Jill Whelan Remembers LateLove BoatCostar Gavin MacLeod: 'He Loved Food More Than Probably Anything'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jill Whelan and Gavin MacLeod at the 7th annual Ping Pong 4 Purpose celebrity tournament fundraiser at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 8, 2019 in Los Angeles.Photo:Michael Tullberg/Getty

Michael Tullberg/Getty

WhenThe Love Boatstars Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange andJill Whelanreunited on the Enchanted Princess to kick off Princess Cruises’Love BoatCelebration at Sea on Saturday, Aug. 31, in New York City, they had a purser, a bartender and a doctor, but no captain. That’s because Gavin MacLeod — who played the captain on board the Pacific Princess, a real Princess Cruises ship at the time ofThe Love Boat’s airing —died in 2021 at age 90.

“He is such a fine actor, truly a gifted, full of range actor,” Whelan, 57, said on Sunday, Sept. 1, during theLove BoatLegacy: Original Cast Reflections Q&A with Grandy, 76, Kopell, 91, and Lange, 76, and moderator Jim Colucci. “And so many people don’t have that knowledge about what an amazing actor he was and as a human being, which is what I was saying before. The thing about Gavin that I will remember more than anything is his love for life. Everything was, ‘Isn’t this just the best?’”

Gavn MacLeod and Jill Whelan on ‘The Love Boat’ in 1979.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Whelan, who played MacLeod’s daughter onThe Love Boat, shared one other thing that she always associates with the late actor.

“If he’s having a hot dog: ‘Isn’t this the best hot dog you ever had?’ He loved food more than probably anything,” Whelan shared. “And that’s why I loved him, because me too. But everything was, ‘Isn’t it just the best?’ He lived his life with such gratitude in every moment. And I think that’s probably the biggest lesson I ever learned from him.”

Whelan credited MacLeod with why viewers fell in love with her character Vicki.

“All roads lead back to Gavin MacLeod,” she said. “I really believe that. And Gavin and I had a really special bond and a special chemistry that I think brought another side of the captain to an audience who already loved him. And it softened his character in a way that couldn’t be done with a crew, because obviously he was the head guy on the ship.”

“But not theFriendsthat you know, or I would be driving a much nicer car,” Whelan joked, referring to the hit sitcom that aired for 10 seasons beginning in 1994. “But this one was a really sweet show. It was up against60 Minutes, and back in those days, they didn’t switch time slots like they do now. And so if you didn’t make it against60 Minutes— which no one did — the show didn’t go. And I had guested as the role of Vicki Stubing, but I had to go back to my series. And when the show ended, Aaron Spelling called me at home and said, ‘Would you like to come back as the character of Vicki?’”

‘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

“He was so easy to work with, so loving, so helpful,” Kopell said. “I’d say, ‘God, I got a nice, beautiful scene with Gavin.’ And he would be giving. Not all actors are giving. He was so giving and loving.”

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Grandy, who went on to serve as a Republican congressman for four terms, revealed that he and MacLeod stayed in touch after the show because they “were more politically aligned” with one another than with the rest of the cast.

“I’ll tell you something about Gavin that is not commonly known and normally not shared with my colleagues: he was a conservative,” Grandy said. “As you probably are aware, Hollywood and that whole milieu is loaded with a lot of liberal claptrap. And Gavin had to keep his, as we say in Washington, had to keep his powder dry, because he was a prominent player in town. And we didn’t talk much about politics when I was on the show, but after I left and had gone to Washington, he would call me from time to time and ask me about things.”

‘The Love Boat’ stars (from left) Bernie Kopell, Lauren Tewes, Fred Grandy, Jill Whelan, Gavn MacLeod and Ted Lange.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

The actor-turned-politician referred to what he had with MacLeod as a “secret little liaison.”

“He would call from time to time and ask me about something, and so that was kind of a private little thing that we had,” Grandy said. “And I always cherished that.”

Whelan partook in the ship’s sail away celebration when it left from Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 31, as well as the champagne waterfall ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 1. On Friday, Sept. 6, she’ll help close out the trip at the farewell show.

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Princess’s nextLove BoatCelebration at Sea themed cruise will sail from Galveston, Texas on Regal Princess from Nov. 16-23, 2025, and make stops throughout Mexico at Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.

source: people.com