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00:00The Golden Age of Television.
00:09I Love Lucy didn't just change American television, it invented American television.
00:13Back when one screen brought everyone together.
00:16Watching television was a family event.
00:19The shows that shaped us.
00:21The Brady Bunch was part of the American soul.
00:25It's timeless.
00:26The familiar faces.
00:27Ralph Cramden was loved by the honeymooners.
00:31He was a presence.
00:33The unforgettable moments.
00:35Dynasty captured the essence of what the 1980s were about in America.
00:39These are their stories.
00:40Cheers is the pinnacle of how great the sitcom can be.
00:43This is TV We Love.
00:50It's 1976.
00:52The Vietnam War has finally ended.
00:55America is celebrating its 200th birthday.
00:59People all over the country celebrate.
01:02Disco music is on the rise.
01:04And Jimmy Carter has just been elected president.
01:08There's a new sense of peace and optimism in the air.
01:11And with it, a whole new kind of TV series.
01:17The Love Boat started something new.
01:20It had great characters who we wanted to hang out with.
01:23You know, have little crushes on gopher.
01:25It broke ground by luring Hollywood legends to television.
01:29You just have to pinch yourself where you're sitting between Lana Turner and Ann Baxter,
01:34and you don't know which way to turn.
01:36And giving future megastars their start.
01:39The Love Boat very carefully made sure there was something for everybody.
01:43It had enormous ratings.
01:45The Love Boat was a rating smash.
01:49But incredibly, almost didn't happen.
01:52Reviewers said that the Love Boat is going to go down like the Titanic.
01:55The premise was very simple.
02:02You get on a boat with problems, and it goes to all these different ports.
02:08And when it circles back to Los Angeles,
02:11you figured out how to solve the problems that you got on with.
02:15Geraldine Saunders wrote a book called The Love Boats, plural.
02:20And so with her luck of the Irish,
02:22brought her to the attention of ABC and Doug Kramer.
02:27Doug Kramer was a producer at Paramount
02:31and was the original conceiver of this idea.
02:38And so when he happened to be at the beach with his boyfriend one afternoon,
02:43reading a review of Geraldine Saunders' book, The Love Boats,
02:47he said, that's it.
02:49And so he put in a call to Geraldine Saunders' people.
02:54And I called the author, and I suggested that we buy her book.
03:01She seriously thought about it.
03:04We discussed a price, and we bought it.
03:09When Doug Kramer went to make The Love Boat into a pilot,
03:14he made it as a TV movie for ABC,
03:17which was common practice in the day.
03:19It was a smart idea, because as a business practice,
03:22you get a TV movie out of it, whether it becomes a series or not.
03:25And if it flopped, we pretend it was just a movie.
03:27The audience doesn't have to know it was a pilot for a series.
03:30So I read the script, and it wasn't particularly good,
03:34but I thought it could still work.
03:36The problem with the first pilot was that the crew was not right.
03:40The very first pilot, I wasn't in, Bernie or Fred wasn't in.
03:46Nobody on that crew was somebody you really wanted to spend a lot of time with
03:50or captured your heart.
03:52They kept the boat and threw out the actors.
03:54One of the reasons why the first cast of The Love Boat pilot did not work
03:59was the casting of the captain.
04:02They cast an Australian actor named Ted Hamilton.
04:05Captain, what's the emergence?
04:06Ah, that was your little monster.
04:08He just set off every fire alarm on board this ship.
04:11And the president of ABC was furious, and they said,
04:14why, he's good-looking, he's a good actor.
04:17And the president said, you don't understand.
04:20The purpose of The Love Boat is supposed to be
04:22that these passengers all want to f*** each other.
04:25On this show, they're all just going to want to f*** the captain.
04:29The captain was too f***able.
04:32Luckily, ABC did realize that there's a good idea buried here.
04:35They had to figure out a way.
04:37They had an idea for a show,
04:40but they didn't know how to execute it exactly.
04:44Nobody believed that this piece of junk could do a 50 share,
04:47so we didn't have enough faith in it to make a series out of it.
04:51We said, let's do another pilot.
04:53And so they gave Doug Kramer permission to make a second pilot.
04:58The whole thought that it might actually become a series
05:00and a successful series was a bridge too far.
05:03This time, Doug Kramer had a smart idea.
05:06About that time, Doug Kramer partnered with Aaron Spelling
05:11because he was in the business of creating this kind of magic.
05:14Aaron Spelling was the darling of ABC.
05:17Well, I think Aaron Spelling understood what the audience wanted,
05:20even at a time if network executives didn't.
05:23He had seven hours of primetime television.
05:27Including Charlie's Angels and Starsky and Hutch.
05:30And in fact, ABC was nicknamed around town, around Hollywood,
05:34Aaron's Broadcasting Company.
05:35You know, it makes sense.
05:37A for Aaron, B for Broadcasting,
05:39C for Broadcasting Company.
05:44So Aaron and Doug made a second Love Boat pilot,
05:48this time just called so inventively the Love Boat 2,
05:50the Roman numeral 2.
05:52And while we're at it,
05:53let's see if we can get the casting right this time.
05:56The second pilot, Ted Lange, Bernie Coppell, and I were in it.
05:59They decided to do a cruise on the Pacific Princess,
06:05on a real cruise ship, on a real cruise.
06:07One of the most beloved things from the second pilot
06:12is the very first note you hear that foghorn
06:15leading into the theme song.
