What Happened To The Cast Of The Love Boat?

"The Love Boat" is one of those beloved TV shows that is very much of its era — the end of the swingin' '70s and the dawn of the indulgent '80s. Loosely based on a risqué autobiography by former cruise hostess Jeraldine Saunders, the series spanned three pilot movies, nine seasons, five specials, one legacy sequel series lasting two seasons, and a modern reality dating competition show.

Romantic, dramatic, and comedic adventures happened each week aboard the Pacific Princess — an actual cruise ship, though the show was mostly shot on sets — with special guest stars who were either already famous, or up and comers who've since become so. The guests tended to be the protagonists, more so than on many other shows, but the stalwart crew facilitated it all, from smooth bartender Isaac to steadfast Captain Stuber.

It's been a few decades, and not everyone survived the journey, but let's do a cabin check and see how the original cast members have been holding up on their subsequent voyage through life.

A military veteran who went from the real Air Force to "McHale's Navy," Gavin MacLeod certainly had what it took to play a Captain. As Seaman Joseph "Happy" Haines, he had been a relatively minor regular with only a couple of lines a week. He left the series to appear in the more serious Naval drama film "The Sand Pebbles," directed by Robert Wise and starring Steve McQueen.

After that, he landed the role of Murray Slaughter on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and established himself as Mary's quipster bestie, and the only character besides Mary to appear on every episode of the show. Despite that epic run, he's still best known as Captain Merrill Stubing on "The Love Boat," though many viewers may not remember the characters actual name, thinking of him only as the Captain.

In 1984, when his mother had brain cancer, Macleod pledged that if she survived he would give his life to Jesus. Both things happened, and he reconciled with his ex-wife, Patti, who had been driven away by his drinking. Following the end of "The Love Boat," he and Patti were invited by televangelist Paul Crouch to the Trinity Broadcast Network, where for 17 years they hosted "Back on Course," a Christian marriage counseling show.

MacLeod continued to make guest appearances on other TV shows, and starred as the title character in the 2009 faith-based film 'The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry," his last acting role. He died in 2021, aged 90.

A former Naval librarian and sailor, Bernie Kopell already knew a thing or two about being on a boat before his tenure as the Pacific Princess' doctor. Though he scored recurring roles on "Get Smart," "Bewitched," and "That Girl," "The Love Boat" gave him his most enduring part as "Doc" Adam Bricker, though he momentarily played a different doctor character named O'Neill in the show's second pilot. He would go on to write five episodes of the show.

Most of his roles since Doc have been riffs on doctors, patients, and the Doc character specifically, on shows like "Charlie's Angels," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Beverly Hills, 90210," and, of course, 1998's "Love Boat: The Next Wave." Even on stage, Kopell recalled his TV roots, working with Hal Linden and writer Ed Weinberger in the comedy "Two Jews Talking," which riffs on history and age jokes.

As of this writing, Kopell is 93 years old and still not officially retired, though a "National Enquirer" story last year claimed via an anonymous source that he is, indeed, done with the business. His last scripted TV appearance was in 2022, on an episode of "The Lincoln Lawyer," playing Marvin Beedleman.

As Burl "Gopher" Smith, Fred Grandy was in charge of the ship's money management aboard "The Love Boat." In real life, the nation's fiscal issues ultimately beckoned more than acting, as he found a career in politics.

Prior to his acting career, Grandy served as an aide to Representative Wiley Mayne, Republican congressman for his home district in Iowa. After 'The Love Boat" ended, Grandy ran for Congress as a Republican in 1986 and won, serving for four terms. It was the '80s, and the country was very much in favor of former actors running as Republicans, after the success of Ronald Reagan.

In 1994, however, he declined to run for a fifth term, and sought the governorship of Iowa instead, which he lost. From there, however, he found the world of conservative talk radio lucrative for a while, as a host on WMAL in Washington, DC. In 2011, he resigned from his show after his wife Catherine, as a guest, made controversial comments about Islam. In 2012, he was the Executive Vice President of the Center for Security Policy, a right-wing thinktank that treats Antifa and Islamism as threats equivalent to China and Russia. Grandy, now 78, charges between $10,000 and $20,000 for speaking fees.

