Gavin MacLeod hasn’t stopped cruising.
The 82-year-old actor, who played Capt. Stubing on “The Love Boat” television series, said he just got off the Royal Princess cruise ship before appearing Wednesday night at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in The Villages.
During his second visit to The Villages, MacLeod talked about his life as an actor and signed copies of his new book, This is Your Captain Speaking: My Fantastic Voyage Through Hollywood, Faith & Life, which was released last month.
He also ran into some familiar faces. Scott and Hazel Harer of the Village of Silver Lake were among those who came to see the actor. Shawn Launier, a nephew of the Harers, is married to MacLeod’s daughter, Megan. Scott Harer said they were invited to the wedding about 20 years ago, but could not attend.
MacLeod, who also appeared on “McHale’s Navy” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and auditioned for the role of Archie Bunker on “All in the Family,” talked about his humble beginnings as an actor when he landed a $34-a-week job as an usher at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. He soon was promoted to elevator operator with a $3-a-week raise.
“I couldn’t afford Fruit of the Loom underwear, which was 69 cents a pair,” he said. “Now, I go in and buy a six pack.”
But what MacLeod really wanted then was a toupe to cover his prematurely bald head. He said he thought it would help him land acting jobs and meet women.
He went to a store with $125 to buy one only to discover that prices were $500 to $600. The store clerk offered him a used toupe that had been returned by Andre Baruch, a prominent film narrator and radio announcer.
Years later, MacLeod said, Baruch called him and said, “I have another hair piece here. Would you be interested?”
The book looks at MacLeod’s early career and his battles with alcoholism and depression as well as his encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest starts.
On Nov. 5, MacLeod said, he is scheduled to appear with other members of “The Love Boat” cast on “The Talk” on CBS.
