Has any entertainment scripted project ever featured more Oscar winners? Tour our special Valentine’s Day photo gallery to see which 33 Academy Awards champs made appearances on the very popular Aaron Spelling show “The Love Boat.”
For one full decade of 1977 to 1987, ABC could count on its comedy/drama series “The Love Boat” to bring in millions of audience members on Saturday nights. The show would have multiple story arcs (often three for a one-hour episode) with five to 10 celebrity guest stars each time. Some arcs were playing out for laughs, others for romance and the remainder could take on tough issues. The show airs daily on the Decades network and on Sunday afternoons for ME-TV. You can also stream every episode on Paramount+.
Regular cast members would either take command of some segments or be in the backseat on others. The charming actors throughout the decade were Gavin MacLeod (Captain Merrill Stubing), Bernie Kopell (Dr. Adam Bricker), Lauren Tewes (Cruise Director Julie McCoy), Ted Lange (Bartender Isaac Washington), Fred Grandy (Yeoman Purser Gopher Smith) and Jill Whelan (captain’s daughter Vicki).
Some of the most prolific guest stars over the years were not Oscar winners. They included Carol Channing, Charo, Bert Convy, Florence Henderson, Arte Johnson, Audra Lindley, Juliet Mills, Robert Reed, Marion Ross, Connie Stevens, Jessica Walter and Betty White.
Special legends would be sprinkled in throughout the 10 seasons for an extra boost in ratings or to offer some talented actors and actresses to work again with an interesting storyline. We counted up 32 Oscar winners as guest stars for “The Love Boat” in our gallery above. They include double champs such as Olivia de Havilland, Luise Rainer and Shelley Winters and EGOT winners Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno. The very first Best Actress winner — Janet Gaynor — appeared on one episode. We also included any people that made their appearances years before their Oscar wins — Don Ameche, Kathy Bates, Jamie Lee Curist, Tom Hanks and Tim Robbins. Our gallery is strictly devoted to Oscar winners, so you will not find any honorary recipients among them, such as Gene Kelly, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, even though they all guest starred.
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Don Ameche
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Several years before winning an Oscar, Don Ameche appeared in three episodes:
“Gopher’s Greatest Hits/The Vacation/One Rose a Day” (1979)
“The Duel/Two for Julie/Aunt Hilly” (1981)
“The Lady and the Maid/Love Is Blind/The Babymakers” (1984) -
Kathy Bates
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Over a decade before her Oscar win, Kathy Bates had a small role on one episode:
“Too Hot to Handle/Family Reunion/Cinderella Story” (1978)
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Anne Baxter
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Longtime Aaron Spelling favorite and Oscar winner Anne Baxter appeared in two episodes:
“A Model Marriage/This Year’s Model/Original Sin/Vogue Rogue/Too Clothes for Comfort” (1981)
“Caribbean Cruise/Call Me Grandma/A Gentleman of Discretion/The Perfect Divorce/Letting Go” (1985) -
Ernest Borgnine
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC TV veteran and Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine guested on one episode:
“The Italian Cruise/The Venetian Love Song/Down for the Count/Arrividerci, Gopher/The Arrangement” (1982)
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Red Buttons
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC One of the most prolific guest stars was Oscar winner Red Buttons, who appeared on three episodes:
“Where Is It Written?/Julie’s Aunt/The Big Deal” (1978)
“Making the Grade/The Gift/Doc’s Ex Change” (1979)
“Vicki’s Dilemma/Discount Romance/Loser & Still Champ” (1983) -
Jamie Lee Curtis
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Many years before his win for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Jamie Lee Curtis co-starred with her mother Janet Leigh in one episode:
“Till Death Do Us Part-Maybe/Locked Away/Chubs” (1978)
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Olivia de Havilland
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC One of the more surprising guest stars was double Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland, who appeared in one episode:
“The Duel/Two for Julie/Aunt Hilly” (1981)
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Sandy Dennis
Image Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Sandy Dennis was a guest star on one episode late in the run:
“Roommates/Heartbreaker/Out of the Blue” (1985)
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Patty Duke
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Another prolific guest star was Oscar winner Patty Duke, who appeared in these three episodes:
“The Joker Is Mild/Take My Granddaughter, Please/First Time Out” (1977)
“Memories of You/Computerman/Parlez Vous?” (1978)
“The Crew’s Cruise Director/What a Drag/Doc’s Slump” (1984) -
Jose Ferrer
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Jose Ferrer appeared in two episodes:
“The Expedition/Julie’s Wedding/The Mongala/Julie’s Replacement/The Three R’s/The Professor’s Wife” (1981)
“The Art Lover/Couples/Made for Each Other” (1986) -
Joan Fontaine
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Joan Fontaine followed her sister Olivia de Havilland in appearing on the show in one episode:
“Chef’s Special/Beginning Anew/Kleinschmidt” (1981)
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Greer Garson
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Greer Garson appeared in just one episode:
“The Tomorrow Lady/Father, Dear Father/Still Life” (1982)
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Janet Gaynor
