Trivia: Best remembered for his high-profile acting roles on two 1970s television sitcoms -- that of genial news writer Murray Slaughter on CBS's The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and that of sweet-natured Captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's The Love Boat (1977-1986), stage-trained actor Gavin MacLeod in fact began his career typecast as a villain. He landed parts in Hollywood features including The Sand Pebbles (1966), Deathwatch (1966), and The Comic (1969), and enjoyed a tenure as Joseph "Happy" Haines on the sitcom McHale's Navy from 1962 through 1964. After The Love Boat permanently laid anchor in the mid-'80s, MacLeod signed on as a spokesperson and pitchman for Princess Cruises and returned to regional theatrical work. He also tackled guest spots on programs including Touched by an Angel and (in a move that surprised everyone) the HBO prison drama Oz. Off-camera, MacLeod is an outspoken born-again Christian. He hosted a popular talk show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, along with his wife, Patti (whom he divorced in 1982 and remarried three years later), called Back on Course, and personally funded many of the Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible animated videos for children.

Trivia: Universally recognized as Ship's Doctor Adam Bricker on the blockbuster prime-time sitcom The Love Boat (1977-1986) -- a part he held for the entire nine-season run of the series -- actor Bernie Kopell entered the doors of show business via a most unlikely route. Born in Brooklyn, Kopell attended Erasmus High and then New York University (with a dramatic art major). After a stint at sea aboard the naval vessel USS Iowa, Kopell signed on to drive a taxicab in Southern California -- and achieved his big break on the day that Oregon Trail (1959) film producer Dick Einfeld hitched a ride in the back of his cab. In a span of minutes, Kopell reportedly managed to convince Einfeld that he was not really a cab driver but an actor in serious need of work. The effort paid off, and Kopell snagged his first part -- a two-line part in Oregon as an aide to president James K. Polk. In the early '60s, Kopell joined the Actors' Ring Theatre in Los Angeles, where he developed a knack for characterizations and voices; this led, in turn, to character-type roles on a myriad of television programs including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Steve Allen Show, and My Favorite Martian (which often, though not always, cast the wiry Kopell as a Hispanic). By the early '70s, Kopell had landed steady assignments on Get Smart, Bewitched, That Girl, and other series. The Love Boat, however, embodied his breakthrough. He followed it up with an emcee assignment on The Travel Channel (hosting its Railway Adventures Across Europe) and a surge in theatrical work, with portrayals in regional productions of such plays as Rumors, A History of Shadows, and Death of a Salesman.

Trivia: Actor Fred Grandy enjoyed two distinct careers -- an initial career as an actor and a proverbial second wind on the political stage. As a thespian, Grandy signed for guest spots on early-'70s series including Maude and Phyllis, but built his reputation via his nine-season portrayal of Yeoman-Purser Burl "Gopher" Smith, right-hand man to Captain Merrill Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), on the popular television sitcom The Love Boat (1977-1986). He proved popular with audiences, but by the mid-'80s reportedly grew tired of acting and gravitated to the political arena because he found it more challenging. Indeed, in 1986 -- the year of Boat's cancelation -- Grandy was elected as a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Iowa.

Trivia: For millions of Americans, the prime-time situation comedy The Love Boat will be forever inseparable from the image of Ted Lange, an actor cast for nine seasons as the genial Isaac the Bartender on the Pacific Princess luxury liner and trademarked by his iconic "two-finger drop" greeting. Yet Lange's portrayal of Isaac scarcely hinted at the actor's dexterity or dramatic range. In truth, this actor received classical dramatic training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and would go on, after the Princess took its final voyage in September 1986, to establish himself as a revered creative force in regional theater.Lange initially broke into films with many portrayals in Hollywood programmers during the early '70s, including Trick Baby (1972), Blade (1972), and Black Belt Jones (1974), and landed a regular role in the one-season ethnic sitcom That's My Mama (1974), as a streetwise philosopher opposite Clifton Davis (Amen) and Theresa Merritt. The Love Boat, of course, brought Lange his most widespread recognition; nonetheless (as indicated), he hearkened back to his theatrical roots beginning in the late '80s and divided his time between writing, directing, and stage acting roles. His resumé as a scribe sports at least 17 original plays including Lemon Meringue Facade, Behind the Mask -- An Evening with Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Evil Legacy -- The Story of Lucretia Borgia, while he has appeared dramatically in productions including Hair and Taming of the Shrew and has directed plays ranging from Othello to the rock & roll musical Born a Unicorn.

Trivia: Pennsylvania-born actress Lauren Tewes achieved broadest recognition for her stint as Cruise Director Julie McCoy on the long-running ABC situation comedy The Love Boat. Unfortunately, Tewes (unlike many of her fellow cast members) left the program prior to the final voyage of the Pacific Princess -- reportedly spiraling into a much-publicized bout of severe cocaine addiction from which she eventually fully recovered, but which cost her the role on the series. Tewes nevertheless demonstrated admirable resilience by returning for at least two Love Boat telemovies and remained active in television and film. Subsequent projects included guest appearances on the small-screen series dramas Hunter and Murder, She Wrote, and roles in features such as The Doom Generation (1995) and It Came From Outer Space 2 (1996).

