Vicki on The Love Boat

what show was she on?

The Love Boat

She looks like Jon-Benet.

She was certainly the worst character on that show.

I think they originally hired her as a cute kid, and then puberty took over and she went through an 'awkward' phase and they didn't know what to do with her. Similar thing happened with Tina Yothers on 'Family Ties', she was given absolutely zero to do after the first couple of seasons when she stopped being cute.

OP's pic is hilarious and belongs in the "Celebrities Who Secretly Enjoy Black Cock" thread.

Even my grandmother called her Icky

Was there ever a plan to move her into Lauren Tewes' role when she was having her drug troubles? I seem to recall they had Vicki dressed up and doing Julie's job in a few episodes.

What was with her working on the ship? Are there no child labor laws on the sea?

She was a few years older than the character she was playing on the show.

She could pass as a child during the first season, then quickly looked her real age. And unfortunately, not Hollywood hot that the show needed.

R9 I was very young when Love Boat aired. But I remember asking my mother why Vicki didn't ever have to go to school. Everything about the premise of Captain Stubing having a child was unnecessary and added nothing to the show.

She was ratings gold.

I remember her other show, a flop called FRIENDS.

Is it a coincidence that the Vicki years have not been released on DVD yet?

There was a plan to make Vicki older than her actual age, to advance her to 18 when Whelan was at most, 14. That way Vickie could be a cruise director and that nasty school stuff was all taken care of. The show then tried pairing her with older actors for romances, and her parents had a fit.

R15 exactly

Teen girls probably liked her presence but her entire point of being on the show was truly awkward. There was an episode when she was in love with a rock star played by Rex Smith. In the story, Vicki wanted to be seen as a grown up and she started putting tissues for her lack of boobs, etc.

Screw you, r8!

Vicki brought teen idols on the show so she wasn't totally useless.

Did anyone hated Jill Whelan during the run of the Love Boat?

[quote] Vicki brought teen idols on the show so she wasn't totally useless.

I thought you had to have 1) worked in Vaudeville; 2) headlined in the Catskills; 3) been signed by MGM during LBM's tenure; 4) been Oscar nominated in the 30s/40s; or, 5) been a TV regular in the 50s, in order to have been a guest star on Love Boat?

Yes, R19

Every time her storylines were on I would mute the TV or change channels. She added nothing.

R20. I fulfilled requirement 4).

Did she have any problems with the cast members from the show?

Oh, no!

What were Vicki's very Special Episodes? Did she appear in any episodes with that other show killer - that kid who played Sam on Different Strokes?

She was unwatchable throughout; worse thing in the show. Sorry to knock (what was then) a kid, but they're not ALL good actors; c.f. the two boys - white and S--c - on Modern Family. HIDEOUS; at least she wasn't THAT bad.

She was a coke whore

[quote]Similar thing happened with Tina Yothers on 'Family Ties', she was given absolutely zero to do after the first couple of seasons when she stopped being cute.

At least I was cute for a few years, Tina was NEVER cute

I didn't realize Love Boat was on so long or she was on it so long. She was on it from 1978 - 1987 so that would make her 12 - 21 when it was on.

It was said that Vickie had a private tutor but it really made little sense. Cruise ships, even back then were heavily revenue managed, so the Captain would have to pay for a tutor AND give up a room for said tutor.

I looked up some recent pics of Jill and she actually looks 100 times better as an old adult lady, then as a "cute" kid.

I was the Terri of that show

[quote]she was in love with a rock star played by Rex Smith.

I hated him

OP's pic is hilarious, she really looks like 40 something housewife.

R29 I totally agree. Jill looks much better today than back in da day

The good thing about her is that she was in AIRPLANE

She reminds me of Mason Reese here.

Emma Samms wannabe.

Attempted the Jodie Foster Gaze.

The photo at R35 is disturbing

Child actress overboard. Call the Coast Guard. Alert the William Morris Agency. May Day May Day.

Garbo?

Aged well

She and Joyce DeWitt are still great friends.

Did Rex Smith get to beat that pussy up?

who wouldn't want to play with that?

She looks like a young Blanche Devereaux in OP's photograph.

I remember watching a tv movie when I was 13, Kristi McNichol had a crush on Rex Smith's character, I think it may have been called Sooner Or Later after his album

R29 she looked 100 times better even as a 30 something adult. I remember seeing her on some WTHT type show about 15 years ago. I was struck by how much thinner and prettier she was. It's unfortunate that her awkward phase and famous phase were concurrent. Most actors get fatter and less attractive after they leave to limelight.

