Saturday 9: The Love Boat

Saturday 9: The Love Boat (1977)

 

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The Love Boat ran from 1977 to 1987. It was in the Top 10 for seven of those 10 seasons. Are you familiar with the show? Were you a fan?

A. I watched it, especially when it first came on, as it was on the only channel we could receive on the television. I don't remember watching it much after I married and left home. I did not consider it "must see TV."

2) Every week, viewers followed The Pacific Princess as she set sail to a glamorous destination. Have you ever taken a cruise? If so, where did you go?

A. I have never been on a cruise.

3) Gavin MacLeod played Captain Steubing. Born Allan See, he came up with the stage name by combining the first name of a fictional character he admired, and the last name of a teacher who influenced him. Using his formula, give yourself a stage name. For example, Sam would be Hermione Hart (Hermione from Harry Potter; Hart for her Kindergarten teacher).

A. Stephanie Larsen.

4) After the series ended, Fred Grandy (aka "Gopher") went on to become a Congressman from Iowa and then CEO of Goodwill Industries. If you had a bag of gently-used items to donate, where would you take them?

A. Before the Pandemic, I took things to the Rescue Mission, which helps homeless folks in the city. I haven't donated anything lately except books, which I dropped off on the back porch of the local library.

 

5) Ted Lange is best known for his role as the ship's bartender, Isaac. But he began his career performing the classics, and appeared at Colorado Shakespearean Festival and London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Let's class up this joint. Give us a little Shakespeare.

A. Song of the Witches: “Double, double toil and trouble”

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

(from Macbeth)

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

Notes: Macbeth: IV.i 10-19; 35-38

6) Bernie Kopell played the ship's doctor, Adam Bricker. Kopell first appeared on TV in 1961 and was a regular on Get Smart and That Girl, and he's still acting today. But Love Boat was, by far, his favorite role. Working on the show was "absolute heaven" because he was paid to travel the world and meet his acting idols, like Oscar winners Greer Garson, Joan Fontaine and Eva Marie Saint, who appeared on the show. When you think of the best job you have ever had, what made it so good: the pay, the location, the people you met, or the work itself?

A. The best job I ever had was as a freelance news writer. I worked from home long before that was ever a thing, I met thousands of people, I educated the public so I was a teacher of sorts, and I absolutely loved the work. I loved the intricacies of government as I became a well-known local government reporter. I loved seeing how the mechanics of politics worked, and how limited local government is by rules written by idiots in the state's House of Delegates and Senate, as well as the nutcases at the federal levels of Congress. I enjoyed trying to explain this to the public, although given the state of things today, I must have done a poor job of it because nobody still understands how it is all supposed to work. I estimate that I wrote over 7,500 articles, give or take a few, during my time writing for local publications, and published about 3,000 photos. At one point, I was churning out over 30 articles a month. I still miss it, but not enough to go to a board meeting now and risk exposing myself to Covid-45.

7) Lauren Tewes played Cruise Director Julie McCoy. Today she lives in Seattle, appearing in local theater and -- between acting assignments -- working as a chef for a catering service. Have you hosted dinner for more than 8 people? If yes, do you remember what you served?

A. We had Thanksgiving at my house in 1989, which was the year my parents' house burned down. So I had my parents over, my brother and his wife, my in-laws, and my sister-in-law and her husband. I fixed the turkey and some side dishes. My sister-in-law brought sweet potatoes. That was the largest dinner I have ever hosted. I've had many open houses at Christmas, but those weren't actual meals.

8) For the first nine seasons, the theme was sung by Jack Jones. The Grammy-winning singer says one of his career highlights playing Sky Masterson onstage in Guys and Dolls. In his late 50s at the time, had had to go outside his comfort zone, dancing and acting as well as singing before a live audience. Tell us about something new you tried recently.

A. For the past six weeks or so, I have been videotaping guitar performances and putting them up once a week on my blog. They are unlisted on my youtube channel, but if you look under "music" in the stuff I write about section of my blog, they will all come up and you can reach them via the links here. The song I posted on July 14 was one I wrote. This has been very difficult for me, because I have a public speaking fear that the camera instills when I hit "record," so I've been trying to push myself to do these to get over that. Also, I think my voice sounds bad and I hate the way I look, so lots about this is out of my comfort zone.

9) Random question  -- Which would you rather receive as a gift: one $500 wristwatch, or five $100 wristwatches?

A. Probably the $100 wristwatches. I wear a cheap Timex anyway. I don't think I've ever paid more than $100 for a watch. I have one from my university that I bought on a whim (needs a battery), but mostly I wear an Indiglo Timex and have for years. I get the gold and silver stretch bands. I used to wear a Waltham "moon and stars" watch that I loved, but I lost it and could never find a replacement. Waltham makes junk now, but they used to make really fine watches.

Great questions, Sam!

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