06:16Love, exciting and new.
06:20Just about anyone you talk to of a certain age or older...
06:23Come aboard, we all welcome you.
06:26...knows the song more than they know the show.
06:29Love Boat
06:30Soon we'll be making em on a run
06:35That theme song was unique.
06:38It was what drew you into the show.
06:41That was the best thing from the second pilot.
06:46So, second pilot,
06:48the guy playing the captain was having some difficulty.
06:52Quinn Rediker was a good actor,
06:54but he was a very serious actor,
06:56and the captain had to have a little humor,
06:58and I think that was one of the problems.
06:59He didn't feel comfortable with comedy.
07:02There was a different cruise director.
07:04The girl wasn't working.
07:07And the network looked at that and went,
07:10Eh, I don't think so.
07:12And the second pilot didn't go.
07:16Here's the problem.
07:17ABC gets the pilot again.
07:19They air it, and it's just not quite right.
07:22So they didn't go ahead with the show.
07:23And Doug Kramer was dejected.
07:26He was standing outside ABC president
07:29Brandon Stoddard's office,
07:30really close to tears,
07:33because this project meant so much to him.
07:35And Aaron Spelling saw that.
07:37And so Aaron walked into ABC and said,
07:40as the key producer at ABC,
07:43give us a third chance.
07:45Almost unheard of.
07:46And so they gave Aaron and Doug a last chance.
07:50Get it right this time.
07:51The network never does three pilots.
07:57I don't know of any other show
07:58that had that many chances at failure.
08:01Normally, if you make a pilot,
08:02it doesn't go.
08:03You're out of the sketch.
08:04It's over.
08:05So we did a third one,
08:06and we took another shot at casting it.
08:09We just couldn't seem to get it right.
08:11They agreed that Bernie Capel was good as the doctor.
08:15You're the doctor.
08:17And I'll be back with your prescription.
08:19Bernie was known around town.
08:22He'd been on shows like Get Smart,
08:24Lennon Doris Day Show, Bewitched, and others.
08:27So Bernie Capel, who played the doctor,
08:30one of the great characters,
08:32one of my favorite shows.
08:33That Fred Grandy was a great find as Gopher.
08:36Going a little heavy in the cologne, aren't you?
08:38No, just gave myself the usual dab.
08:40With what, a mop?
08:42I guess Gopher was a comic foil for the most part
08:47and dreamed of being sweetly dangerous among the women
08:50and never was.
08:51I usually got all the animals, you know,
08:53like the chimps and the dogs and a snake once.
08:57Ted Lange was wonderful as Isaac.
08:59Hi, I'm Ellen Bundy.
09:00Hi, I'm Isaac Washington.
09:02He didn't have to audition for the show.
09:04Apparently, he just went into Doug Kramer's office
09:06and answered a question about being seasick.
09:09He asked me if I got sick.
09:10I said no.
09:11And then got a big contract.
09:13And he said, that's it.
09:15I, on the other hand, had nine or ten auditions
09:19and had to provide proof of citizenship in a urine test.
09:23You just need a captain and a cruise director.
09:26And so the search was on.
09:34Aaron Spelling, who had all the muscle in the world,
09:41said, Mary Tyler Moore is over.
09:43I'm going to go to Gavin McLeod and offer him this show.
09:48My agent called and said,
09:49Aaron Spelling wants you to do this thing called The Love Boat.
09:53He said, I think it sucks, but you want to read it.
09:56I said, sure.
09:58So I invited Gavin to my house and talked to him.
10:01Aaron said, okay, they're going to have big stars.
10:03I said, wow.
10:05And these five regulars, wow.
10:07And the captain, double wow.
10:10He said, I'm yours.
10:12Gavin McLeod, that's brilliant casting.
10:16But that's why Aaron is so good at what he does.
10:21And Gavin McLeod is perfect.
10:24Gavin was always so fabulous
10:26and such a great state of mind.
10:29I mean, he was just up all the time.
10:32The character of Julie McCoy was the bête noire for the casting people,
10:38and they couldn't get the right actress.
10:42Candy Spelling, Aaron's wife, takes credit for saying to Aaron,
10:46what about that girl who was in that Starsky and Hutch
10:49and that Charlie's Angels that you made?
10:51Because Lauren Tweese had indeed done an episode of Charlie's Angels
10:54and of Starsky and Hutch.
10:55And so they called in 22-year-old Lauren Tweese.
10:58Now, she was a really struggling actress.
11:00She was driving on like a flat tire
11:03and had a blowout, you know, the night before.
11:06She was really on her last dime as a struggling actress.
11:09And she got the part.
11:15But it was out of desperation.
11:17It was down to the wire.
11:19She got the part because they were literally shooting the next day.
11:23Literally the day before.
11:27The day before we go to shoot.
11:30And I think she had to borrow money to fix the tire on her car
11:34to get herself to the Queen Mary in Long Beach
11:36where the show would start shooting that third pilot
11:38the very next morning.
11:41I'm Julie McCoy, your cruise director.
11:42Also your girl Friday
11:44and your all-around chief cook and model washer.
11:47Everybody was so surprised
11:49that we were even making a third pilot.
11:51And Gavin did like this,
11:52we'll run for ten years.
11:54Oh man, this guy's delusional.
11:57When the third Love Boat pilot aired as a TV movie,
12:00it had enormous ratings.