I know he's a Republican but I kinda of wanted to fuck Gopher.

Gopher, when he was in Congress, had the reputation of being weird as fuck, particularly if anyone called him Gopher.

TMZ said she "hit it big" by being on THE LOVE BOAT? Who the hell wrote that blurb? NOBODY "hit it big" by being on The Love Boat.

I wonder what MTM and Ed Asswipe thought of what became of Murray Slaughter.

R47 I vividly remember an episode about Gopher having a tragic love affair with a married passenger which culminated with her saying "Hold me, Gopher!" during a romantic moment on deck.

My sister and I went around saying "Hold me, Gopher!" for years.

I'd rather have seen VICKI on The Love Boat.

[quote]NOBODY "hit it big" by being on The Love Boat.

Gavin MacLeod made a good-sized fortune from The Love Boat.

R45 Kristy wasn't in that it was Denise Miller.

I love OP's photo. She looks like Mitzi Gaynor.

Actually back in it's original airing The Love Boat was a highly rated show so getting the part of Vicki was a coup

It's a well known fact that Vicki turned tricks after midnight on the poop deck of the boat.

I used to watch Love Boat when I was a kid religiously. My mother and I used to make jokes about the corny story lines back then, but in reality I loved to watch the show because they brought on all the all movie stars. BTW, I had a crush on Gopher. He is straight right? Sorry, but I think Vicki was an adorable kid. She was interviewed on what life was like working on the set and she said the tutor was amazing. She said whatever the country the ship was going to sail that week, Whelan learned about that country's history so when they went on location, she went to all of the places she learned about weeks or months before,which made learning fantastic for her. She said everyone on the set got along really well with each other and everyone would make jokes and crack up constantly. She said it was super to meet all of the movie stars from he golden era of Hollywood and she said they were very nice to her and to the rest of the cast.

BTW, I have been watching the episodes on Me TV for the hell of it again.

It's nice to hear that it was a positive experience for her, R58. Too many young actors are ill used.

[quote]NOBODY "hit it big" by being on The Love Boat.

I did. My show peaked at #5 for the year, not even Mary Tyler Moore, nor Rhoda, nor Phyllis, nor Lou Grant, nor Ted Knight ("Too Close For Comfort" managed that.

I made it to #5 for the year

For some reason, I couldn't STAND the last year of the show

Get over it Jack

Apparently they got paid extremely well on the show. Lauren Tewes said she lost everything, house car, etc, and she even blew through all her money on coke. She said had she managed her money properly back then, she would have been living comfortably today.

I liked how Lauren at least admitted she was a screw up instead of blaming everyone else. She said, "I knew money could buy a lot of things, but I didn't think it could kill me."

There was an ep where Vicki develops a crush on Gopher and the script originally planned to have her 'stow away' under his covers, waiting for him. Instead it was changed to Vicki falling asleep in his bed. It was kind of creepy. Gavin and his wife Patti were very fond of Jill and often took her and her mother to Las Vegas on weekends. He advised her to go to school once LB ended and find a different career path because acting would do to her what it did to Lauren.

[quote] Gavin and his wife Patti were very fond of Jill and often took her and her mother to Las Vegas on weekends.

Why does this sound creepy?

R65 She's been very open abut her addiction and how she was fired from LB and didn't get work in Hollywood, how she got over her addiction and moved away from LA.

I'm also rewatching the Love Boat on ME TV and it IS super corny

The fake laugh track is dreadful.

And as I stated above, Vicki was annoying, certainly when they tried to pass her as a (chubby) adult

But I love watching it just to see the guest stars. That show pulled a lot of then popular stars. It must have cost a lot to produce.

I was on love boat in 1978.

I took the Love Boat to the Love Parade and stayed at a love hotel during my most memorable love affair.

Loved it!

[quote]That show pulled a lot of then popular stars. It must have cost a lot to produce.

Was any of the stars actually "popular" and in demand though. Sure they had a lot of well remembered old times, (Ann Miller) but they were not hot properties.

And I'm excluding things like crossovers, like when Charlie's Angles guest starred. Sure they were hot properties, but they were doing it to promote their own show, so it was likely an almost free thing, promotion for promotion trade, like Lucille Ball was fond of doing.

