Mary Ann’s Belly Button ‘Was An Issue’ on ‘Gilligan’s Island’

Gilligan’s Island sparked one of the great television comedy debates of all time: Who would you rather date, Ginger or Mary Ann?

While Ginger was the show’s designated sex symbol, a Hollywood starlet who oozed glamour and allure, a surprising majority of fans were in love with Mary Ann. According to Russell “The Professor” Johnson, Dawn Wells received more fan mail than any of the other cast members. In his book Here on Gilligan’s Isle, Johnson quotes another writer about the Ginger versus Mary Ann debate: “Ginger Grant could make men swoon — a perfumed beauty in slinky gowns. But Mary Ann was a breath of fresh air in sporty short shorts. The girl next door.”

Those sporty short shorts were a problem, according to Wells. “There were network censors back in those days, and they were really strict,” she told People in 2018. “They had to make sure that Ginger wasn’t showing too much cleavage and that I wasn’t showing too much belly button.” 

Tina Louise, who played Ginger, made things worse by gradually adjusting her V-neck gown to show more cleavage, according to producer Sherwood Schwartz’s book, Inside Gilligan’s Island. He had to threaten to cut her out of scenes unless she adjusted her shoulder straps to an appropriate level.

Mary Ann was another story. Schwartz and the show’s other creatives encouraged Wells to tie her gingham shirt in a knot, exposing her bare midriff. “But then my belly button was an issue,” she said, “so my shorts were pulled up to cover my navel.” (Barbara Eden had to pull off similar gymnastics with her harem pants on I Dream of Jeannie.) 

Network censors would come to the Gilligan’s Island set in the name of “enforcing broadcast standards,” though it sounds like they were more interested in ogling its stars than protecting America’s innocence. “I was a young girl on my first big network acting gig,” Wells said, “and there were these men — the censors were all men at the time — and they were looking at my torso!”

Wells explained she rarely felt objectified, though, despite the censor attention. “Sherwood would never have let me be taken advantage of like that. He was like a father. Such a good man. Such a family man. Everyone’s talking about #MeToo now, and I can say that I never had to deal with that on the set of Gilligan.”

That said, Schwartz was exhausted by his fatherly job of making sure Wells’ hip-huggers were hitched up high enough. One night when he returned from work after making sure Gilligan’s Island adhered to decency rules, his wife, Mildred, asked about his day. 

“It was rough, dear,” he replied. “Between Tina’s breasts and Dawn’s belly button, I didn’t have a moment’s peace.”