12:03It was undeniable that this was a concept
12:05that people wanted to watch.
12:06For some reason, the mix of the five of us gelled.
12:12And so it finally got the green light to go to series.
12:20So we gave him 13 episodes.
12:24It must have been a huge relief
12:25to Doug Kramer and Aaron Spelling
12:27after they put their necks on the line
12:28to get three pilots made.
12:30And so it went right into production.
12:35At that time,
12:36there was no real show dedicated to romance.
12:41You had these young, hot girls,
12:43young, hot guys,
12:45going on a cruise,
12:47falling in love.
12:48And for some reason,
12:51that hit a nerve.
12:54And so we put that on the air
12:56at the end of Saturday night.
12:58But back then,
12:59Saturday was actually a hot night of television.
13:02That meant that the hottest shows were on,
13:03which was things like the Bob Newhart show
13:05and the Carol Burnett show.
13:07And in fact,
13:08the Love Boat gets scheduled on Saturdays.
13:10It's going up against the Carol Burnett show.
13:12Everybody was in a panic.
13:13I mean,
13:14nobody looked at ABC on Saturday night.
13:17Everybody thought,
13:18well,
13:18all right,
13:19this is going to be a show.
13:20Goes for a bit.
13:21Dies.
13:23It was a paycheck.
13:24You know,
13:24the people who resented it the most
13:26were the television critics
13:27across the country.
13:28They hated these shows.
13:30A little sink like the Titanic.
13:33Down like the Titanic.
13:34Sink like the Titanic.
13:35It's banal and trite and stupid.
13:40And if it weren't for Aaron Spelling,
13:42it would be in a watery grave.
13:46The show was never going to be a critical hit.
13:49And we understood this.
13:51But it was instantaneously a popular hit.
13:55And believe me,
13:56in this business,
13:57if you have to choose one,
13:58you choose the popular hit.
14:02We began,
14:03I believe,
14:03in 1977.
14:04At that time,
14:05television was mostly situation comedies
14:08and evening dramas.
14:10It was just so silly.
14:12Three different stories are playing,
14:15and almost everybody
14:16who left the ship
14:17at the end of the cruise
14:17was engaged.
14:19You are definitely invited
14:20to the wedding.
14:22Wedding?
14:23Everyone's problems
14:24could be wrapped up
14:24within the space of an episode.
14:26Well, Isaac.
14:27Ah, Walter.
14:28Doper,
14:29thank you for a very inventive cruise.
14:31You're welcome.
14:32And so that was a whole new way
14:33of doing a TV show.
14:35The Love Boat started something new.
14:37Each episode would consist
14:39of three or four,
14:40sometimes, stories.
14:42There were three writing teams
14:44that would write
14:45the three different storylines
14:47per episode.
14:48So each of those writers
14:49were really able to concentrate
14:50on their own little one-act play.
14:53There would be one melodramatic story.
14:55Sally, wait a minute.
14:56Sally, you don't understand.
14:58Oh, believe me, I understand.
14:59There would be a romantic comedy story.
15:01You're the one who interests me.
15:03Why don't we go back to my cabin
15:05and discuss it over a drink, hmm?
15:07And then there would be
15:08a slapstick comedy story.
15:09That combination of romance
15:15and escapism was absolutely unique.
15:19I really thought that boat was real.
15:21I thought it was amazing.
15:22The Love Boat is a fantasy
15:28set on what people think
15:30a cruise ship was like
15:31in the 1970s and 1980s.
15:35Now, you have to remember
15:36that cruising after World War II
15:38was totally out of fashion.
15:40At the time,
15:41the cruise industry was dying.
15:44Then they started saying,
15:44okay, now we're going to film
15:45an entire episode on a real ship
15:47on a cruise to Mexico.
15:49As far as shooting on a ship,
15:51there were always conditions
15:54that we had to deal with.
15:56To actually shoot on a cruise ship
15:58the first time is a daunting challenge.
16:01We ran into some problems
16:02that we could not have anticipated.
16:04The real passengers on the ship
16:06were not particularly delighted
16:07to have large camera cables
16:10and lights and people
16:12disrupting their vacation.
16:15The ceilings of these ships
16:17were very low.
16:19The lights were so close
16:20to the ceiling.
16:21They set off the sprinkler system.
16:23So, you know,
16:25the flaming baked Alaska parade
16:27was drowned out.
16:31We had one cruise
16:33from San Francisco up to Alaska.
16:35And we hit
16:36a tremendous gale.
16:40And the ship was listing like this.
16:47They were putting out barf bags
16:49in the lobby
16:50because everybody was sick.
16:53It was undeniable
16:55that this was a concept
16:56that people wanted to watch.
16:57So that meant, okay,
16:58now we have to make
17:0026 episodes of this every year.
17:03The Love Boat became this machine
17:06that devoured guest stars.
17:08Make way for the star of my son's show.
17:12Mom!
17:13If you were anybody
17:24in the 1970s,
17:25you wanted to be a guest star
17:26on The Love Boat.
17:27They were the first show
17:29to not only have guest stars
17:31on the show,
17:32but have guest stars
17:34clamoring
17:35to be on the show.
17:36It was fun to go down
17:38to the set
17:38and say,
17:38oh, we're shooting today.
17:40Oh, my God,
17:41I turn around
17:41and I'm in a scene
17:42with Ginger Rogers
17:43and we're dancing.
