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A wholesome beauty with comedic appeal, Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. Wells' childhood was a happy and healthy one. She and her mother grew their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens and Dawn rode horses. In her high school years, she was the class treasurer, President of the debate team and an honor roll student. Dawn was on her way to becoming a ballerina, but bad knees prevented her from realizing the dream. She was Miss Nevada in 1959 and went on to the 1960 Miss America Pageant. Dawn had wanted to be a doctor, and enrolled in the elite Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri to study medicine, but then she discovered the Drama Club. She then transferred to the University of Washington, which was known for their Theatre Department, and she graduated with a Degree in Theatre.
Dawn moved to Hollywood and was cast as Mary Ann Summers on CBS's Gilligan's Island (1964). The rest is history. However, there was much more to Dawn than her simple Mary Ann character. Wells refused to be an unemployed actor after the show ended and was never out of work since the show decades ago. She performed in over 66 theatrical productions, including the National Touring Company of "They're Playing Our Song!" She did countless voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. She worked for the Australian news show "Midday" and interviewed such talents as Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks, to name a few. Dawn has also had great success as a producer and has a number of television movies to her credit. After years of touring and performing in dramas, comedies, and musical theatre, Dawn slowed down a little. In 1998, she founded the Dawn Wells' Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho. The camp is for the already trained actor looking to make the transition from the amateur to the professional actor.
Wells managed the camp for many years. She has been in a popular commercial for Western Union, capitalizing on her character Mary Ann Summers. In 2003, Dawn did tours of the plays "Love Letters" with Adam West and Eve Ensler's Award Winning "The Vagina Monologues." In early 2004, Dawn established and founded The Spud Film Institute in Idaho and Wyoming, and held the first ever Spud Drive in Film and Music Festival in the summer of 2004. She was also the artistic director of the festival. If that is not enough, Ms. Wells also had her own clothing line for the physically challenged called "Wishing Wells Collections" and she recently launched her own skin care line, Classic Beauty. Dawn Wells continued to contribute to the business she loved so much and constantly gave back to the acting community. She mentored young actors and traveled to colleges all across the United States to teach Master Classes. She served as Artist in Residence at several Universities. Dawn was in constant demand for personal appearances and speaking engagements, yet never forgot to give back to the Artistic community. She will surely be remembered for all her good work. Wells passed away on December 30, 2020 at age 82. You can get information about all of Dawn's organizations at her website, dawn-wells.com.- Actress
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Prolific and ubiquitous British bit player and dancer Pauline Lesley Chamberlain was born on October 2, 1932 in West Ham, Essex, England. The daughter of a piano player father, Pauline attended a French convent school in Palmers Green as well as learned ballet and tap at a local dance school. Chamberlain went on to attend the Aida Foster Stage School. Pauline and her twin sister Pamela were both featured as chorus girls in a 1948 production of the pantomime "Robin Hood and His Merry Men." The Chamberlain sisters went on to appear together in the pantomime "Robinson Crusoe" and did a tour of Great Britain in "Folies Bergere" for Bernard Delfont. Moreover, Pauline and Pamela were both members of Margaret Kelly's dancing troupe Bluebell Girls, appeared in revues at the London Palladium, and even performed in cabaret together in Brussels, Italy, Scotland, and Great Britain at the Dorchester as The Chamberlain Twins - What a Pair. A pretty brunette with a warm smile and a chipper disposition, Chamberlain first began appearing in films in uncredited minor roles while still in her teens in the late 1940's. Pauline could usually be spotted in movies cutting it up on the dance floor, as a guest at a party, or performing on stage (she was often cast as a showgirl). Chamberlain was featured in scores of films and a bunch of television shows in a career that spanned several decades. Pauline died at age 88 from complications of COVID-19 on January 14, 2021.