Yesterday, we reported that Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann in the classic television show “Gilligan’s Island,” had passed away due to complications of COVID-19 at the age of 82. Tina Louise, who is now the sole surviving cast member of “Gilligan’s Island,” has since broken her silence to pay tribute to her former co-star.

Fox News reported that Louise, who played the “movie star” Ginger Grant” on the show, said she was “sad to learn of Dawn’s passing.”

“I will always remember her kindness to me,” Louise said. “We shared in creating a cultural landmark that has continued to bring comfort and smiles to people during this difficult time. I hope that people will remember her the way that I do – always with a smile on her face.”

“I’m very sad,” she added to the New York Post. “Dawn was a very wonderful person. I want people to remember her as someone who always had a smile on her face. Nothing is more important than family and she was family. She will always be remembered.”

Louise went on to say that her favorite memory of Wells was being invited to her family’s house for Thanksgiving in the 1960s.

“I had just gotten married and it was Thanksgiving. I didn’t know how to cook particularly. She invited me to her house with her mom,” she said. “It became something I did every year at Thanksgiving. I never forgot that.”

“Gilligan’s Island” was only on for three seasons, from 1964-1967, but it has never gone off the air. To this day, it’s still being broadcast all over the world in over thirty different languages. Louise told Closer Weekly last year that the show “represented this great escape” in the wake of various tragedies, including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and an escalating Vietnam War.

“When we first aired, our country was in turmoil,” she reflected. “I think people really needed an escape. Then we lost our beloved Martin Luther King and in a time of uncertainty, ‘Gilligan’s Island represented this great escape.”

These days, Louise has nothing but fond memories of working on “Gilligan’s Island” with Wells.

“We brought a lot of joy to people and still do,” she said. “This show is an escape from so many things going on. Fathers share it with their children now. I get letters all the time about that.”

“The show will live forever — and so will she,” Louise added of Wells. “We’re going to remember her with a smile.”