17:44Vincent Price.
17:45Richard Roundtree.
17:46Florence Henderson.
17:48Alan Thicke.
17:48Joan Fontaine.
17:50John Ritter.
17:50Eva Marie Saint.
17:51Mark Harmon.
17:53Milton Berle.
17:54Craig Stevens.
17:55Ernest Borgnine.
17:56Colleen Dewhurst.
17:57Ray Moland.
17:59Shirley Jones.
18:00Cesar Romero.
18:01Betty White.
18:02Oh, my God, Betty White.
18:03Bob Guillaume.
18:04Olivia de Havilland.
18:05Debbie Reynolds.
18:06Hayley Mills.
18:07Elizabeth Ashley.
18:08Charo.
18:09Coochie, coochie, coochie.
18:10One smart cookie.
18:12Peter Graves.
18:14Donna Meachie
18:14came on the show.
18:16There were just so many
18:17fun guest casts
18:19every week.
18:20Part of the fun
18:21of The Love Boat
18:22was seeing who was
18:23going to show up.
18:24That's part of why
18:24we tuned in
18:25Saturday nights
18:25at 9 o'clock.
18:26It was a lifetime
18:27of show business
18:28compressed into
18:29eight or nine seasons
18:31of television.
18:32We'd get casting lists,
18:34suggestions from
18:35Doug Kramer
18:36or Aaron Spelling.
18:37We would have to
18:39tell them
18:40which ones
18:40were still living.
18:43Aaron Spelling
18:43said early on,
18:44we're going to
18:45honor old stars.
18:49Aaron Spelling
18:50and Doug Kramer
18:51were just fans
18:52of old movies.
18:54And so they were
18:54excited to get
18:55to bring some
18:56of these people
18:57back for a victory lap.
19:00And for some
19:00of these people,
19:01it would end up
19:01being the last
19:02thing they ever did.
19:04You know what else
19:05was good about
19:06working with
19:07old timers?
19:08Is their
19:08professionalism.
19:11Greer Garson,
19:12big MGM movie star,
19:15came on the set.
19:17She knew everybody's
19:18name.
19:19She knew the
19:20cameraman's name.
19:22You know,
19:23I mean,
19:23that's old school.
19:26You know,
19:26somebody like
19:27Ray Bulger
19:27does the show.
19:28He comes
19:29not just to do
19:30his role,
19:31but he's got
19:32all of these
19:32stories to tell.
19:34Have yourself
19:34a wonderful cruise.
19:35I'm sure I will.
19:37I'm sure I will.
19:39It's really
19:40one of those
19:40things where you
19:42just have to
19:42pinch yourself
19:43where you're
19:43sitting between
19:44Lana Turner
19:44and Ann Baxter
19:45and you don't know
19:46which way to turn
19:47because they had
19:47such great stories.
19:49Now,
19:49Lana was at that
19:50point a little
19:51bit frail.
19:51She plays this
19:52woman who meets
19:53Stuart Granger
19:54who is managing
19:54the musical group
19:56Menudo,
19:57including Ricky Martin.
19:58Oh,
19:58I love soccer.
20:00The young men
20:01can't play,
20:02Mr.
20:02She's like,
20:03let me show you
20:04some moves.
20:05Well,
20:05let's go,
20:06boys.
20:06I'll show you
20:07how it's done.
20:08Come on,
20:08I'll teach you.
20:10And she's like
20:10kicking the soccer ball.
20:11She can barely walk
20:12at this point
20:13in real life,
20:13but it's this
20:14old white lady
20:15kicking a soccer ball
20:16to this Latin
20:16group of boys.
20:18They were like,
20:18wow,
20:19you're really good.
20:21So Lana Turner
20:22taught Menudo
20:23everything they
20:24needed to know
20:24about soccer.
20:25That's believable.
20:27The Love Boat
20:28very carefully
20:29made sure
20:29there was something
20:30for everybody.
20:31If you had
20:31Betty White
20:32in an episode
20:33that was appealing
20:34to an older audience,
20:35you had Scott Bayo
20:37that was appealing
20:37to the teenagers.
20:39And you would find
20:40Tom Hanks
20:41or Courtney Cox
20:42or Michael J. Fox
20:44or Kathy Bates
20:45or Jamie Lee Curtis
20:47playing alongside
20:48Louise Rayner,
20:49and you'd get
20:50to see the only time
20:52these people
20:52would probably
20:53ever get to share
20:54a screen together.
20:56Lauren Tweese
20:56on a break
20:57went up to
20:58Ruth Gordon
20:59and said,
20:59Miss Gordon,
21:00I'm such a fan.
21:01I loved you
21:02in Harold and Maughan.
21:03But I have to ask,
21:05why are you doing this?
21:06Is it for the visibility?
21:08Is it for
21:09to get a new set
21:11of fans,
21:11whatever?
21:12And Ruth Gordon's answer
21:13was,
21:13the visibility.
21:14I need new drapes.
21:15So sometimes
21:18the actors
21:18were doing it
21:19for a very mundane reason,
21:20the paycheck.
21:21And the paychecks
21:22were good on the love boat.
21:23What do you remember
21:24most about the show?
21:24What did you love
21:25most about it?
21:25The money was so great.
21:27I tell you,
21:28I got so rich
21:29doing that show.