A Shakespearean-trained actor at UC Berkeley, Ted Lange used his time on hiatus from "The Love Boat" to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts summer program, thanks to a recommendation from Lynn Redgrave, whom he met when she was a guest star on the show.

As with Bernie Kopell, many of Lange's acting appearances riffed on his "Love Boat" persona in some way, as he would play either himself or bartender Isaac Washington on shows ranging from "Martin" to "Boy Meets World." He was also frequently cast as a deacon or preacher.

Lange is also an award-winning theatrical director and playwright, having written over 17 plays. He'll go high and low, having directed Shakespeare on stage and episodes of "The Wayans Brothers" on TV.

In 2006, Lange was a participant on the reality show "Celebrity Fit Club," looking to drop some pounds alongside the likes of Carnie Wilson and Vincent Pastore. He was also briefly a sex advice columnist for "FHM" magazine.

At 78, Lange continues to act, and can be seen in the upcoming short film "Between Then and Now," directed by Keena Ferguson Frasier. He is also available for public speaking.

Lauren Tewes had only done a handful of roles when she was cast as cruise director Julie McCoy on "The Love Boat," after she caught producer Aaron Spelling's eye on "Charlie's Angels" and "Starsky and Hutch."  She lasted seven seasons onboard ship, but the pressures of fame led her to develop a cocaine habit, which resulted in her contract not getting renewed. After that, the roles dried up, and in 1994, she moved to Seattle to be with her third husband, stage actor and Washington resident, Bob Nadir. Tewes kicked the drug habit and became a stage actor.

She's had a handful of TV roles since then, and has been in two Gregg Araki movies: "The Doom Generation" and "Nowhere." She appeared with fellow "Love Boat" alumni on an episode of "Martin," and "Love Boat: The Next Wave." Most recently, she appeared as a neighbor on the highly acclaimed third season of David Lynch and Mark Frost's "Twin Peaks," and as a Russian in Wes Hurley's autobiographical movie about growing up gay in the Soviet Union, "Potato Dreams of America."

In addition to "The Love Boat," on which she played Captain Stubing's daughter Vicki, Jill Whelan may be best known for her role in "Airplane!" as Lisa Davis, the heart transplant patient whose IV line keeps getting unplugged.

After "The Love Boat" ended, Whelan moved to Philadelphia to become a radio host, a career that eventually brought her back to Los Angeles, where she started doing a podcast with Brian Phelps, of "Mark & Brian" radio fame.

They stopped in 2025, as Whelan was already returning to acting, and singing, in a touring one-woman show entitled, "Jill Whelan: An Evening In Dry Dock." She has also taken on some independent film roles for the sake of her friends who made them: A horror film called "6 Degrees of Hell" and the holiday film "A Christmas Tree Miracle." In 2024, she had a small role in the thriller "The Girl in the Pool," directed by "Teen Wolf" actress Dakota Gorman, and starring Freddie Prize Jr., Monica Potter, and Kevin Pollak.

Oh, and she appeared on the must-watch reality show "Celebrity Wife Swap," switching husbands with Charo. You read that right.

Ted McGinley joined "The Love Boat" for the final three seasons as the ship's photographer, Ashley "Ace" Covington Evans. It was something of a pattern for him: He joined "Happy Days" during season 8, and "Dynasty" on season 6, which earned him the nickname of "patron saint of shark-jumping." That changed with "Married... With Children," which he joined for season 4 replacing David Garrison, and then stayed on another sevens seasons till the show's end. To this day, he may be best known as Al Bundy's handsome, shallow neighbor Jefferson D'Arcy.

