Gavin Macleod Biography

Gavin MacLeod born Allan George See is an American film and television character actor, ship’s ambassador, Christian activist and author. His career spans six decades of television. He has also appeared as a guest on several talk, and religious shows.

Gavin grew up in Pleasantville and studied acting at Ithaca College and graduated in 1952. He served in the United States Air Force but he later moved to New York City and worked at Radio City Music Hall while looking for acting work. At this time, he changed his name, getting “Gavin” from a physically disabled victim in a TV drama, and “MacLeod” from his Ithaca drama coach called Beatrice MacLeod.

In 1957, Gavin made his television debut on The Walter Winchell File at the age of 26. He first appeared in 1958 in a movie as a small, uncredited role in The True Story of Lynn Stuart . Later, he landed a credited role in a 1958 prison drama starring Susan Hayward,I Want to Live! He was then noticed by Blake Edwards, who in 1958 cast in the pilot episode of his NBC series Peter Gunn. He cast in other two guest roles on the Edwards CBS series Mr. Lucky in 1959, the other one as a nervous harried navy yeoman in Operation Petticoat, with cast mates Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It proved to be his breakout role. Gavin was soon cast in two other Edwards comedies. They were, High Time with Bing Crosby and The Party with Peter Sellers.

He made several television appearances on various shows between 1957 and 1961. Gavin landed a guest role on The Dick Van Dyke Show as Mel’s cousin Maxwell Cooley, a wholesale jeweler in December 1961. It was his first time working with Mary Tyler Moore. He also had three guest appearances on Perry Mason. In 1961 he played Lawrence Comminger in “The Case of the Grumbling Grandfather.” Macleod played Mortimer Hershey in 1965 “The Case of the Grinning Gorilla”, and in Dan Platte in “The Case of the Runaway Racer”. Gavin played the role of a drug pusher, “Big Chicken”, in two episodes of the season one of Hawaii Five-O.

Actor Gavin Macleod

Gavins first regular TV role came in 1962 as Joseph “Happy” Haines on McHale’s Navy. He left after two seasons to appear in the motion picture, The Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen. Between 1965 and 1969, he appeared in many weekly episodes and in multiple roles on the TV series Hogan’s Heroes.He played as Major Zolle in season 1 episode 19, as General Metzger in season 3 episode 27, as Major Kiegel in season 4, episode 1 and as General von Rauscher in season 4, episode 23. The roles were usually a stern and discerning officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Luftwaffe or Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) which differ much from the lovable characters he portrayed in his following TV roles.
His breakout role as Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show awarded him lasting fame, and two Golden Globe nominations.

Gavin Macleod Love Boat

His starring role as Captain Stubing on The Love Boat, his subsequent TV series, brought laughter to 90 countries worldwide, this was for 9 seasons between 1977 and 1986. Gavins’ work on that particular show earned him three Golden Globe nominations. He co-starred with familiar actor and best friend Bernie Kopell as Dr. Adam Bricker and unfamiliar actor and best friend Ted Lange as bartender Isaac Washington.

Gavin became the global ambassador for Princess Cruises in 1986. He has also played a role in ceremonies launching many of the line’s new ships.

He joined the Love Boat cast on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997. It was the first full cast appearance since the show was terminated eleven years back in 1986.

After The Love Boat, he toured with Michael Learned of The Waltons in Love Letters. Between 1997 and 2003, he made various appearances in musicals such as Gigi and Copacabana.
He appeared with the Colorado Symphony in Denver in December 2008.

Gavin and his wife have been hosts on the Trinity Broadcasting Network for 17 years, they primarily host a show about marriage known as Back on Course. He appeared in Rich Christiano’s Time Changer. It was a movie about time travel and how the morals of society have moved away from the Bible. MacLeod also plays the lead role in a Christiano’s 2009 film The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.

The entire cast of The Love Boat attended the TV Land Awards with the exception of Gavin in April 2010. It was due to lack of a back operation to repair a couple of injured discs. Long-term friend and former co-star Lange contacted him and received word his beloved TV friend was doing well. Gavin appeared as a guest narrator in December with the Florida Orchestra and Master Chorale of Tampa Bay for three concerts.