21:31Sometimes in order
21:32to get a big star
21:33on the show,
21:35Aaron had to be
21:36very generous.
21:37There might have been
21:38some bribes
21:39strung in there
21:41along the way.
21:42Jackie Smith
21:43from Charlie's Angels.
21:45She didn't want
21:46to do our show.
21:48And so Aaron says,
21:50what's your favorite car?
21:53She said,
21:54Jaguar.
21:55Green.
21:58She got a Jaguar.
22:00Green.
22:04I don't feel
22:06somehow deprived
22:06because Aaron
22:08never bought me a car.
22:10All he did was
22:11fly me around the world
22:12for his class.
22:13I mean, huh.
22:14One of the things
22:14about the love boat
22:15where there was
22:16a little bit
22:16of a slush fund
22:17was when it came
22:18to wardrobe.
22:23And it was really
22:24a training ground
22:25for Aaron and Doug's
22:26later show,
22:27Dynasty.
22:32When there would be
22:32a big star
22:33coming on board,
22:34money was no object.
22:35Aaron would be like,
22:36make it work.
22:37We'll figure out
22:38how to pay for it.
22:38We were known
22:39as a company
22:40that had used
22:41guest stars
22:42and took care
22:43of guest stars.
22:44We sent a limo
22:45to pick them up.
22:47They had a dressing room
22:48with red carpet,
22:50but they appreciated
22:51the treatment.
22:52The word got out.
22:53And word got out
22:54that if you do this show,
22:56it will bring you
22:57visibility
22:57with a whole new audience.
22:59It may help
23:00boost your comeback
23:02that you're looking to do.
23:03It also will certainly
23:04be a great experience.
23:06They will treat you well.
23:07Everything is first class.
23:09It's first class
23:09hair and makeup.
23:10It's first class wardrobe.
23:12They have all the tricks
23:13of the trade,
23:14the wigs,
23:14the tape,
23:15anything you need
23:16to make you look
23:17your absolute best.
23:19So that was really
23:20a lure
23:21for a lot of old Hollywood.
23:23That was part
23:24of the selling point
23:25of the show.
23:25Everybody was glamorous.
23:27You knew you were
23:28going to look great
23:28and be dressed well.
23:30The attitude
23:31was gratitude
23:32on that show.
23:34And it really began
23:36to spread
23:37the reputation
23:37for the show.
23:38I mean,
23:38there were always
23:39certain actors,
23:40so I'm not going
23:40to do Love Boat.
23:41That's beneath me.
23:42But very few.
23:44They also realized
23:45that the stories
23:45they were doing
23:46were not Shakespeare.
23:47And the crew's stories
23:48would be silly.
23:49And they were okay with it.
23:52I love you, Coral,
23:53but I have to let you go.
23:58Alan.
23:59Alan.
23:59I love you.
24:00I love you.
24:02The Love Boat had
24:13kind of the air
24:14of an MGM musical to it.
24:15And they said,
24:16why don't we actually
24:17do a musical?
24:20The Follies
24:21is the ultimate
24:22Love Boat episode.
24:24They got Hollywood
24:26and Broadway royalty
24:27to act out this show.
24:28It features
24:29Della Reese,
24:31Ethel Merman,
24:33Carol Channing,
24:35Ann Miller,
24:36Van Johnson,
24:37Cab Calloway.
24:39That's six legends
24:40from Broadway
24:41and from Hollywood
24:42still able to be
24:44at the top of their game.
24:45They would rehearse
24:46musical numbers
24:46like we were doing
24:47a Broadway show.
24:48And I said,
24:49well, you know,
24:49we can leave.
24:50And they said,
24:50no, no,
24:51we want to do it again
24:51and again and again.
24:53They were perfectionists.
24:54The one who can sit
24:55the longest
24:56without moving
24:57wins.
24:58They said Ethel Merman
24:59was kind of near
25:00the end of her life
25:01and would sit
25:01and slump over
25:02in the director's chair.
25:04But when they call action,
25:05it was, you know,
25:06curtain up.
25:07I mean,
25:08Ethel Merman
25:08played my mother.
25:10I sang
25:10You're the Top
25:11with her.
25:12Who's going to get
25:13to do that?
25:14Honey, baby,
25:15I'm the bottom
25:16You're the top
25:17You're the top
25:18You're the top
25:22They were incredible
25:28to work with.
25:29They got it.
25:31They knew what
25:32they were there for.
25:33They were in on the joke.
25:34It is an amazing
25:36episode to watch.
25:40The show was always
25:42looking for more
25:43and more
25:44high-profile
25:45guest stars,
25:46particularly in
25:47the ninth season
25:47when the show
25:48was suffering
25:49a ratings decline.
25:50And Doug Kramer
25:51had this idea,
25:52let's have Andy Warhol
25:53on as a guest star.
25:55Hello, I'm Andy Warhol.
25:57Maybe my favorite
25:58guest star we had
25:59on the show
26:00was Andy Warhol.
26:02And of course,
26:03he was legend by then.
26:05I've read all about you.
26:07Andy was a character
26:09very shy,
26:11very, very shy.
26:12Andy was extremely shy.
26:15And people were afraid
26:16of him, intimidated.
26:18But one of the reasons
26:19he was shy
26:20is he was intimidated
26:21by the cameras
26:22and by the process
26:23of television.
26:24He was so nervous
26:25he couldn't speak.