(Fun fact, Lucy traded her son Desi Jr to the Brady's for Marcia, but Maureen didn't want to do it. so Eve "publicity whore" Plumb did it instead. )

Ok maybe a lot of TV stars and old movie stars like Olivia e Havilland and Rhonda Fleming, etc. But there were also a lot of hot and uprising stars started with The Love Boat

Tom Hanks, David Hasselhoff, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billy Crystal, Michael J Fox, etc

Just look at the IMDb list. It's mind boggling.

Even Luise Rainer appeared on the show

Fuck. now I have to watch the Luise Rainer ep.

Fuck yes, Louise Rainer. She looks like she want to fake-faint so that lovely Gopher can catch her.

Who the fuck thought Bernie Kopell as the Dr. was a fucking stud? He had milk bottle legs and worked on a fucking cruise ship. Go outside doc get a tan and you might get some of that old pussy.

Rex Smith is the best thing about this thread. Talk about a teen idol.

All of them were coke whores

R77. Marlo dear, your pasty white feminist drone of a husband could use a tan, you know.

I would have let Rex beat up my pre teen daughter's pussy. He was that hot and even if it hurt a little she would have thanked me later.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Rex Smith showed some serious bulging on As a The World Turns.

BITCHES! Who caught her cabaret act in 2008?

"Jill has performed with countless Hollywood legends"

Loved the story about how Uncle Miltie released his massive schwanz poolside and poor Deborah Kerr passed out at the sight of it.

You never saw this kinda thing on Fantasy Island, folks.

Here was the ONLY reason to ever watch THE LOVE BOAT

No one.

Run it by us again R87 and help us remember. Who was Rex? Was he part of a group that went solo?

This is Rex now. He was a famous gay singer during the Jurrasic period.

She has tourquoise blue eye shadow on! What year was this?

Here she is on that famous competition TV Special "Battle of the Talent-Free Celebrities."

He's not gay.

she was unfortunate looking in her youth @ R91

I repeat I dislike Rex Smith

"Apparently they got paid extremely well on the show. Lauren Tewes said she lost everything, house car, etc, and she even blew through all her money on coke. She said had she managed her money properly back then, she would have been living comfortably today."

I seriously doubt they were paid "extremely well." Gavin MacLeod probably got paid more than the rest because he was the "star" of the show, but I don't think any of them were making astronomical salaries. I think they were being paid what was standard back then and I don't think that would contitute "extremely well." If Lauren Tewes had invested her money wisely instead of blowing it up her nose, no doubt she would have been able to live "comfortably" today, but I don't think she would be extremely wealthy.

I remember something I heard on some show about Demond Wilson, "Lamont" of "Sanford and Son." He claimed to have made piles of money from his time on Sanford and Son, a big hit tv series that he co-starred on. An executive from the show said that if he was super rich it wasn't from his salary as Lamont. Unless you were a major star I don't think actors on tv shows from that era made especially big money . It wasn't like it is now, where they make ridiculous, over inflated salaries.

As for The Love Boat...well, it was a piece of junk from the seventies. Young actors started out wanted to be on it because it gave them exposure. Old actors wanted to be on it because it was a job, and jobs are scarce for actors of a certain age. But it was awful. Just a dumb show from the seventies.

Fantasy Island was better. The washed up stars weren't as old.

I remember reading that Dana Plato was making $17,000 an episode on Different Strokes and that was considered quite high at the time, she said that was why they never did any location episodes because the salary budget maxed things out. I would imagine that Tewes could've been making anywhere between $3-10,000 an episode depending on the season. Couldn't have been more than that. Keep in mind that's late '70s money though, so the equivalent today would be $12-40,000 per episode.

R95 You are exactly right. The Love Boat was a low budget show that starred a bunch of nobodies and washed up "extras". It was the same for all the other shows of the time as well. There was no big money to be made. I remember when Suzanne Somers tried to demand big money because she felt she was the "star" and major draw of Three's Company. The producers either fired her ass or she left. Can't remember which, but she sure as hell didn't get the money she wanted.

Love Boat expensive to make? They had the deck, the restaurant, and the Docs quarters, and probably to guest rooms that they used for each actor. They probably did a few weeks of exterior shots on some island and one island was used for ten locals. You know those old geezers worked for scale. Probably bought a case of cat food to keep them going until a room came up at the actors old folks home.

