49 Fun Facts About Love Boat

On which network did The Love Boat originally air?

ABC aired The Love Boat from September 1977 to May 1986, nine seasons in a Saturday-night slot.

Which other series shared that Saturday-night line-up until 1984?

Fantasy Island followed The Love Boat on ABC's Saturday schedule from 1978 until it ended in 1984.

Who was the executive producer?

Aaron Spelling, the producer behind Starsky & Hutch and Dynasty, was the show's executive producer.

Who played Captain Merrill Stubing?

Gavin MacLeod, earlier Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, played Captain Stubing for all nine seasons.

Which real ship was the show mainly set aboard?

The Pacific Princess, built in 1971 as Sea Venture, was the main setting; her sister ship Island Princess stood in when schedules clashed.

Who played Vicki Stubing?

Jill Whelan played Vicki Stubing from her 1979 debut through the series finale in 1986.

Which port was the ship based in?

The Pacific Princess sailed from Los Angeles on Mexican Riviera cruises, the itinerary the series used on screen.

Which book was the original pilot based on?

Jeraldine Saunders's 1974 memoir The Love Boats supplied the premise for the first Love Boat TV movie in 1976.

What job had that author actually done at sea?

Jeraldine Saunders worked as a cruise director, and her 1974 memoir The Love Boats drew on that job.

How many TV movies aired before the regular series began?

Three TV movies — The Love Boat (1976), The Love Boat II and The New Love Boat (both 1977) — preceded the weekly series.

Who played the ship's doctor?

Bernie Kopell played Dr. Adam Bricker, the ship's physician, for all nine seasons.

What is the bartender's name?

Isaac Washington, played by Ted Lange, was the ship's bartender for the whole run of the series.

What is the purser Gopher's real first name?

Gopher's real name is Burl Smith; Fred Grandy played the purser for all nine seasons.

Why did Fred Grandy miss the four post-series specials?

Grandy was campaigning for Congress in Iowa while the specials were made; he won in November 1986 and served four terms in the House.

Who played Julie McCoy, the ship's entertainment chief?

Lauren Tewes played cruise director Julie McCoy from the 1977 premiere, the role that brought her a Golden Globe nomination.

Who is Vicki Stubing?

Vicki Stubing is the captain's daughter, played by Jill Whelan, who came aboard to live with her father.

Which character did Ted McGinley play from season seven?

Ted McGinley joined in season seven as Ashley 'Ace' Covington Evans, the ship's photographer.

Which three cast members appeared in every episode, special and final movie?

Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell and Ted Lange appeared in every episode, all four specials and the 1990 TV movie; Grandy missed the specials.

Who composed the show's theme song?

Charles Fox, who also wrote the Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley themes, composed the Love Boat music.

Who wrote the lyrics to that theme?

Paul Williams, lyricist of Rainbow Connection and We've Only Just Begun, wrote the words to the Love Boat theme.

Who sang the theme for the first eight seasons?

Jack Jones, the Grammy-winning crooner, sang the Love Boat theme over the titles for seasons one to eight.

Who sang the theme in the last season and the four specials?

Dionne Warwick recorded a new version of the theme for the ninth season (1985–86) and the four later specials.

Which frequent guest star performed the theme song inside an episode?

Charo, a recurring guest as the singer April Lopez, performed the theme on screen and also released her own recording of it.

How many Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series did the show receive?

They came in four consecutive years from 1978 to 1981, and it never won.

What happened to the ship that starred in the show?

The Pacific Princess left the Princess fleet in 2002, lay idle at Genoa for years and was scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey, in 2013.

Where was the sister ship scrapped in 2015?

The Island Princess, by then sailing as MV Discovery, was beached at Alang, India, for scrapping in 2015.

Why do the episodes carry several titles at once?

The first episode of season one is 'Captain & the Lady / Centerfold / One If by Land'.

Which earlier ABC series had already used the guest-star romantic-anthology format?

Love, American Style (ABC, 1969–74) presented guest stars in short romantic vignettes, the format The Love Boat revived.

Which two Brady Bunch stars appeared in separate segments of one episode?

Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, the Brady parents, appeared in separate storylines of one episode and shared only a wordless glance at a buffet table.

What was the 1998 revival called?

Love Boat: The Next Wave revived the series in 1998 aboard a new ship with a new captain and crew, running two seasons.

Which actor captained the 1998 revival?

Robert Urich, the star of Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire, played Captain Jim Kennedy, a former Navy officer.

Which ship was the revival set aboard?

The Next Wave was set aboard the Sun Princess, a 1995-built Princess ship far larger than the original Pacific Princess.

How many episodes did the revival run to?

The Next Wave ran to twenty-five episodes across two short seasons before its cancellation in 1999.

What title did the actress who played Vicki later take with Princess Cruises?

Jill Whelan, the grown-up Vicki, became Princess Cruises' Celebrations Ambassador, promoting weddings and other events celebrated on board.

In which year was the captain's actor appointed the cruise line's global ambassador?

Gavin MacLeod became Princess Cruises' global ambassador in 1986, the year the series ended, and held the role until his death in 2021.

Before The Love Boat, Bernie Kopell played the KAOS villain Siegfried on which sitcom?

Bernie Kopell played Siegfried, the KAOS operative, on Get Smart from 1966 to 1969 before becoming Doc Bricker.

When did episodes filmed in Europe and East Asia usually air?

February, May and November were the sweeps months worth spending money on.

After leaving Congress, Fred Grandy became president of which charity?

Fred Grandy served as president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International from 1995 to 2000, after four terms in the House.

Who created the television series?

Wilford Lloyd Baumes holds the 'created by' credit, adapting Jeraldine Saunders's memoir for Aaron Spelling's production company.

Along with Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán, which Mexican resort was a regular port of call?

Acapulco completed the Mexican Riviera trio with Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán; most scenes, though, were shot on Los Angeles soundstages.

The show was one of the few hour-long American series ever to use what?

The Love Boat used a laugh track, rare for an hour-long show, because each episode mixed broad comedy storylines with straight drama.

Who played the captain in a 1994 SNL sketch mixing The Love Boat with Star Trek: TNG?

Patrick Stewart, hosting SNL in February 1994, captained the 'Love Boat: The Next Generation' sketch with the cast as his Enterprise crew.

Which future Desperate Housewives star danced as one of the Love Boat Mermaids in the final season?

Teri Hatcher, later Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives, danced as the Mermaid Amy in the 1985–86 season.

Which series opened its 1979 season with a two-hour crossover set aboard the Love Boat?

Charlie's Angels opened its fourth season in 1979 with 'Love Boat Angels', introducing Shelley Hack as Tiffany Welles on a Virgin Islands cruise with the Love Boat crew.

Which married actors hosted CBS's 2022 reality spin-off The Real Love Boat?

Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn, married since 2007, hosted The Real Love Boat, which CBS moved to Paramount+ after four episodes.

On which network did the 1998–99 revival series air?

UPN aired Love Boat: The Next Wave across 1998 and 1999, including a reunion episode with members of the original cast.

Judy McCoy, the cruise director of the final two seasons, was what relation to Julie?

Judy McCoy was Julie's sister; Patricia Klous played her for seasons eight and nine after Lauren Tewes left the series.

In 2014 the original cast became godparents of which newly built cruise ship?

Regal Princess was named at Fort Lauderdale in November 2014 with Gavin MacLeod and the original cast as godparents.

Before captaining the Pacific Princess, Gavin MacLeod played which sailor on McHale's Navy?

Gavin MacLeod played Seaman Happy Haines on McHale's Navy from 1962 to 1964, long before Captain Stubing.