26:26The moment they would
26:27yell action,
26:27he would lose his voice
26:28and clam up.
26:30And he was shaking.
26:31He was terribly nervous.
26:34Hi, Marina.
26:35So we had another actor
26:40play his assistant
26:42and gave him
26:43most of Andy's lines.
26:44Who would speak for Andy?
26:45If you don't mind, please.
26:48So that Andy could just
26:49stand there and croak out
26:50maybe a thank you
26:51and nod.
26:53Thanks.
26:53So they have Andy Warhol
26:56but barely saying anything
26:58because he was so nervous
26:59which is very endearing.
27:01Hi.
27:03Rachel Johnson
27:04reporting for her first cruise.
27:06I certainly hope
27:06it won't be your last.
27:07Are you trying to tell me
27:08the captain is a rotten driver?
27:10A story that I keep
27:12thinking about
27:13because of the
27:14political climate
27:15we live in these days
27:17was an episode
27:18in which Mackenzie Phillips
27:20came on the ship
27:22and she had been
27:25an old college pal
27:26of gophers
27:27when she was a man.
27:30Oh, that's funny.
27:31I had a roommate
27:31my freshman year
27:32named Ray Johnson.
27:33I mean, you are Ray's sister, right?
27:37Gopher, I am Ray.
27:40I'm your old college roommate
27:42Ray Johnson.
27:45So she had had
27:47a profound sex change operation
27:50and was now a woman.
27:53Well, it's obvious
27:54that I'm embarrassing you.
27:55No, I'm not embarrassed.
27:56Oh, no?
27:57Well, then how can you
27:57keep looking around
27:58to see if anyone
27:58can overhear our conversation?
28:00I'm not doing that.
28:01You know, I really thought
28:01I could hang on
28:02to some of my old friends.
28:04You proved me wrong, though.
28:07You're doing a show
28:09about that
28:10on the love boat?
28:13We were good friends
28:14in college.
28:15We had a lot of laughs together.
28:16Now, why shouldn't I like you
28:17just because you're...
28:18just because you're a woman?
28:21That was the beauty
28:22of our show.
28:23We could tackle anything
28:24and get a message over
28:27about compassion
28:28and empathy
28:29and tolerance.
28:31All of that
28:32was in our show.
28:34Okay, you can come out now.
28:35Are you traveling alone?
28:37Oh, I'm with my partner.
28:39I'm in men's clothing.
28:40Oh, I certainly hope so.
28:42Otherwise, I'd be very embarrassed.
28:45It was, I think,
28:47to some degree,
28:48very forward-looking
28:49and very unlike what we did.
28:51I'm very lucky
28:52to have a friend like you.
28:53No, mm-mm.
28:55I'm the lucky one.
28:56But it was handled
28:58with respect and grace.
28:59Passengers taking the
29:10Puerto Vallarta Tour.
29:12Please report to the desk
29:13in the purser's lobby
29:14at 11 a.m.
29:15Hey, that's 11 a.m.,
29:16and this is
29:17Burl the Pearl Smith
29:18saying,
29:19thanks for listening.
29:21The third season,
29:23they began to say,
29:24why not the world?
29:26Why don't we go to Australia?
29:29Why don't we go to Greece
29:31and the Mediterranean?
29:33Why don't we go to England
29:36and Norway
29:37and Copenhagen
29:39and places like that?
29:40And eventually,
29:41why don't we become
29:42the first show
29:43to ever go to China?
29:44And for a lot of us
29:46who didn't have
29:47the means to travel
29:48or a lot of Americans
29:49at that time
29:49didn't have passports,
29:51this was introducing
29:52new parts of the world
29:54to our living rooms
29:54every week
29:55from the comfort
29:56of our easy chairs.
29:57They took you
29:58around the world
30:00to these beautiful places.
30:04Whenever we were
30:05shooting overseas,
30:07you would have thought
30:08they were the Beatles
30:08or something.
30:09There were huge
30:11crowds of fans,
30:12and we were treated
30:14like royalty,
30:15by the way.
30:17All those years
30:17traveling all over
30:18the world first class
30:20and all we had to do
30:22was know our lines
30:23and hit our marks.
30:24When there was travel involved,
30:26it was first class
30:27to a whole other level.
30:28Not only are you going
30:29to go on a real cruise,
30:30you get to bring your family.
30:31Not only do you get
30:32to bring your family,
30:32you all fly first class.
30:34You'll go places
30:35where American tourists
30:36don't normally get to go
30:37because the show
30:38has such clout.
30:39And so when you go to China,
30:41you'll go to the Forbidden City,
30:42when you go to Egypt,
30:44you'll get a private tour
30:45of the pyramids.
30:46I think one of the things
30:48that bonded us together
30:49is we all traveled together.
30:51And that was true
30:52of the guest stars, too.
30:53Many of them
30:53that went with us
30:54have very fond memories.
30:57We got to go through
30:58the Panama Canal.
30:59I mean, come on,
31:00how can you say no to that?
31:01But also,
31:03you would be shooting
31:04maybe one or two days
31:06out of the seven-day cruise.
31:08The rest of the time
31:09was yours.
31:10And it was all expenses paid.
31:11It was so much fun
31:12on this magnificent ship.
31:14It was something
31:15they didn't want
31:15to turn down.
31:21The thing about
31:22the 70s and 80s
31:23that you have to keep
31:23in mind now
31:24is that it was
31:25a party time.
