"The Love Boat"'s Original Australian Captain Was Fired for Being Too Sexy After Shooting the Pilot Episode Angela AndaloroOctober 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM 17 ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty "The Love Boat" original pilot cast The Love Boat went through three pilots befo...
- - "The Love Boat"'s Original Australian Captain Was Fired for Being Too Sexy After Shooting the Pilot Episode
Angela AndaloroOctober 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
17
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
"The Love Boat" original pilot cast -
The Love Boat went through three pilots before ABC picked up the now-beloved classic
There were issues with the first two pilots, primarily in getting the casting down correctly
The Love Boat ultimately aired on ABC from September 1977 to May 1986, preceded by the three TV movies
The Love Boat's first captain was a little too steamy for the ship.
In CW's docuseries, TV We Love, there is a look back at the cast from the original Love Boat pilot, which saw Australian actor Ted Hamilton in the role.
"The President of ABC was furious. They said, 'Why? He's good-looking. He's a good actor,'" explains TV writer Jim Colucci.
"And he said, 'I don't think you understand. The purpose of The Love Boat is that these passengers all want to f--- each other. On this show, they're all just gonna want to f--- the captain," he laughs, adding, "The captain was too f---able."
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty
The cast of "The Love Boat" in 1982
ABC did see the value of the show and allowed for a rare second pilot. By the time of its completion, however, that one also had something missing.
"ABC gets the pilot again and they air it and it's just not quite right, so they didn't go ahead with the show. And Doug Kramer was dejected," Colluci explains.
"He was standing outside of ABC Brandon Stoddard's office really close to tears because this project meant so much to him. And Aaron Spelling saw that, so Aaron walked into ABC, as they key producer at ABC, and said, 'Give us a third chance.' Almost unheard of. And so they gave Aaron and Doug a last chance to 'get it right this time.' "
The third time was, in fact, a charm for the show. It originally aired on ABC from September 1977 to May 1986, but began with three TV movies (which aired prior to the regular series premiere). The show also included four specials and a TV movie aired after the series ended.
Dennis Plehn/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Fred Grandy (Gopher), Ted Lange (Isaac), Bernie Kopell (Dr. Adam Bricker); bottom row: Lauren Tewes (Julie), Gavin MacLeod (Capt. Stubing), Jill Whelan (Vicki Stubing)
The show followed the adventures of passengers and crew aboard the cruise ship Pacific Princess (a real Princess Cruises ship at the time of The Love Boat's airing), with each episode featuring guest stars playing passengers with their own unique storylines. At its heart, the show centered on the cruise ship's crew, who often interacted with the passengers aboard.
Members of that cast are still close, to this day. In May 2025, Jill Whelan told PEOPLE about getting together with costars Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell and Ted Lange on Princess' The Love Boat Celebration sailing in recent years. They'll gather on board again in November when this year's celebration sets sail out of Galveston, Texas, to Mexico.
"It's really special because I'm working with them as an adult now rather than as a kid," the actress says. "We enjoy each other's company and we enjoy each other's intellect — whether we have it or we don't — but we all love each other's sense of humor and we know each other so well. When we work together, there is a shorthand that is super satisfying."
TV We Love is airing on Mondays on the CW at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: ERIUS MAG
Full Article on Source: ERIUS MAG
#LALifestyle #USCelebrities