'Gilligan's Island' actress Dawn Wells deep in debt; friend asks fans for donations

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Dawn Wells (center), Bob Denver (left) and Alan Hale Jr. of "Gilligan's Island" in 1965. (AP file)

(FOX5NY.COM) - The actress best known as Marianne on Gilligan's Island is apparently broke and needs help from her fans.

Dawn Wells, 79, is nearly $200,000 in the hole because of recent medical bills and never recovering from the 2008 financial crisis.

A GoFundMe campaign is raising money for her so that she can move into an assisted-living facility. Dugg Kirkpatrick, who Wells his "dearest friend," set up the page to help her.

"Dawn was a victim of an unexpected accident that required hospitalization for two months and a very long time to rest and heal," Kirkpatrick wrote on the page.

He told TMZ that earlier this year Wells was recovering from complications from major surgery when she broke her knee.

In an update posted Wednesday on the GoFundMe page, Kirkpatrick wrote that he found an apartment for Wells in a retirement community in Glendale, Calif.

"Dawn is thrilled, humbled and flattered," he wrote. "Thank you thank you thank you for this fresh start."