Celebrity
'Gilligan's Island' Star Dawn Wells Arrested for Pot Possession
By Ann Turner

Mar 12, 2008

Dawn Wells

Dawn Wells, who starred as 'good girl' Mary Ann on the classic hit sitcom Gilligan's Island, is on probation following an arrest for possession of marijuana. Wells was taken into custody late last year when she was found with half-smoked joints in her car after being pulled over for reckless driving.  

The 69-year-old actress was pulled over in Idaho last October for driving erratically after leaving a surprise birthday party held for her earlier in the day. Police recovered several half-smoked joints from the car as well as several containers used to store marijuana, according to United Press International. A sheriff's deputy at the scene said he detected "a strong odor of burning marijuana" coming from Wells' vehicle, according to 9News.com.  

Wells claimed at the time the pot did not belong to her, but were left in her car by two hitchhikers she had recently picked up. The Gilligan's Island star was originally charged with a DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.  

Wells was sentenced in February to five days in jail and six months of probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving as part of a plea agreement. The other charges in the case were dropped.  

According to the Associated Press, a friend of Wells' testified in the case that the marijuana belonged to him and she was not aware of its presence in the car. Well's lawyer claims she was not driving under the influence and was driving oddly because she was trying to change the heat settings in her car.  

Wells most recently appeared in several episodes of the Christian-themed show Pastor Greg and on the game show 1 vs. 100. Her most famous work was as the 'good girl' Mary Ann Summers on the classic hit television show Gilligan's Island, which ran for 82 episodes from 1964 to 1967.