Bernie Kopell was big on health, so producers made Dr. Adam Bricker skip rope

"Frequent watchers will notice Adam Bricker does a lot of skipping rope stuff on The Love Boat," he said.

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We hear a lot about actors portraying characters that are the complete opposite of their personalities in real life. Yet, there are instances when producers will add traits of the actor into their roles, whether for character development purposes or to spice up a series.

Bernie Kopell played Dr. Adam Bricker on the hit series The Love Boat and looked at the role as his "television alter ego." Why? Because some of the things the character did were things Kopell did in real life. The main thing: skipping rope. In an interview with The Times-Tribune in 1983, Kopell spoke about his character and how exercising became a part of Bricker.

"Frequent watchers will notice Adam Bricker does a lot of skipping rope stuff on The Love Boat," he said. "That's because I do that. This is what happens when you're on a show for years and years. The writers get tuned into you and put you in the character."

When a doctor told Kopell he needed to start doing something physical, he started skipping rope. The actor said, "He explained the necessity of exercise to me. This is weird business, this energy stuff, but it's very important."

Becoming more in tune with his heart and health, Kopell took the doctor's advice and turned it into a wellness movement for himself. In the article, staff writer Terry Bonifanti revealed that the actor skipped rope and was the California chairman of the "Jump Rope for Heart" campaign. Kopell participated in celebrity tennis tournaments for charities and finished eighty situps and thirty push-ups just before the interview.

Since writers added this into the Adam Bricker character, they had to make it interesting enough for people to notice. What better way to do that than act like Bricker was staying fit for women who caught his eye on the cruise ship? It was the perfect opportunity.

In reality, the only woman who caught Kopell's eye was his wife, Yoland Veloz, a successful realtor and financier. At the time of the interview, they had been married for eight years.



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18 Comments

Runeshaper 23 months ago
Gotta give a guy credit for staying healthy both on and off the screen!
MrsPhilHarris 23 months ago
I remember him on The Doris Day Show. Ran a pizza joint downstairs from Doris’ apartment.
daDoctah 23 months ago
That wife's name in the final paragraph caught me off guard. I was vaguely aware that there was once a dance team called "Veloz & Yolanda", so I looked them up; apparently they were Bernie's in-laws. I also discovered that Ms Veloz was his *second* wife and that he married a third time, so she was one of at least three women who caught his eye.
MrsPhilHarris daDoctah 23 months ago
I think they kept getting younger. He had kids with the last one.
AgingDisgracefully 23 months ago
Combining the phrases "Love Boat" and "Frequent Watchers" makes me sad.
Yeah, but you don't understand the decade. Or the competition. Saturday night was filled with sugar coated sitcoms and stay-at-homers who'd retired from the night-life. TLB provided variety and nostalgia and easy relaxing. Why not. Movies of the Weeks were prolific, sports and variety shows. TLB was very easy eye-candy.
Are you referring to Charo's 10 IMDb TLB credits? I think I'm sad again.
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Everybody gets a gift this season, instead of a Smiley Face.

Happy Seasonal Greetings to everyone!
Barry22 AgingDisgracefully 23 months ago
"Coochie-Coochie!"
Jeffrey Pacificsun 23 months ago
The same to you, Pacificsun! And everyone else! Except ''Merry Christmas'' and ''Happy New Year''! from me! May you all have a wonderful New Year in 2023!
Andybandit 23 months ago
Bernie was good in TLB. Also that show on CBS called B-Postive. He played one of men that lived in the assisted living home that Gina work in.
Sway 23 months ago
Had to keep legs in shape for wearing those uniform shorts.
KJExpress Sway 23 months ago
Seems like those shorts kept getting shorter. 😜
BrittReid 23 months ago
Hilarious on Get Smart!
daDoctah BrittReid 23 months ago
And somewhat overlooked on "That Girl", where he played Ann Marie's neighbor. Per sitcom tradition (Dick Van Dyke Show, Bob Newhart Show, and others), his character's name was Jerry.

The tradition was flipped on its head in "Seinfeld", where it was the main character who had that name.
LoveMETV22 23 months ago
Skipping rope....Hmmm have to watch for that. Well at 89 yrs young, skipping rope must have done well for him.
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