31:27It was great fun.
31:29It was because
31:29they'd shoot all day
31:30and then we'd all
31:31party at night.
31:32Was there drinking
31:37on the ship?
31:38Yes, people go
31:39on these ships
31:40to drink.
31:41And that's true
31:43to this day.
31:47We'd party together.
31:49We'd get drunk together.
31:50We'd have dinner together.
31:51You'd think we'd get
31:52tired of each other.
31:54There was a party atmosphere
31:55in many cases,
31:57particularly, you know,
31:58when you had all
31:58of these
31:59high-priced players
32:01working together.
32:02It was actors.
32:03It would be writers
32:03or producers.
32:04It was people
32:05across the board
32:05just letting loose.
32:06It's letting your hair down.
32:07There was a disco
32:08on every ship
32:09and that was usually
32:10filled at night
32:11and there was a casino.
32:12As Fred liked to say,
32:14our relationship
32:15lasted longer
32:16than our first marriages,
32:18which is true.
32:20Let's face it.
32:21I mean,
32:21this is a business
32:22where a lot of people
32:23use controlled substances
32:25in one way,
32:26shape, or form.
32:32Lauren Tweese,
32:33she really made headlines
32:35when she was fired
32:36from the love boat,
32:37ostensibly for having
32:39a drug problem.
32:41For me,
32:42it was an issue
32:43with cocaine
32:44when it was
32:45a popular drug,
32:46but if you ask anybody,
32:47I was the only one
32:48doing it.
32:49In all of Hollywood,
32:51it was just me.
32:54Lauren Tweese was
32:55ridiculously let go.
32:59Everybody was doing drugs.
33:01Every actor,
33:02every crew member.
33:03A lot of men
33:04were caught at the time
33:06and didn't get fired.
33:07They got suspended,
33:08they got reprimanded.
33:09It was bad.
33:11It was a different time.
33:13I was a woman,
33:16so I was blacklisted for that.
33:19In those days,
33:20if you did that kind of thing,
33:22you were punished.
33:24You didn't get help.
33:26I really wanted somebody
33:28to say,
33:29you need help.
33:30Can we help you?
33:33Unfortunately,
33:34by the time she made headlines
33:36for having a drug problem,
33:38she actually was in recovery.
33:40But also,
33:44she was playing
33:45this goody-two-shoes,
33:47the love vote character,
33:48you know,
33:49and so I guess
33:50maybe they were worried
33:50about the brand,
33:51but it wasn't right,
33:52you know?
33:54My one regret
33:55about her situation
33:57was that
33:58I never really
34:01came forward
34:03and defended
34:04and supported her
34:05in a way
34:06that we should have,
34:07so
34:08there is
34:10some regret there,
34:11at least as far
34:12as I'm concerned.
34:14Fans loved
34:15Julie McCoy.
34:17It's Julie!
34:18It's Julie!
34:20Sylvia!
34:21The pressure was there
34:22to bring back Julie,
34:23and so she did come back.
34:25She was so
34:27untimely thrust
34:29into this
34:29very highly visible
34:31role
34:32on this
34:33phenomenally successful show.
34:35Much was expected of her.
34:37There was
34:37a lot of
34:38fussing about her hair
34:40and the size
34:41of her breasts.
34:42We were there
34:42at 10 o'clock at night
34:44cutting her hair,
34:45changing the color,
34:46working her over,
34:47redoing her.
34:49And that
34:50can be
34:51terrifying
34:53for a young woman.
34:55I'm proud now
34:56to have been
34:57a part of it,
34:58and I'm glad
34:58to be part
34:59of American history
35:00and American television.
35:04Any show,
35:05as it goes on
35:06through the years,
35:08starts to show its age.
35:10The formula wears thin.
35:12The fluff element
35:13of The Love Boat
35:14wasn't necessarily
35:15going to play
35:16to young audiences
35:17who wanted younger
35:18and hipper.
35:19And so just as
35:20The Love Boat
35:21had reinvented TV
35:22in its own way,
35:22and now a new generation
35:23was coming,
35:24and so
35:26they needed
35:27to do things
35:28in the later days
35:29of The Love Boat
35:29to spice it up
35:30and to bring in
35:32particularly younger viewers.
35:33They brought in
35:34Ted McGinley,
35:35a very successful change.
35:36Ace!
35:39Incredibly good-looking guy,
35:40tall, muscular,
35:42blonde.
35:43He was just like,
35:44oh, come on,
35:45this is not a real human.
35:47On screen and off,
35:48just heart-stopping
35:49good looks.
35:50Is there an imperfection
35:51that you see
35:52when you look in the mirror?
35:53Well, a couple little things
35:54that bugged me.
35:56You know,
35:57they tried to do
35:58things to revive
36:01the thing
36:03that they had
36:04at the opening,
36:06but you can't do that.
36:08Aaron thought
36:10thought it was saveable.
36:11And we had a meeting
36:13at his house,
36:15his very expensive house,
36:17and listened to him
36:19pitch the idea
36:20that he thought
36:22would save the love boat.
36:23We're going to add girls,
36:24like the Ziegfeld Follies.
36:26Not gross sex.
36:28Sexy.
36:29But not gross sex.
36:32Ziegfeld Follies,
36:32that is not
36:33a young, hip idea.