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Janet Gaynor was the first Oscar-winning Best Actress and appeared in one episode:
“The Frugal Pair/Doc’s Dismissal/The Girl Next Door” (1981)
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Ruth Gordon
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Ruth Gordon only made one appearance:
“The Joker Is Mild/Take My Granddaughter, Please/First Time Out” (1977)
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Tom Hanks
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Many years before his two Oscar wins, a very young Tom Hanks appeared in one episode:
“Sergeant Bull/Friends and Lovers/Miss Mother” (1980)
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Helen Hayes
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC The EGOT champ Helen Hayes made just one appearance on the show:
“No Girls for Doc/Marriage of Convenience/The Caller/The Witness” (1980)
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Celeste Holm
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Celeste Holm appeared in one of the TV movie pilots and two episodes:
“A Good and Faithful Servant/The Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover” (1979)
“The Buck Stops Here/For Better or Worse/Bet on It” (1984) -
Shirley Jones
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Although Oscar winner Shirley Jones appeared extensively on TV in her career, she appeared in just one episode here:
“Isaac’s Aegean Affair/The Captain and the Kid/Poor Rich Man/The Dean and the Flunkee” (1983)
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George Kennedy
Image Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock Oscar winner George Kennedy made just one episode appearance:
“Vicki and the Fugitive/Lady in the Window/Stolen Years/Dutch Treat” (1984)
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Ray Milland
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Ray Milland won his Oscar decades before making this one and only appearance:
“Alaska Wedding Cruise/Buddy and Portia’s Story/Carol and Doug’s Story/Peter and Alicia’s Story” (1979)
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Cloris Leachman
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Cloris Leachman was a TV regular even when winning her Oscar. Her two episode appearances:
“Vicki and the Fugitive/Lady in the Window/Stolen Years/Dutch Treat” (1984)
“Hidden Treasure/Picture from the Past/Ace’s Salary” (1985) -
John Mills
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner John Mills appeared in just one episode, but maybe it was to be closer to his daughters (Juliet Mills, Hayley Mills) on the same show:
“A Good and Faithful Servant/The Secret Life of Burl Smith/Tug of War/Designated Lover” (1979)
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Rita Moreno
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC One of only two EGOT champs as a guest star (the other was Helen Hayes), Rita Moreno just made one appearance:
“Japan Cruise/When Worlds Collide/The Captain and the Geisha/The Lottery Winners/The Emperor’s Fortune” (1983)
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Luise Rainer
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Double Oscar champ Luise Rainer made her one episode appearance decades later:
“The Lady and the Maid/Love Is Blind/The Babymakers” (1984)
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Donna Reed
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC TV favorite and Oscar winner Donna Reed appeared just once on this program:
“Hong Kong Cruise/Polly’s Poker Palace/Shop Ahoy/Double Date/The Hong Kong Affair/Two Tails of a City” (1984)
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Tim Robbins
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC It was just a bit part for Tim Robbins but important to an early stage in his career and long before his Oscar win:
“Vicki and the Fugitive/Lady in the Window/Stolen Years/Dutch Treat” (1984)
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Ginger Rogers
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Ginger Rogers had a special song-and-dance number on her episode:
“The Love Lamp Is Lit/Critical Success/Rent a Family/Take My Boyfriend, Please/The Man in Her Life” (1979)
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Eva Marie Saint
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Eva Marie Saint just appeared on one double episode:
“Isaac’s Aegean Affair/The Captain and the Kid/Poor Rich Man/The Dean and the Flunkee” (1983)
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Claire Trevor
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Decades after her Oscar win, Claire Trevor made just one episode appearance:
“The Misunderstanding/Love Below Decks/The End is Near” (1983)
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Paul Williams
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Songwriting Oscar winner Paul Williams made an acting appearance on two episodes:
“Musical Cabins” (1978)
“Burl of My Dreams/Meet the Author/Rhymes, Riddles and Romance” (1982) -
Shelley Winters
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Shelley Winters was a double Oscar winner who appeared alongside past co-star Ernest Borgnine in one episode:
“The Italian Cruise/The Venetian Love Song/Down for the Count/Arrividerci, Gopher/The Arrangement” (1982)
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Teresa Wright
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Teresa Wright made one appearance on this holiday favorite episode:
“The Christmas Presence” (1982)
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Jane Wyman
Image Credit: Aaron Spelling/Love Boat/ABC Oscar winner Jane Wyman made just one episode appearance:
“Another Time, Another Place/Doctor Who/Gopher’s Engagement” (1980)
