Ted Lange Claims 1 “Love Boat” Producer Didn't Want to 'Write Love Stories for a Black Character' — So His Costars Did

Passengers and staff alike constantly found love aboard The Pacific Princess, but one of The Love Boat’s stars claims his character struggled to find a connection on the show.

“We had a producer [who] didn't wanna write for me,” Ted Lange said on the Jan. 19 episode of the Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko. “He didn't want to write love stories for a Black character.”

Lange, 77, said that his costars Bernie Kopell and Fred Grandy noticed that trend and “had my back.”

“Fred and Bernie wrote a story, a love story, for me. Scatman Crothers and Vernee Watson, they wrote a love story for me because this guy wouldn't do it,” Lange said. “And I also used to say to the guy, I say, ‘Hey, look. You have, all the white characters at the front of the show, and at the end of the show, my character's not there.’ He says, ‘Well, you're a bartender. What would you be doing there?’ I said, ‘Well, you know what? Bernie's a doctor. He should be in sick bay, and the captain should be on the bridge. What are they doing there?’ He says, ‘Well, we're not writing you in.’ He says, ‘Look. You're an equal star.’”

Related: Jill Whelan Remembers Late Love Boat Costar Gavin MacLeod: 'He Loved Food More Than Probably Anything'

The actor claimed that the unnamed producer would do “anything to keep me off of” the hit show, and he equated that feeling to journalist Laura Ingraham telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” when the NBA star, 40, expressed political views in 2018.

Lange said his late costar Gavin MacLeod, who he called “the greatest guy ever,” supported him through that time.

“He didn't have to look out for me. He didn't have to do that, but he knew some of the crap I was going through just as a performer, as a Black performer,” Lange told Kmetko, 71. “You know, he had my back.”

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Lange alleged that Hollywood treats people of color differently than it does white actors. “If you get into show business as a person of color, there's battles that you have to fight,” he said. “They're not exactly the same as the other guy's battles, but you still gotta fight them.”

When Kmetko asked if that remains true today, Lange said, “Oh, baby. I can tell you stories right now.”

The father of two proceeded to tell Kmetko about his struggle to get plays he’s written onto stages in New York City. “And they can't say, ‘Well, you're Black.’ They can't say that. You know?” Lange said. “But you know what it is.”

Lange had a similar experience with a script he wrote with a white comedian. “I wrote a play called One Righteous White Boy,” he said. “Do you know what a Black entertainer needs to succeed in show business? What? One righteous white boy. And I did a thing.”

Related: The Love Boat's Bernie Kopell Says Guest Star Debbie Reynolds 'Always Had to Be the Center of Attention'

Lange explained how he worked on the script with Jeff Wayne, alleging that when Wayne turned it in, agents tried to remove Lange from the project. “This part is the dark side of Hollywood,” Lange said.

With Wayne’s support, Lange remained on the project until they reached a deal.

“I go through a lot of things like that,” the Love Boat star said. “Am I bitter? No. I'm not bitter because I know what you're doing. I see it coming.”

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