36:34That is like
36:34the oldest,
36:35creakiest idea
36:36you could possibly think of.
36:37So that was
36:38Aaron's contribution.
36:39So they brought in
36:41the love boat mermaids.
36:42Amy.
36:45Beth!
36:50Beth!
36:53At one point,
36:54they tried to bring
36:55a dog on.
36:57We had a dog,
36:58that little white husky dog.
37:00What's her name?
37:01Tundra.
37:02That's because
37:02she reminds us of Alaska.
37:04And her nose is cold, too.
37:08Sadly,
37:09the dog was not
37:10a good actor.
37:15We needed what?
37:17We needed another dog story
37:19to add to the other three?
37:20No.
37:28By the time
37:29love boat really
37:31found its audience,
37:32there was an entire
37:34new industry
37:35that was created.
37:37Now,
37:37at the time,
37:38there were very few
37:39ships sailing
37:41the oceans
37:42because it was viewed
37:43as old-fashioned
37:44to take a cruise.
37:45The love boat
37:45completely flipped that.
37:48And so,
37:49cruises exploded
37:49in popularity.
37:50The show was wonderful
37:52for the cruise industry.
37:53Princess cruises
37:54are still reaping
37:54the reward.
37:55Every cruise line
37:56still is reaping the reward
37:58of the love boat
37:59being on the air.
38:00If you look at
38:01the statistics
38:01of how many people
38:03took cruises
38:04pre-love boat
38:05and post-love boat,
38:07it was a game changer.
38:09Princess cruises,
38:10which I think
38:11had reluctantly
38:13taken on
38:14the sponsorship
38:16of this show,
38:17I think realized
38:18this is the most
38:19successful product
38:20placement experiment
38:22in the history of media.
38:24It was essentially
38:26a weekly commercial
38:28for 10 or 11 years
38:29for the cruise industry
38:31in general
38:32and Princess cruises
38:33in particular.
38:36Because of that,
38:37Princess,
38:37which had
38:38two small ships,
38:40now I think
38:40Princess has 18 ships.
38:42and today
38:44these ships
38:45accommodate
38:45between 3,500
38:47and 4,000 passengers
38:49and the Pacific Princess
38:50that we were on
38:51could fit inside
38:53these ships.
38:57By the end
38:58of the ninth season,
38:59Fred Grandy
39:00had already decided
39:01in season nine
39:01that he wanted
39:02to leave the show.
39:04This has been
39:05a great run for me.
39:06Nine years on love boat,
39:07I've had everything
39:08that I ever wanted
39:08out of a television show.
39:10He also didn't see
39:10his future in showbiz,
39:12as his.
39:12He said,
39:13I was now like
39:13the fifth banana
39:14on a series,
39:15so what was
39:16the future for me?
39:16I wanted to try
39:17to get a show
39:17where I could be
39:18the fourth banana.
39:23It ran out of gas.
39:28TV has a shelf life.
39:32After losing Julie
39:34and seeing ratings drop,
39:35they were now
39:36going to lose Gopher
39:36and see ratings drop.
39:38And so ABC
39:39finally pulled the plug
39:40on the love boat
39:40after season nine.
39:42I really shut down
39:45when it was over.
39:47Anyway, that's show business,
39:49so what do you do?
39:50You just go,
39:50you just roll with it.
39:52And you think
39:54this is going to go on forever.
39:57The love boat,
39:58which was predicted
39:58to sink like the Titanic
40:00by every television critic,
40:02went on to do
40:02nine years and six weeks.
40:04It lasted a long time
40:06and had enormous ratings.
40:09It was a phenomenon
40:11that I don't think
40:13any of us saw coming.
40:14Good evening,
40:15ladies and gentlemen.
40:16Welcome to the
40:17Captain's Farewell Party.
40:18This is our last night
40:20on board before we arrive
40:21in Los Angeles tomorrow,
40:22and I hope you all
40:23had a wonderful cruise.
40:26I think there is
40:28a kind of bittersweet
40:31nostalgia for the show
40:32for a lot of people
40:33that say,
40:34oh, I remember the world then
40:36and I remember
40:36the love boat then
40:37and it's too bad
40:39it's not like that anymore,
40:40but at least
40:41we still have this.
40:42Just the phrase
40:44the love boat,
40:45the opening bars
40:46of the song,
40:46it brings us all back
40:48to that same place.
40:49You feel like you could
40:51practically smell
40:51the salt air.
40:54A lot of the people
40:55that are now
40:56quite well known
40:58in the business,
40:59for example,
40:59Mindy Kaling
41:00and Tina Fey
41:01and people who I've worked for
41:03on their shows
41:04grew up with the love boat.
41:06It wasn't too trite
41:07or banal for them.
41:09It was a Saturday night
41:10experience,
41:11and that's why
41:12I think the show now
41:13has at least
41:14three generations
41:15of followers.
41:17And I still
41:18am very grateful
41:19to that
41:20because it changed
41:21everything
41:22in my life.
41:24It gave me
41:24a bank account.
41:27And it also,
41:29and this is something
41:30about the love boat
41:31that unfortunately
41:32I think
41:32is unique
41:35is it makes you feel good
41:37and there just
41:38aren't that many shows
41:40that do that anymore.
41:41You're the sail
41:44on my love boat.
41:47You're the captain
41:49and crew.
41:52I'd be lost
41:54without
41:56you.
41:58you.
42:22you.
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