to 1968.
I think it's safe to say that the success of her father's
business meant that she never had to work if she didn't want to. The
same could be said about her friend Tatiana. Miss Blacker's
grandfather invented a flange that was very successful, and her
parents operated a successful candy store in Brooklyn.
Like Dawn, Tatiana also became an actress. She starred with Julie
Newmar in the Broadway play "Li'l Abner." In fact, she was such a
great singer that she probably could have had a career as a singer
if she wanted to. Like many Hollywood stars, she took a stage name.
Her biggest success, by the way, was for a role that she really
didn't like.
I have to credit Tatiana's friend Dick Heckenkamp, who provided
me with some of the background information about her. Dick is my
dad's first cousin, and he was a Hollywood agent who represented
Tatiana and still keeps in touch with her. His son, Spencer Garrett,
was in the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies."
[to top of second column]
 |
 As the age-old question goes: Do you prefer Ginger or Mary Ann?
While you might not recognize the name of Dawn Wells, you
undoubtedly recognize the name of her character on the sitcom --
unless you've been stranded on a deserted island for 20 years, that
is. Dawn played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island." Then what about
Tatiana Blacker?
Her stage name was Tina Louise, aka Ginger Grant, also on
"Gilligan's Island."
Here are a few other little-known facts about "Gilligan's
Island"...
-
Gilligan's first
name -- although it was never revealed on the show -- was
Willie. Yup, Willie Gilligan. Producer Sherwood Schwartz later
revealed in an interview that he chose the name of Gilligan by
picking it out of a phone book. He was looking for a funny name
to indicate that the show was a sitcom.
-
The agent who
signed "Gilligan" star Bob Denver to his first contract was the
above-mentioned Dick Heckenkamp.
-
The skipper's real name on the show was
Jonas Grumby.
One of life's great mysteries is... if the professor could make a
radio out of a coconut, why couldn't he figure out how to patch the
hole in the boat to get the castaways off the island?
[By
PAUL NIEMANN]
Paul Niemann's column has appeared in
more than 80 newspapers and counting. He is the author of the
"Invention Mysteries" series of books and can be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2009
(Other
columns) |
