Fred Grandy Says Love Boat Cast Didn't Expect Show's Success, Jokes That It Now Serves as a 'Pension Program'

• The ship of love stars Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange and Jill Whelan reunited on Princess Cruise’s The ship of love A celebration at sea that departed Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, August 31 and stops in New England and Canada during the seven-night voyage
• Aaron Spelling came on board as an executive producer The boat of love after his first two TV movie pilots failed to lead to series on ABC
• Grandy told the audience at Enchanted Princess that “no one online” thinks so The boat of love would succeed and put it “as a favor to Aaron Spelling”

Three TV movie pilots and superstar producer Aaron Spelling were slated to come on board The boat of love for the series to become the favorite series that fans know and love today. But The boat of love it didn’t come out of the gate as an instant hit.

“Despite the fact that Aaron took over the show, despite the fact that we had a solid cast to begin with, the show was really only put on the air as a favor to Aaron Spelling,” Ted Grandy, who played wallet Burl “Gopher” Smith, said during The ship of love Legacy: Original Cast Reflections Princess Cruise’s Questions and Answers The ship of love Celebration on Sunday, September 1. “Nobody on the network thought this would work. It wasn’t just television critics. And they gave us a point at 10:00 on Saturday night, which was opposite The Carol Burnett Show. And they thought, ‘Obviously this thing is going to be in dry dock before October.'”

Bernie Kopell was happy that ‘my hair didn’t fall off’ during the love scene with The ship of love Guest star Juliet Prowse

Grandy, 76, told the audience aboard the Enchanted Princess (the show took place aboard the Pacific Princess, a real Princess ship at the time) that guest stars began as the main draw when The boat of love started in 1977. “We didn’t even ship our laundry back then,” he said.

The actor explained that the network saw him and his co-stars Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange and Jill Whelan, who also appeared on the panel moderated by author Jim Colucci, as “kind of in between.”

“We were the people who would bridge scenes that involved guest stars,” Grandy continued. “So we were somewhat of a beauty in the series. But what happened, of course, is we just continued to survive and thrive.”

Jill Whelan, Bernie Kopell (center) and Fred Grandy in ‘The Love Boat’.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

The series ran for 10 seasons and received five Emmy nominations and eight Golden Globe nominations, including two acting nods for star Gavin MacLeod, who played the ship’s captain and died in 2021 at age 90.

The boat of love has revitalized the cruise industry and on Saturday, August 31, Princess Cruises launched its second The ship of love Celebration at the Sea, during which guests can attend a Q&A, meet and greet, test their knowledge of the show on The The ship of love little things, sip on The ship of love specialty cocktails and watch episodes of the show in the Enchanted Princess outdoor theater during the seven-night sailing. The show’s bartender, Lange, 76, hosts two cocktail demonstrations during the cruise — the first of which was packed with Princess Live! venue – and he and the cast will hold a vow renewal for guests on Friday, September 6.

Even outside of scheduled activities, the cast will graciously take photos and chat with guests—many of whom don’t The ship of love T-shirts and cargo and talk about how much they like the show – when they get stopped around the boat.

“We were thrilled that the show became a hit,” Grandy said during a panel at the Princess Theatre. “We never thought it would be a retirement program.”

Grandy attributed the success of the series to the fans.

“Our show took off and we actually managed to knock The Carol Burnett Show off the air,” he said. “And then Kojakfor god’s sake. So suddenly we weren’t just a hit, we were a nuclear weapon. And no one really — except maybe Aaron Spelling, but not online — predicted this. So, all the odds were against us. And the only reason he survived is because of you.”

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Grandy took advantage of the fame he gained The boat of love into a political career, becoming a Republican congressman for his home state of Iowa.

“One of the things I wasn’t aware of until I came back to Iowa and ran for Congress, yes of course, was how enormously popular this program was,” Grandy said. “Because Hollywood is a bubble, you’re isolated from the rest of the world, and then you’re kind of hermetically sealed from the rest of the country. But when I got home I thought, well, people might know who I am, but it was mind-blowing to me.”

‘The Love Boat’ stars (from left) Ted Lange, Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Gavin MacLeod, Lauren Tewes and Jill Whelan.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Ted Lange once confronted Aaron Spelling about the prominence of White Cast on The ship of love: ‘Why can’t I greet people?’

While Grandy’s opponents tried to use his fame against him, it ultimately worked in his favor, and Grandy served four terms from 1986 to 1995.

“There was one incident where I finally realized how powerful this show is and how important it is to me,” Grandy explained. “I was in a small town in the northwest part of my district, and we had one of those town meetings in the high school gymnasium, and all the candidates were there.

“And we had this forum, and I did my little story and some guy got up—I didn’t know him—and he said, ‘Well, why do you think a Hollywood actor is someone who could represent us?’ And before I managed to say anything, the other guy in the cap jumped in and said, ‘Well, I don’t know what your problem is, there’s 435 amateurs for a change.'”

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The boat of loveDue to the success of Princess Cruises, they are already planning the next one The ship of love Celebration at Sea themed cruise, which will set sail from Galveston, Texas aboard the Regal Princess from November 16-23, 2025 and will make stops throughout Mexico in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.

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Source: HIS Education