The Love Boat was one of those classic American comedies that shows up every now and then and is still charming to watch, and whilst some of it has aged, a lot of the humour still works well today.
The show aired through the late-70s and 80s and was watched by audiences in their droves at the time. Let’s take a look back at the classic show with some facts about The Love Boat that you probably didn’t know…
1. The show was based on fact
The show was based on a novel entitled “The Love Boats” written by Jeraldine Saunders, and was actually based itself on real experiences Saunders had when serving as a hostess on a cruise ship.
2. The ship was decommissioned in 2008
The ship used in The Love Boat, The Pacific Princess, was decommissioned in 2008 and then purchased for 2.5 million Euros by a recycling company who scrapped the ship in 2013 when she was 42 years old.
3. Only 3 actors appeared in every episode
There were only 3 actors who actually appeared in every episode of The Love Boat. They are Gavin McLeod, Bernie Kopell and Ted Lange, who played Captain Stubing, Dr. Bricker and Washington respectively.
4. Lauren Tewes was fired from the show
After the 7th season of The Love Boat, Lauren Tewes who portrayed Julie McCoy in the show, was fired after a very public on-going battle with cocaine addiction.
5. Tewes is still stigmatised for it
Even to this day, Lauren Tewes is labelled a cocaine addict and after she was fired from the show the rest of the cast shunned and ignored her. She resents being labelled an addict now, having kicked the habit successfully 35 years ago.
6. There were some high rates of pay!
For the time, some of the actors were payed an astronomical amount. Today it doesn’t sound a lot compared to what a lot of actors are on now, but at its height, Bernie Copell was earning $39,500 per episode!
7. It was the last of its kind
The Love Boat was one of the last comedies to use a laughter track rather than being filmed in front of a live audience, and this was at a time when laughter tracks had become very unpopular. When the show ended, it was the last show of its kind to use a laughter track.
8. Several other ships were used
In some of the episodes of The Love Boat, especially the longer specials, other ships were used for the production, including Stella Solaris, Pearl of Scandinavia and Royal Viking Sky.
9. Bernie Copell was not the first choice to play Dr. Bricker
The first person the producers went to for the role of Dr. Bricker was Dick Van Patten, but he was unavailable as he was currently filming Eight is Enough. The role went to Van Patten’s best friend, Bernie Copell, and now we can’t imagine anyone else in the role!
10. There were some psychotic guest stars!
Several guest stars who appeared on the show were Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Ted Knight. All of them had appeared in the hit Hitchcock movie, Psycho!
Were you a big fan of The Love Boat? Did it make you smile and laugh or did most of its jokes get lost on you and sink without a trace? Let us know all your thoughts and memories in the comments as always!