He served as the honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades for five years, until he was succeeded by Ray Leonard in 2011.

On February 28, 2011, MacLeod celebrated his 80th birthday aboard The Golden Princess on Princess Cruises in Los Angeles, California. His family and friends presented him with a 5 ft. long cake. It was a 3D replica in cake of the original “Love Boat”, which represented The Pacific Princess.

On January 17, 2012, he appeared on the special for Betty White’s 90th birthday. Gavin also reunited with White in 2013 to film “Safety Old School Style”, an in-flight safety video for Air New Zealand. By January 2013, the video had earned 2 million views on YouTube.

He appeared in October 2013 on Today to begin the promotional tour for his new book This Is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith & Life. The appearance included a special set change to honor his appearance on the show. His book tour also continued in New York, Los Angeles, and Central Florida. Ted and Loretta Swit Lange were both present at Gavin’s first Barnes & Noble book signing in New York City. The signing was the largest such event held at that particular place in three years.

He joined his Love Boat cast mates live on the CBS daytime show The Talk on November 5, 2013. A whole hour episode was dedicated to the cast reunion. The shows’ co-hosts dressed in attires to recognize their special guests’ arrivals. Charo the Spanish-American actress also appeared on the reunion show. She guest starred in eight episodes of The Love Boat. Jack Jones also performed the Love Boat theme song, which he had introduced in 1977.

Gavin appeared on The 700 Club to discuss his life and career in December 2013

He was honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in downtown Palm Springs, California on February 1, 2014. He then continued his book tour throughout 2014.

He appeared in the Rose Parade along with several members of the original cast of The Love Boat in January 2015.

Gavin Macleod Net Worth

The American actor and politician  has a net worth of $10 million.

Gavin Macleod Age | Dead Or Alive |

How Old Is Gavin Macleod?

He was born Allan George See on February 28 1931 in Mount Kisco, New York.  MacLeod is still alive.

Gavin Macleod Family

MacLeod was born the elder in a family of two. His mother Margaret See was a middle school dropout and worked for Reader’s Digest. She died in 2004. His father George See was an electrician and was part Chippewa. George died in 1945.

Gavin Macleod Marriage | Wife | Patti Macleod

He married his current wife Patti in 1974. They were both previously divorced. They divorced in the 1980s, but were later remarried in 1985.

Gavin Macleod Christian

During the mid-1980s, MacLeod and Patti became Evangelical Christians and credit their religion for bringing them back together.
In his time as the Captain on The Love Boat, MacLeod “very selfishly” (his words) divorced his wife Patti. Patti spent the next three years seeking help from psychiatrists on both the west and the east coasts.

One day, his wife received a telephone call from Patti Lewis, first wife of Jerry Lewis who invited her to a Christian prayer group. The group contained a number of famous actresses , they started to pray for Gavin. Gavin said, “From that day, I started to think about her. Something told me to call Patti. I called Patti. I went back to see her the following Monday and things haven’t been the same since.” Gavin asked her what had happened. She explained everything to him including that she had given her life to Christ.

Gavin Macleod Movies And Tv Shows

Gavin Macleod Movies

Gavin Macleod Television Shows

Gavin Macleod Books

• Pugalier Training Guide Pugalier Training Book Features: Pugalier Housetraining,
• Obedience Training, Agility Training, Behavioral Training, Tricks and More
• This Is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith and Life
• The Magical Oak Tree
• Action Robots: A Pop-up Book Showing How They Work
• Action Robots: A 3-dimensional, Working Pop-up Book
• Rural Leisure: Research Study

Gavin Macleod Gay

MacLeod  is not gay, he has a wife known as Patti.

Gavin Macleod Height

He has a height of 1.8m.

Gavin Macleod talks of his career and faith

Gavin Macleod Interview

PK: Prior to The Love Boat, had you ever taken a cruise or made a crossing on an ocean liner?

