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The Love Boat literally wouldn't have happened without Gavin MacLeod
A boat is nothing without its captain.
Despite its success on air, it took three pilot episodes before The Love Boat could leave port. Aaron Spelling, known for his work on programs like Charlie’s Angels, joined the series as an executive producer with Douglas Cramer.
Spelling discussed the show’s beginnings in his memoir, Aaron Spelling: A Prime Time Life. By the time Spelling joined the crew, ABC had passed on two versions of The Love Boat pilot, though Spelling wasn’t willing to let that rejection stop him.
“When Doug and I joined forces, I went to ABC to try and convince them to do a third pilot,” wrote Spelling. “Fred Silverman [then president of ABC] said, ‘Aaron, there’s no way in the world I can get New York to okay another Love Boat pilot... unless, that is, you bring me in a great piece of casting for the captain.”
Of course, Spelling knew just the man for the job: Gavin MacLeod. At the time, MacLeod had just finished working on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
“I called Gavin’s agent, who said Gavin would only be interested in a comedy,” wrote Spelling. “I explained that The Love Boat was a comedy, an hour comedy. I met with Gavin at my house, and we hit it off. He signed on, and that was all Fred needed to give us the green light to shoot the third pilot.”
The extra effort to cast MacLeod certainly paid off. Silverman gave the go-ahead for a fresh pilot, and this time, The Love Boat was finally ready to set sail.
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