Exciting & New! 7 Fun Facts You Might Not Know About ‘The Love Boat’
For almost a decade, ABC’s The Love Boat sailed into our living rooms, bringing romance, fabulous ’80s fashions and a star-studded roster of guest stars. Premiering in 1977 and running until 1986, the hourlong Aaron Spelling dramedy was must-see family viewing for its loved-up storylines and the thrill of seeing who exactly was setting a course for adventure each week.
But how well do you really know this pop culture classic? Here are some fascinating facts about The Love Boat that will help you set sail down memory lane!
Aaron Spelling Productions./Courtesy: Everett Collection
1 The Show Was Inspired by a True Story
Before The Love Boat became a television phenomenon, it was a book! Former cruise director (and admitted love junkie) Jeraldine Saunders penned a 1974 memoir she called “The Love Boats.” The tell-all shared the steamy — and sometimes unsavory — secrets of her life aboard cruise ships as the first ever female cruise director.
2 Third Time’s the Charm for Series Success
ABC saw the potential for television success in Saunders’ book and decided to, er, test the waters with a TV movie. And then another one. And then one more. All of which they peppered with stars from other ABC series.
The first, 1976’s The Love Boat, featured Division 4 star Ted Hamilton as Captain Thomas Allanford III, Dick Van Patten as Dr. Adam O’Neill and character actor Teddy Wilson, Sandy Helberg as Gopher the Purser, Terry O’Mara as Cruise Director Gerry Landers and character actor Teddy Wilson as Isaac the bartender. Guests included Happy Days‘ Tom Bosley, The Brady Bunch’s Florence Henderson, Welcome Back, Kotter’s Gabe Kaplan, Phyllis star Cloris Leachman and Room 222’s Karen Valentine.
The following year, ABC execs tried again with The Love Boat II, which started building the TV series crew. Though The Young and the Restless star Quinn Redeker helmed the ship as Captain Madison, Fred Grandy took over as Gopher, Bernie Kopell as Dr. Adam Bricker and Ted Lange as Isaac. Coming aboard this time around: Mayberry R.F.D.’s Ken Berry, Brady Bunch’s Robert Reed, Kotter’s Marcia Strassman, Wonder Woman and The Carol Burnett Show star Lyle Waggoner, and Family cutie Kristy McNichol.
Also airing in 1977, The New Love Boat featured the entire crew that TV fans would come to love in the series. Gavin MacLeod signed on as Captain Merrill Stubing and Lauren Tewes as fresh-faced Cruise Director Julie McCoy. Family’s Gary Frank and future thirtysomething star Melanie Mayron played newlyweds Stanley and Joyce Adams, while One Day at a Time’s own Schneider, Pat Harrington, and Hollywood bombshell Stella Stevens played bickering longtime marrieds.
Several months later, having been seriously workshopped, the TV series set sail.
3 The Warhol Treatment
Aries Films/courtesy Everett Collection
One of the show’s biggest draws was its revolving door of guest stars, many of them from other ABC shows — and some of them seemingly from out of left field. From Hollywood legends to musical icons — and a fewer athletes in between — more than thousand famous faces graced the Pacific Princess.
Among the oddest? Artist and pop culture renegade Andy Warhol who actively sought a role and played himself opposite Happy Days mom Marion Ross, who played a former “Warhol superstar” scared that Warhol will reveal her past to her stodgy husband (Happy Days dad, Tom Bosley). Warhol was ostensibly onboard the Pacific Princess to help the crew celebrate their 200th cruise and paint one luck passenger’s portrait, much to Captain Stubing’s Warhol super-fan daughter Vicki’s delight.
4 Fans Actually Could Come Aboard
Gene Trindl/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
Princess Cruises provided the setting for the show, and, while most of the filming was done on sound stages, some scenes were shot on the actual Pacific Princess, which was indeed a real ship. According to a 1983 article in People, fans with the cash to shell out thousands could sometimes sail alongside their favorite celebs — and also bear witness to their squabbles, especially over what they considered sub-par cabins.
5 About that Theme Song …
Odds are solid that, even 40 years after The Love Boat left the air, you can still sing at least some of its theme song’s catch lyrics. Particularly its soaring “The Looooooooove Boat soon will be making another ruuuuuuuuun!” part. Sung by jazz-pop singer Jack Jones, and written by popular composer/songwriter Paul Williams, the song was so popular that Jones released it as a single in 1979. It reached the No. 37 spot on Billboard’s adult contemporary chart. In The Love Boat‘s final season, Jones’ vocals were replaced by a Dionne Warwick version.
Fun fact: the single’s B-side featured Jones warbling Barry Manilow’s 1978 smash “Ready to Take a Chance Again.”
6 Guaranteed Laughs
The Love Boat was one of the first hourlong shows to use a laugh track, the Charley Douglass invention that bolstered audience reactions and was a sitcom staple.
7 The Love Boat Helped Boost the Cruise Industry
Jim McHugh/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
Before The Love Boat, “people would say cruising was for the nearly dead or newlywed,” says cruise journalist Carolyn Spencer Brown, chief content officer for Cruise Media LLC, told CNN Travel. Once the TV show aired and became a hit, everyone wanted in on the seafaring fun.
The series also changed the boats themselves. Early cruise liners were just ocean liners converted to hold and host more passengers. Once The Love Boat became a hit, “Princess Cruises were selling out their ships,” cruise historian Peter Knego told CNN. “And that led to the first boom of new cruise ship building in the early 1980s.”
So whether you’re planning your first cruise or your 50th, you probably have The Love Boat to thank for your luxe excursion.
The Love Boat airs on MeTV and Catchy Comedy, plus is available to stream on Paramount+.
Remind 
Miniseries of the 1970s & 1980s
March 2024
The 1970s and 1980s were the glory days of the TV miniseries. In this issue we ranked the most significant and beloved miniseries of those decades.
Buy This Issue