GML: No. I’m from upstate New York and we never had many ships up there (laughs). My uncle, on the other hand, was in the maritime service and he traveled all over the world. He had a wonderful captain’s outfit. Little did I know I’d be wearing one years later…
PK: The Love Boat continues to bring joy to so many. It wasn’t the Shakespeare of its day but it holds up so well. Are there any particular episodes that you remember most?

GML: When I first met Aaron (Spelling — the Love Boat’s producer), he had just submitted the script to us but my agent wasn’t too keen on it. I said I’d like to read it, so I took it to my house in Palm Springs where my wife read it first. After the first ten pages, she said, “I’m telling you honey, this is going to go if they get the right people!” So, then I read it and I thought it sounded like another show (“My Little Margie”) but it really tugged at my heart strings. One story with a character played by Phil Silvers, an old Jewish guy that comes on the ship — he’s sick, he’s going to die but there’s no more room in the cemetery back in the Bronx where he lives. And so, he’s gonna die on the ship but he meets someone and they fall for each other. It’s beautiful and she goes to see him just before the cruise ends and….he’s gone. He died.
GML, ctd.: And that touched my heart, so I asked Aaron if you are going to always have a show like that. He said, “I’m going to have a sophisticated comedy, a broad comedy and one that will touch your heart.” And then he says, “So tell me you’ll say yes!” (laughs) And my agent had already told me, “Don’t tell him you’re gonna say yes when you see him!” Meanwhile, I had been considering this other script that was a little too negative, so we ended up making the deal for “The Love Boat.” It was also nice to work with Bernie (Koppel) again. He played the doctor — we had worked together on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Get Smart,” things like that.
GML, ctd.: I also loved the one where my wife Patty came on. She played opposite the wonderful Jim Backus and I was very protective of her. The cast and crew gave me a t-shirt at the end of the shoot that read, “Captain Stage Mother”. They were very cute. (laughs)
PK: And the big stars, that was all part of the original concept for “The Love Boat”?

GML: “Oh yes! That was all part of what Aaron told me. Everything Aaron Spelling said, he did. He was fabulous. Working with Ginger Rogers was wonderful. We did a little time step with her and Jill (Wheelan, who played Captain Stubing’s daughter Vicki).
GML, ctd.: And some of those musical numbers, I mean…The Love Boat Follies! Can you imagine? This has never happened in the history of the American theater — you had Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Della Reese and Ann Miller on the same show! With Van Johnson and Cab Calloway! Come on, it doesn’t get any better than that! That show, you never knew what was required of you. They even gave the captain a number. (sings) “Got my tweeds breast, got my best vest, all I need now is the girl…” And I was surrounded by all these gorgeous girls. It was heaven, I never believed this could happen to me.

PK: With The Love Boat, at first you were going to be a heavy but I understand the role morphed a bit.

GML: In the pilot, he (Captain Stubing) was a feared human being showing up to take over his ship and I remember they painted a terrible picture of him. At first, I thought it could be a very interesting actor’s element. I could arrive in a golf cart with sunglasses on — there’s nothing more ominous than trying to make contact with someone when you don’t know what is going on behind those glasses! But then we realized that if we were going to be a hit, to come into people’s houses, their bedrooms, kitchens, or wherever they have television sets…to go week after week, niceness is what works. Authority is what works, not ominous. And so we slowly started to change him. There’s nothing like love to make a show grow and he became a father symbol, a grandfather, a symbol of authority. It worked out right and I’m very grateful…
PK: On the original Love Boat ships, themselves, the ISLAND and PACIFIC PRINCESS, was there any feature in particular that you remember?

GML: The bridge was the place that I always loved visiting. I felt on top of the world there. And, you always think the captain is the guy that is “doing it” but you have this other guy with the little steering wheel… If they knew! (laughs)
GML, ctd.: I also loved the Carousel Lounge, because that is where we had the shows. When Princess started to expand and I would go to see the new ships, the first place I would go to was the theaters — I always wanted to see what the theaters were like. I remember in Italy, at the shipyard, I was with a bunch of the press and I looked at the stage…and I looked at the wings…and I thought “You could do “Les Mis” here!” It’s so different from that little Carousel Lounge…
PK: Any more stories you’d like to share about the people that you worked with on The Love Boat?

