Princess Cruises ambassador and star of the television show “The Love Boat,” Gavin MacLeod, passed away late last month and was remembered with a statement from the Santa Clarita-based company.
“All of us at Princess Cruises and our loyal guests around the world whom, to this day, remain avid fans of Gavin’s, send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Patricia and his entire family who have lost a loving husband, father and grandfather,” the company’s statement read. “We offer our sincerest gratitude to them for sharing Gavin with all of us for so many years.”MacLeod was best known for his role as Captain Merril Stubing, which he played for 10 seasons from 1977 to 1986. The comedy series was largely set on luxury cruise ship MS Pacific Princess, and revolved around Stubing and a handful of its crew with passengers played by guest actors for each episode.
The show was among the highest-rated prime-time television shows in the country at its peak and featured cruise ships Pacific Princess and Island Princess as the floating sets for the show. While “The Love Boat” was ultimately filmed aboard many Princess ships in exotic destinations around the globe, Pacific Princess was most often featured in the show and sailed for Princess Cruises between 1975 and 2002.
Following the finale of “The Love Boat,” MacLeod became a global ambassador for Princess, and shared his passion about the joys and adventures of cruising in an array of advertising campaigns and public and media appearances for the company. His role as an ambassador for Princess continued until his passing at age 90.As a brand partner for more than 35 years, MacLeod’s ambassadorship with Princess Cruises was the longest-running celebrity spokesperson in brand partnership history, according to a Princess statement.
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