The Love Boat, one of Spelling’s biggest hits, might have appeared like cotton candy, but it was only silly on the surface. In truth, the show offered a higher degree of difficulty than most TV productions. In their book The Sweeps: Behind The Scenes In Network TV, authors Mark Christensen and Cameron Stauth describe Love Boat as :

a monumental exercise in controlled chaos, in which almost 15 tons of equipment, 300 crew members, numerous high-voltage guest stars, three interwoven plot lines, and the governments of numerous foreign countries had to regularly be controlled, organized, appeased, and made sense of week after week. Customs agents had to be paid off, lovers’ quarrels… patched up, guests stars flown in and out, and new locations constantly scouted. On top of that, each episode had three story lines: the “heart” story, the “tears” story, and the “laughs” story, all of which had to be somehow melded into a cohesive plot. And every show had to have an appeal to the three major age groups; a guest star like June Allyson would be hauled in for the older group, a Tom Selleck type would be brought in for the young adults, and somebody from a kids’ show, like Eight Is Enough, would be shoehorned in to the plot to attract the youngsters. To [the producers], doing Love Boat had seemed like waging a weekly World War III.

I remember my grandmother getting all cranky because someone from My Little Margie was on and we were being noisy during "the only parts she gave a darn about"

I don't know how this shitfest was on so long. It really has to be one of the cheesiest shows ever.

She was my drug mule you armatures. Captains daughter as a 40 year old house frau. Pretty smart hu?

God I miss those days, sniff, sniff.

Since crew members are expressly forbidden to mingle with passengers why was the cast always seen cavorting with them and forming relationships with various guests.

[quote] She was my drug mule you armatures.

She got off the coke but turned to the bottle. And slurs as much as Liza.

I only watched that show as a kid for the pool scenes. They would frequently have hot guys walking by in Speedos. As if straight guys ever did that in any large numbers.

Because that is actually what crew members do on real ships R104. On the DL that is.

You bitches are so cynical. I love seeing all the old Hollywood movie stars mixed in with rapidly fading TV stars and the occasional up-and-comers. The stories were crap, but the assemblage of actors was a hoot.

Plus, fucking Charo as a recurrent guest.

They must have spent MILLIONS on that set Charo was singing on.

Alan Alda and Carroll O'Connor were both making over 100,000 per episode at the end, and that record stood for a long time till Ted Danson of Cheers passed it (after Long had left).

Nell Carter made $25,000 per episode and she was the star of her show.

For perspective Jack Benny and Burns and Allen each made $10,000 a week on radio during the depression as radio's highest paid acts.. Of course it was salary back then so they had to do whatever the network wanted for that which would include other radio shows, public appearances and so forth.

Jerry Mathers said he earned enough money from "Leave It To Beaver," to buy a used car in high school, a new car for college, pay for his entire college education and put a downpayment on a brand new house. So while not a lot by today's standards, his career and his parents started him right in life.

Family Affair's Johnny Whitaker, said he was supposed to have gotten $800,000 grand when he was an adult, but only received about $200,000 of it because his parents spent most of it, He came from a huge family and his parents acted as his managers and agent, so they didn't work.

So yeah she could've been paid quite well by the standards of the day. Things weren't as costly and there wasn't so much to spend it on. Land escalated rapidly for start who lived and bought money in California.

As for Demond, Foxx reported made $35,000 an episode when he came back from his self imposed strike to get more money. So it's possible that Foxx's salary went up a bit more by the time the series ended. But unless Demond had some sort of "A most favoured nation clause" that pumped his salary up, he probably made less.

On the other hand Foxx was known to be very generous and put out money and would stick up for his friends. He insisted that LaWanda Page be kept on as Esther (she was a childhood friend and stand up when she started), even though the producers didn't like her acting at first. And he also did things like paid the royalties for using the "Ink Spots" music when the producers wanted generic music as they royalties were cheaper.

I didn't realize Love Boat filmed on location anywhere. I thought Long Beach substituted for all those tropical locales.

They often filmed in the Panama canal. They filmed in Alaska, Europe, even Australia

Even China

I always figured Isaac the bartender was getting tons of rooms numbers scribbled on napkins.

Why was it Julie was always asking if we were shipping out to Colombia?

Why did they always have some French woman chasing Gopher saying his name "Go" - "Fair"

I nailed the accent - didn't I, r116? Take THAT, Meryl!

IF LB had had one more season, Vicki was going to get pregnant by guest star Lorenzo Lamas who would ditch her and leave the adorable baby to be raised by the Crew. America's hearts would have melted!

Didn't they already have an episode where Uncle Isaac had Vicki sucking his tootsie roll?