Trivia: Jill Whelan enjoyed an acting career as a child star, with a seven-season (1979-1986) portrayal of Vicki, Captain Merrill Stubing's young daughter, on the prime-time ABC situation comedy The Love Boat. After the series wrapped in 1986, Whelan returned for a number of Love Boat telemovies, acted in regional theater, and played a regular role on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. Astute movie buffs may remember Whelan for a brief but memorable big-screen contribution that happened during her Love Boat tenure: she also portrayed Lisa Davis, the ailing child sent into convulsions when a singing nun knocks out her I.V., in the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker farce Airplane! (1980).

Trivia: Though he has done many other things since the late '60s and early '70s, comedian/actor Dick Martin will best be remembered as the co-host of the innovative sketch comedy series Laugh-In (1968-1973) with his longtime partner and straightman Dan Rowan. Rowan and Martin started out on television appearing briefly on the summer edition of the comedy variety show The Chevy Show in 1958. He and Rowan made their feature-film debut that year in the Western Once Upon a Horse. Between 1962 and 1964, Martin, sans Rowan, was a regular on The Lucy Show. The two reunited to appear regularly on The Dean Martin Summer Show (1966-1967). That year, Martin also made another solo appearance in the Doris Day feature The Glass Bottom Boat. Laugh-In was the comic duo's biggest success and at the peak of their popularity, the two attempted to further cash in by appearing in the Abbott and Costello-like horror spoof, The Maltese Bippy (1969). The film bombed and it would be years before Martin again appeared in a film. Since then, his acting appearances on television and in film have been sporadic.

Trivia: Irrepressible African American entertainer Melba Moore was a schoolteacher before debuting on Broadway in the original production of Hair. At age 25, Melba won a Tony and a Theatre World Award for her supporting work in the Broadway musical Purlie. On the strength of this and subsequent show-stopping stage triumphs, Melba was honored with her own 1972 TV variety series, The Melba Moore/Clifton Davis Hour. Five years later, she made her first film appearance in the movie version of Hair (1977), playing the single-scene part of the "3-5-0-0 Soloist." She has since proved a popular recording artist with her album Peach Melba. Other Melba Moore projects have included the Kismet-inspired musical Timbuktu, the 1986 TV sitcom Melba (which was unceremoniously cancelled after the first episode, only to briefly bob up again in late summer) and a spirited voice over stint as "Whippet Angel" in the 1989 Don Bluth animated cartoon feature All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Trivia: A singer, one of the NFL's greatest football stars, a heroic body guard, an actor, social activist, and a minister of God, Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier has successfully worn many hats in his life. Born on a Georgia peanut farm, one of 13 children, Grier was 22 when he and his family migrated north to New Jersey. A track scholarship allowed Grier entrance into Penn State University. From there, he was recruited into the NFL where he was first a linebacker for the New York Giants and then a tackle for the Los Angeles Rams, where he became part of the legendary "Fearsome Foursome" that included Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones. Retiring from football in 1968, Grier became a bodyguard for Senator Robert F. Kennedy during the 1968 presidential election. It was Grier who wrestled alleged assassin Sirhan Sirhan to the ground after the younger Kennedy was shot. Following the end of his football career, Grier turned to the entertainment industry. It was not his first foray into performing as he had signed a contract with a booking agency in 1959 and briefly toured the nightclub circuit as the "300-pound Perry Como." The 6'6" Grier was a popular guest on talk shows and loved talking about one of his favorite hobbies, needlework. In 1969, he made his first stab at an acting career in the failed television pilot Battle Brigade/Carter's Army. He then became a regular on Daniel Boone for its last season. Grier made his feature-film debut in Lee Frost's memorable low-budget exploitation film The Thing With Two Heads (1972), in which Grier's head was grafted alongside the head of racist scientist Ray Milland. It was a decidedly inauspicious beginning for a film career as a supporting actor that, while never prolific, became even more sporadic after 1980. Grier has done his most notable work in television in such miniseries as Roots: The Next Generation (1978) and telemovies as The Sophisticated Gents (1981). A devout Christian since the late '60s, Grier is also a minister who actively preaches all over the world. Between 1994 and 1995, Grier generated controversy when he became the spiritual counselor of accused murderer and former football star O.J. Simpson. Grier claims that during their many sessions together, Simpson never incriminated himself. Grier's philanthropic work includes a place on the board of directors for the Special Olympics, a position he has held since 1968, and a position as an activist director for the Milken Family Foundation, a large philanthropic organization that funds worthy social causes.

Trivia: American character actor Ted Chapman has appeared on stage and television as well as in films such as Bananas (1971). He also frequently appeared in television commercials.

Trivia: Leading lady of television and films, Judy Landers made her feature-film debut in The Yum-Yum Girls (1976) and appeared in her first television show, Happy Days (in 1974), as a guest star. Landers spent the bulk of her career in low-budget films. TV series in which she was a regular include Vega$ (1978) and B.J. and the Bear (1981). She and her sister, Audrey Landers, have appeared together in two films, The Tennessee Stallion (1978) and Ghost Writer (1989).