'The Love Boat' cast reunites on 'Today' more than 40 years after show first aired
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR PRINCESS CRUISES - Fred Grandy, from left, Ted Lange, Jill Whelan, Gavin MacLeod, Lauren Tewes and Bernie Kopell attend the ceremony honoring Princess Cruises and the original cast of "The Love Boat" with a honorary star plaque at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, May 10, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Princess Cruises/AP Images)
(2018 Invision)
All aboard! The cast of "The Love Boat" is back on deck.
On Friday morning, the original cast of the 1970s classic TV series "The Love Boat" reunited for one more cruise on the "Today" show.
More than 40 years after the show premiered, the famous cast ‒ including Gavin McLeod, Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell, Cynthia Lauren Tewes, Jill Wheland and Fred Grandy ‒ appeared on the morning show live from Los Angeles, where they had just celebrated receiving an honorary star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in partnership with Princess Cruises.
During their "Today" show appearance, McLeod, known for his iconic role of Capt. Merril Stubing, donned his signature captain's hat while Lange, who played the ship's spirited bartender Isaac Washington, sported his signature mustache. Koppell, who played the ship's doctor, Adam Bricker, wore his signature specs.
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("The Love Boat" cast awaits the unveiling on their Walk of Fame Star. )
Also in attendance was the ship's cruise director, Julie McCoy, played by Tewes, the captain's angelic daughter; Vicki, who was played by Whelan; and Grandy, who played Yeoman Burl Smith but was known for his character nickname, "Gopher."
Prior to reuniting on "Today" this year, the beloved cast sat down with morning host Hoda Kotb and Savannah Gutherie to talk about the significance of the classic TV show in May of last year.
When asked how often the cast gets together, Wheland said, "We were all together last night at my apartment."
But the fun-loving cast, who enjoyed eight seasons of their hit series, admitted that they didn't know that the show was going to be a success when it first aired in 1977.
"We got the worst reviews," Koppell said.
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(The show's cast on the "Today" show on May 23, 2017. )
But McLeod thought differently. "We had a reading in the office, just the guys. And we finished the reading and they hadn't gotten the leading lady yet because they wanted to get the most special of all time and they did," he explained. "And I'm walking down and a guy says,'Well, I hope this goes well," and I said, 'I'm telling you we're gonna go at least seven years.' "
So why did the show turn out to be such a success?
"There was nothing like it on the air. It was romance, at the time there were only cop shows and sitcoms on the air," Grandy explained of the show's production. "So, this show filled some kind of need that only Aaron Spelling understood."