Gilligan’s Island star gets a financial boost

Fans have stepped in to be Gilligan’s Island star Dawn Wells’s Thurston and Lovey Howell.

The 79-year-old actress who played Mary Ann on the ’60s sitcom is the beneficiary of a GoFundMe created by her friend, hair stylist Dugg Kirkpatrick. As of early Friday, the crowdfunding effort had raised more than $142,000 US toward its goal of $180,000.

“After 2008, like many of us, Dawn suffered through the banking crash and lost everything including her life savings in addition, to a life-threatening surgery which came close to killing her,” Kirkpatrick explained on the initiative’s page. “Dawn was a victim of an unexpected accident that required hospitalization for two months and a very long time to rest and heal.”

Kirkpatrick, who refers to Wells as his “dearest friend,” says the funds will help pay Wells’ hospital bills and IRS penalties.

Wells reflected on her fans’ generosity in a post shared to her official Facebook page Wednesday.

“I am amazed at the kindness and affection I have received from the current outpouring in regards to the Go Fund Me Page that is grabbing so much attention and want to address it,” she explained. “A dear dear friend of mine with a big heart was trying to help me with some common issues we all understand and some must face.”

Wells went on to say she didn’t know how she wound up in her current predicament.

“I thought I was taking all the proper steps to ensure my golden years,” she wrote. “Now, here I am, no family, no husband, no kids and no money.”

Wells’s rep Harlan Boll said there is a possibility she might not keep the donations. “At this time, it has not yet been decided whether she will return the funds so generously donated by her fans and friends or if it will go into a trust/fund [for transparency purposes] that would help alleviate the previously mentioned issues,” Boll said.