This Is Your Captain Speaking: Gavin MacLeod On Life & The Love Boat

Transcript

Event Date(s): 10/23/2013 | Event Location(s): New York City, New York | Description: INT NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: All right. Halloween isn’t just about dressing-- HODA KOTB: Hey Kath, wait, wait, wait, wait. Kath, before you go, look what these guys are going to do for Captain Stubing. Ready? On three, The love boat-- CROWD (singing): The love boat-- HODA KOTB (singing): -- soon will be making another run-- KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Oh, my God. CROWD (singing): The love boat-- HODA KOTB (singing): The love boat promises something for everyone. CROWD (singing): -- something for everyone. (ANNOUNCEMENTS) (Excerpt from The Love Boat) KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Who sang it? HODA KOTB: Exciting in the sail. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: I’m going to say-- I’m going to give him-- Jack Jones, right? GAVIN MACLEOD (Author, “This is Your Captain Speaking”): Yeah. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: That’s the glorious voice of Jack Jones and of course, it’s television’s one of a most iconic theme songs from the 80s hit show The Love Boat. HODA KOTB: Oh, love it. And manning that home of that cruise ship that sailed into TV viewers lives and hearts was none other than Gavin MacLeod who for nine season-- nine seasons played the courteous Captain Stubing. Take a look. (Begin VT) (Excerpt from The Love Boat) HODA KOTB: As far as cruises go, this one, for one hour every Saturday night, could not be beat. The only requirement, to set a course for adventure and your mind on a new romance. Your fearless crew, Doc, Gopher, Julie and Isaac would keep you laughing on the lido deck. (Excerpt from The Love Boat) HODA KOTB: And who knew which ‘80s star would be promenading on the promenade. And of course no trip was complete without a visit to the captain’s table under Captain Merrill Stubing a trip aboard The Love Boat was always sunny skies and smooth sailing. (End VT) KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. HODA KOTB: Flashback. GAVIN MACLEOD: I love to look at that. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Funny Gavin’s with us but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Gavin. He writes all about that in his new memoir called This Is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith & Life. And it’s wonderful to see you, my old friend. HODA KOTB: Oh. GAVIN MACLEOD: You, too. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Happy to have you. GAVIN MACLEOD: Thank you. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: The book is terrific. HODA KOTB: Oh, come to me. GAVIN MACLEOD: Thank you. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: It’s-- it’s lots of little vignettes about your life as a struggling actor and then-- and when you got the success, it’s also dives right into your struggles with alcoholism. GAVIN MACLEOD: Uh-huh. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: And how tough was it to write this book as you’re pretty forthcoming about all that? GAVIN MACLEOD: It-- it was easy to write. HODA KOTB: Right. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: What? Really? GAVIN MACLEOD: It was easy to right because I’m eighty-two now and I’ve been past all that stuff. HODA KOTB: Yeah. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. And you don’t remember it anyway. GAVIN MACLEOD: And now I-- no, I do remember. And writing a book, it makes you recall certain things. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Of course. HODA KOTB: Uh-huh. GAVIN MACLEOD: And some of the things were painful, like my father’s death, even to this day. And I was only thirteen and he was thirty-nine. HODA KOTB: Wow. GAVIN MACLEOD: It still-- when I was-- I did an audio version of this book that’s coming out at the same time, I just-- I couldn’t get through it. HODA KOTB: You couldn’t get through it. GAVIN MACLEOD: It’s amazing, you know. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Well, your father was an alcoholic as well, right? GAVIN MACLEOD: Well, he drank, too. They all drank in those days. They didn’t have drugs. HODA KOTB: Right. GAVIN MACLEOD: So they were drinking. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: You know. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. HODA KOTB: You know, your life is, it’s so fascinating and I think there are so many interesting things people are going to take away from the book. One is-- and I didn’t know this at all--that Archie Bunker could have been you. GAVIN MACLEOD: Yeah. HODA KOTB: That you-- tell us about that. GAVIN MACLEOD: Well, I just finished doing another-- I did those Big Valleys with Miss Stanwyck. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yes. GAVIN MACLEOD: And this one I was thrown off the horse, and I was on a cane, I was recuperating-- HODA KOTB: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: --from this terrible accident. And I got a call from Marian Rees who was Norman Lear-- I thought I look a lot like them. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Actually when I see you in a crowd, yeah. HODA KOTB: Yes. GAVIN MACLEOD: Anyway, Norman Lear’s assistant and she said, Gavin, come over and see, we have an idea for something and I went over to see her. And I was on a cane and she said you’re doing this thing called Till Death Does-- Do Us Part. HODA KOTB: Is the original.. GAVIN MACLEOD: She sent me the script that was the one they did in England. And she said I think you’re perfect for it. It’s a big hit and it’s going to be likable. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: And I think that’s-- I said, but I hate bigotry in any form. HODA KOTB: Right. Right. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: She said, well, this is funny. I said, this is funny? HODA KOTB: Yeah. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: And so-- KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Didn’t seem possible. GAVIN MACLEOD: --I went to-- she said-- but Norman has got his eyes on Carol, you know. HODA KOTB: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: And so they flew me to New York. And I got a free trip to see my mother, brother, grandmother. HODA KOTB: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: So that was nice. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: But it wasn’t meant to be. GAVIN MACLEOD: And I did the whole-- it just wasn’t meant to be. And I was so grateful because I knew-- I told my brother before they called me. I said, Ron-- I said, I don’t think I can cut this. I really just-- I just can’t do that. And-- but-- but it worked out great for Carol. He was absolutely a brilliant at that character. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: And you were brilliant as-- you wouldn’t have been the captain. HODA KOTB: Right. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: And we only have a minute left. Tell us about-- tell us about what happened in your faith journey. GAVIN MACLEOD: Oh, my Lord. It just has changed my whole life completely. You know, I mean I know I’m not alone anymore. HODA KOTB: Mm-Hm. GAVIN MACLEOD: I know what eternity means. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: It’s like when I brought Ted Knight to the lord, you know, I know when Ted died in 1986 where he went. HODA KOTB: Right. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: You know, and I was so grateful we could be used that way. I walk with Jesus Christ every single day, the Lord of my life. And gets me through everything and Patty and I are just having a great life. HODA KOTB: When did that happen for you? GAVIN MACLEOD: 198-- September 15, 1984. HODA KOTB: Wow. Wow. You remember the date. GAVIN MACLEOD: It’s on stories on the book about my mom-- HODA KOTB: Sure. Yeah. GAVIN MACLEOD: --and how I prayed to Jesus and he changed me completely. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: It’s a beautiful book. HODA KOTB: It’s a beautiful book. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: It’s fun. It’s funny. It’s moving. And we’re so glad you’re still with us. HODA KOTB: Thank you for coming to see us. GAVIN MACLEOD: Thank you so much. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: You haven’t changed a bit. GAVIN MACLEOD: Thank you. HODA KOTB: The best to you. GAVIN MACLEOD: Thank you. KATHIE LEE GIFFORD: Yes, yes, yes. Love you, buddy. GFX: “This Is Your Captain Speaking” book cover STILLS Carroll O'Connor