McGinley also put his good looks to hissable effect as villain Stan Gable in the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies, leading the jockish Alpha Beta fraternity in a series of dangerously escalating pranks against the wheezing, intelligent dorks of Lambda Lambda Lambda. In the third installment, "Revenge of the Nerds III: the Next Generation," his Stan saw the error of his ways at the end and remained a good guy for part IV, "Nerds in Love."

Following a brief period of doing faith-based movies, like "Do You Believe?" and "God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness," McGinley joined the cast of "Shrinking," this time making his first appearance on the first season, and he continues to play the next-door neighbor Derek Bishop on that series. He returned to faith-based programming in 2024 on the streaming series "The Baxters," playing Roma Downey's husband, a family patriarch whose religious values help him navigate issues with the couple's five adult children.

Marion Ross came to "The Love Boat" as a veteran of the big screen, with roles in such classic movies as "Sabrina," "Lust for Life," and "Operation Petticoat." Yet, she was perhaps better known for her major TV role as Richie Cunningham's mom, Marion, on "Happy Days."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, Ross initially arrived aboard "The Love Boat" as a guest star, playing more than one one-off character, before staying aboard for the final season as Captain Stuber's love interest, Emily.

She stayed active thereafter, notably as a regular on the Golden Globe-winning dramedy "Brooklyn Bridge," playing Drew's mother on "The Drew Carey Show," and Eric's grandmother on "That '70s Show." Moving into animation voice-over work, she played SpongeBob's grandmother on "SpongeBob Squarepants," while working on cartoons ranging from "The Wild Thornberries" to "King of the Hill," "The Boondocks," and the animated "Guardians of the Galaxy" series. She stayed active in movies and on TV until her final film, 2021's "Senior Entourage," a mockumentary featuring other famous senior actors like Helen Reddy, Ed Asner, and Mark Rydell. As of this writing, she is still alive at the age of 97.

Patricia Klous is often mistakenly thought of as the Dick Sargent of "The Love Boat." Sargent famously replaced Dick York as Darrin Stephens when original actor Dick York became too unwell to continue. Klous technically replaced Lauren Tewes, but she did not play the same character. Rather, she played Judy McCoy, sister of Tewes' Julie McCoy, who just happened to succeed her sibling in the same position as cruise director.

Klous had previously been a model, which got her cast alongside fellow former models Connie Sellecca and Katherine Witt in the dramedy "Flying High," which lasted for one 18-episode season. Klous played Marcy, a flight attendant. In her next major role, she portrayed a Hawaiian resort social director named Fran on the Debbie Reynolds show "Aloha Paradise." Clearly finding a niche playing a hospitality agent, she was ready to step into the major role of cruise director; she also appeared on "Fantasy Island" in four different roles.

Following "the Love Boat," Klous' only subsequent acting credit is an episode of "Murder She Wrote," and various sources list her as "retired," though it's not clear how they know that. Klous has mostly stayed out of the public eye since the '80s, but she was credited as the cohost of a fundraiser for Texas Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke in 2018. 

A dance troupe joined "The Love Boat" for its final season, and while many of those dancers didn't move on to other shows, one of them certainly did. That would be Teri Hatcher, who, after years of guest parts, finally shot to fame in 1993 playing Lois Lane in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," opposite Dean Cain. It led to a brief movie career, as she was a Bond girl along with Michelle Yeoh in "Tomorrow Never Dies," and appeared in hits like "Spy Kids" and "2 Days in the Valley."

Then, in 2004, she scored the lead role in "Desperate Housewives," alongside Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Nicollette Sheridan. For eight seasons, Hatcher's Susan Mayer resided on Wisteria Lane, where mysteries unfolded, along with other soapy shenanigans.

Since that show ended, she has done voice-over work in animation, including both Disney "Planes" movies, and appeared in at least three made-for-TV Christmas films. She competed on celebrity cooking shows, winning on both "Chopped" and "The Great British Bake-Off." Hatcher currently voices the robot mom M.U.T.H.R. on the Apple TV+ animated series "WondLa," based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi.