Gilligan’s Island Star Dawn Wells Took an Unexpected Final Acting Role
A ghost dentist appears
Wells voiced Gumbalina Toothington in The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, an animated series that debuted on Netflix in 2018 and is now streaming on Peacock. The show continues the world of a 2017 DreamWorks Animation film based on Dav Pilkey’s children’s books, which have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide.
Gumbalina features in a Season 3 episode released in July 2019. George and Harold tell a ghost story about her while camping, then find themselves haunted by the spectral dentist.
A surprising final performance
The ghost turns out not to be cruel or frightening, but deeply committed to dental hygiene. Once the boys let her clean everyone’s teeth, including Captain Underpants’, she leaves them alone. Wells was 80 when she recorded the part, which became her last acting role before her death at 82 in 2020 from COVID-19 complications. The story spells the character’s name “Gumablina” once, while otherwise using “Gumbalina.”
Earlier cartoon return
The Captain Underpants role was Wells’ second voice credit. Her first came in Gilligan’s Planet, a CBS Saturday-morning cartoon that ran for one season in 1982. Wells returned as Mary Ann and also voiced Ginger Grant because Tina Louise did not reprise her live-action role. After Wells died, Louise was the last surviving member of the Gilligan’s Island cast.
Key points
- Dawn Wells’ final acting role was voicing ghost dentist Gumbalina Toothington.
- The Captain Underpants episode arrived on streaming in July 2019.
- Wells’ first voice role was in the 1982 cartoon Gilligan’s Planet.
- Tina Louise became the last surviving Gilligan’s Island cast member after Wells’ death.