I just watched a Love Boat episode where a fashion photographer, played by handsome David Hedison, sees potential in Vicki and photographs her all over Istanbul. He sends the photos to an agency in Rome, and of course, the agency just loves the photos(!) and is willing to pay big money for the layout(!). Hedison confesses to ex-wife and former model, Linda Evans that Vicki reminded him so much of her when she was Vicki's age(!). He predicts Vicki will take New York by storm(!). The whole premise is preposterous because plump, charmless Vicki neither had the look, height, style, or attitude of a fashion model. This wasn't so much Love Boat, but Fantasy Island.

Don't leave us in suspense R120 - did she become a famous model, or did she decide that the fame and fortune had some sinister, tawdry undertones and choose to stay with her Love Boat family, because she wanted a real life and to be a kid longer.

I know adding a kid in aging series was common in the 70's and the 80's, but it made no sense of the Love Boat. Usually the kid was added in a family drama or sitcom to replace one of the kid actors who was aging out of cute, and it made sense for the show (although even when it made sense, it rarely worked. Maybe Ernie in My Three Sons - which at the very least worked better the Dody added in the final year). Adding a kid on a show that was about superficial hook-ups really did not make sense.

If you ever, God forbid, go on a Princess cruise, not only will you see endless reruns of the same five or six episodes of "The Love Boat" on your stateroom TV, you'll also see clips of Gavin MacLeod's memories of the show, as well as this annoying video!

Ew!!!!! You can see Jill's cunt lip through her shorts. Nast. You could flick it if you were there.

How horrified must Linda Evans have been when she read her script and then got a look at the 'younger version of herself'?

[quote] Why does this sound creepy?

Because "Patti" is the world's worst name.

Although R122's video is corny, Jill comes across okay. She looks good and speaks well — far less embarrassing than I had anticipated.

R121, Okay. After Hedison tells Linda Evans that Vicki will take NY by storm, Linda adds something to the effect that yeah, sure, and then she won't eat another bite because she'll worry about her weight, and all these sleazy guys will paw at her and exploit her, then dump her for the next young thing, etc. So, when Vicki asks Hedison if he's heard from the Rome agency, he says, "Sorry, kid, they passed." And she's like, "Oh, well" and didn't seem too upset.

What were YOU thinking? This show was Always unwatchable...

I loved the show when I saw it in re-runs in the 90s as a little kid. It made spending your time, or vacation, on a cruise ship so glamorous and fun. I also liked the mix of old TV legends (I had no clue about) mingling with teen stars. I think it's a bit sad that that sort of wide range of guest stars doesn't happen on today's shows anymore.

The Vicki glam shots look like promo shots for Dynasty.

I spent my Saturday nights watching the Love Boat and Fantasy Island and would try to stay awake for SNL.

Was there ever a specific episode (like there was of Mackenzie Phillips on One Day at a Time) where you can tell that Lauren Tewes had a serious drug problem? I always wondered at what point was she at her worst. I imagine it being the last season she was on.

Come meet her in Jersey at the end of the month at the CHILLER autograph show.

What about Pat Klous? She was so much more together and Julie and a great big sister to Vicki.

[quote]Was there ever a specific episode (like there was of Mackenzie Phillips on One Day at a Time) where you can tell that Lauren Tewes had a serious drug problem? I always wondered at what point was she at her worst.

Probably when she offered to snort a line off of Gavin MacLeod's erect cock.

She and Glenn Scarpelli were an item.

R120, I love your post, especially the last line. Classic! And R124, your witty follow-up. I didn't like the character of Vicki, she was too Shirley Temple. And making her an 80s glamour teen....well, the pics speak for themselves. I think she looks great in recent photos.

Season 4 DVD has just been released. Hopefully the rest of the series will as well.

She should have borrowed some of Lauren tewes’ coke to lose weight.

I watched an episode recently where a HOT guy was wooing Vicki, and he turned out to be a PRINCE of some fictional country. But Vicki turned him down in order to keep working on a cruise ship. So fucking unbelievable.

[quote]And he turned out to be a PRINCE of some fictional country.

Who would turn down the chance to marry a prince

So rarely do DL threads intersect so perfectly - Did teenage girls really dress like grandma's in the 80s?

[quote]Season 4 DVD has just been released. Hopefully the rest of the series will as well.

Everyone will hope so, Rose, just as soon as they're done hoping for the return of the horse and buggy.

Whelan posts on her Facebook/social media pretty often. Pictures of food she's made, home videos of herself and her family out and about, usually checked into a place where they probably got a comped meal.

Is Little Vicki now an Influencer?

Jill Whelan, 52