GML: Well, Charo, when we named the last ship (REGAL PRINCESS), she did her nightclub act and she was out of the world. She made the most appearances as herself while Florence (Henderson) did the most as an actress and Artie Johnson made the most as a male actor. Those big stars, for me, that was so cool. Sir John Mills came on, the first time he’d ever worked with his two daughters, Haley and Juliet, ever, in his life! I shook his hand in the opening scene and it was all wet and he said, “It’s rather like going back to school, old boy. How different it is to fit in with a group that has been there for a while and you are the outsider.” That brilliant actor…and his wife, Lady Mary, was sitting there, watching, so you had all four of them.

GML, ctd.: And Raymond Burr, whom I’d worked with supporting so many times before, and now he’s on my show! It was a big kick! And Ray Milland, he was on our first trip to Alaska. He had so many stories about John Wayne, when he got married (Milland was Wayne’s best man). That was the joy about doing that show. You got to meet people who were your heroes…like Helen Hayes! And they would tell you stories about their lives.
PK: Mary Tyler Moore just passed. Can you share any thoughts or memories about her and the show?

GML: Mary Tyler Moore. Out of four stars, she gets six! I had returned from doing “Kelly’s Heroes” in Yugoslavia and I had just been cast in “Carousel” (I was doing Jigger in that and my kids were playing the Snow Children) when my agent called and said Mary Tyler Moore is doing a pilot and they want to talk to me. I said, “Oh great, tell them I’m very interested!”
GML, ctd: I remembered working with her on the Dick Van Dyke Show and she and her husband (former chairman of NBC and co-founder of MTM Enterprises) Grant Tinker used to come and see some of the plays I did. So, they sent over two scripts: one was “Rhoda’s Mother” and the other was the pilot — and written on the script was “Gavin, for the part of Lou Grant”.

GML, ctd.: So, I read the script and thought “Wow, this is really good! This is really fun!” (interrupted by the sound of plates crashing in the kitchen) Somebody’s getting fired back there for breaking all the plates! (we both veer into laughter) The only thing was, I didn’t think I was right for the part of Lou Grant. Having worked with her on Dick Van Dyke, I felt more like Mary’s contemporary and not her boss. And I wasn’t right for Ted Baxter but there’s Murray, this writer — he didn’t have that much to do but he was kind of nice with those “shoot ‘em” lines. So I went to see them and I read the part of Lou and got the right laughs but it really wasn’t what I wanted to do. I had my hand on the door, and I said, “You know, you guys, I really like Lou Grant, it’s a great part, but I want to read for Murray Slaughter.” (after even louder sounds of plates crashing in kitchen, he leans into the camera, smiles and rolls his eyes) Are they killing something out there? Is a parade passing by? What’s going ON! (more laughter and a moment of recovery for both of us) SO, I read a few lines and they laughed and as I walk out, I see Ed Asner pacing back and forth. About two hours later, my agent calls and said they want me to do the part.

GML, ctd.: So, I was cast as Murray and the last (principal) to be cast was Ted Knight. Ted and I were friends from the first day I arrived in California, the first actor I met. And then for the part of Rhoda’s mother, they were thinking about Maureen Stapleton, who is brilliant but I said, “Do you know Nancy Walker?” And they said “No.” And I said, “You don’t know who Nancy Walker is?” She was directing “Fallen Angels” on Broadway at that time, one of the funniest shows ever. And so, months later, we got to Rhoda’s mother and Nancy Walker showed up (beams a huge smile). We became very good friends and that started a whole new part of her career. That show was good for everybody. You talk about people who cared, loved each other. Love is all around and it was on that show, principally because of Mary. You know, the pace is always set by the leader and that’s what I always tried to do on “The Love Boat.”

Adopted from https://maritimematters.com