LOS ANGELES — More than 35 years have passed since the final voyage of the TV classic "The Love Boat," set aboard a luxurious cruise ship, aired in 1986. But time has not dulled the nostalgic glow around the series and its irresistible gimmick — an ever-changing rotation of major and minor celebrities involved in various rom-com adventures about the ship.
Through nine seasons and several reunion specials, more than 500 celebrities from classic Hollywood (Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Lillian Gish, Joan Fontaine, Eva Marie Saint), Broadway (Ethel Merman, Robert Goulet, Tammy Grimes), television (Don Adams, Lorne Greene, Florence Henderson, Eve Arden), music (The Pointer Sisters, Janet Jackson, Engelbert Humperdinck) and sports (Dick Butkus, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, Joe Namath) appeared on the ABC series. Also boarding were unlikely guest stars (Halston, Bob Mackie and Andy Warhol among them) and up-and-comers (like Martin Short and Tom Hanks).
Interacting with the colorful passengers and steering them through their romantic highs and lows in every episode was the attentive crew, headed by Capt. Merrill Stubing (Gavin MacLeod). The crew members also engaged in plenty of their own hijinks.
