Ted Lange Explains How “The Love Boat” Role Led to Sex Advice Column With Jenna Jameson

Ted Lange had two goals in mind with his sex and advice column: "Condoms and humor."

During his appearance on the Jan. 19 episode of the Still Here Hollywood Podcast with Steve Kmetko, the 77-year-old star of The Love Boat reflected on his experience penning a sex and advice column with Jenna Jameson and later Beth Ostrosky.

The "Ask Isaac" column, which appeared in the since-folded FHM magazine (according to Ebony), came from the concept of his character of bartender Isaac Washington in The Love Boat.

"I was the bartender from the television show, The Love Boat. People would come into the bar and ask Isaac, 'Hey Isaac, I got a...' And I would say, 'Hey, do this,'" Lange said.

"Now, what I did. It was a men's magazine, first of all. So it got young men reading the magazine. So my goal was, first off all, to make sure that if they were having sex that it was protected sex. So I was a big advocate for condoms," he added. "And then I tried to add humor into the advice. Whatever the question was, I was looking for the joke."

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

As Lange recalled, he wrote the column for "a couple years" and would be flown into New York for photo shoots. While initially he was paired up with Jameson — the entrepreneur and former adult film star — the magazine eventually called in Ostrosky to take her place.

"I would fly into New York... they would take pictures of me with a sailor cap and a pipe — à la Hugh Hefner. And Beth would be in a nightie of some kind," Lange said.

"My main goal was condoms and humor," he later added. "If I can work those two things in the answer, then we're doing alright."

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While Lange's stint writing sex advice was short-lived, he also spoke with podcast host Kmetko about his work on The Love Boat, which ran from 1977 to 1986 on ABC. Specifically, after recalling how one producer on the show "didn't want to write love stories for a Black character," he said his costars Bernie Kopell and Fred Grandy noticed what was going on and had his back at the time.

Related: Who Is Jenna Jameson's Wife? All About Jessi Lawless

“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.’ ”

Costar Gavin MacLeod, who he referred to as “the greatest guy ever,” supported him through that period, too, Lange revealed.

“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 said. “You know, he had my back.”

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