“The Love Boat”'s Bernie Kopell Says Guest Star Debbie Reynolds 'Always Had to Be the Center of Attention'

The actor said during a cast Q&A on the Enchanted Princess that Reynolds told him to "just stand there" while she did "everything" during her guest appearance

• Love Boat stars Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange and Jill Whelan set sail on Princess Cruises' Love Boat Celebration at Sea that left out of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 31 and traveled through New England and Canada

• Kopell remembered Debbie Reynolds' guest appearance during a cast Q&A on board the Enchanted Princess

• The 91-year-old actor said his scene with the late actress received "tremendous applause"
  

More than 2,000 guest stars appeared on The Love Boat during its 10-season run, and according to Bernie Kopell, one of them tried to steal the spotlight.

“Debbie Reynolds always had to be the center of attention,” Kopell, who played Dr. Adam Bricker, said at The Love Boat: Behind the Scenes Stories panel on the Enchanted Princess on Friday, Sept. 6.

The 91-year-old actor said “no magician was ever safe” around Reynolds, who died in 2016 at age 84 and appeared in multiple season 4 episodes of The Love Boat before popping up again in season 6.

Related: Jill Whelan Remembers Late Love Boat Costar Gavin MacLeod: 'He Loved Food More Than Probably Anything'

“She didn't care for some magicians,” Kopell continued. “And so, she went over to the band leader and she whispered something in his ear. I don't know what it was. And then she came to me and she said, ‘Bernie, you don't do anything. I'll just do everything. You just stand there.’"

Kopell later learned that “what she whispered to him was, ‘Play a Fandango. I will do everything,’” he said. “They played the Fandango, and she whirled around by herself, and whirled nearer to me, then came away from me. And our scene ended with her jumping up onto my right shoulder to tremendous applause. Debbie Reynolds and the Disappearing Magician.”

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When speaking to PEOPLE during Princess Cruises’ The Love Boat Celebration at Sea, Kopell said he enjoyed “talking about the various stars we had on the show” with fans who attended the cast Q&As on board with his costars Fred Grandy, Ted Lange and Jill Whelan.

“I just loved the people who came aboard,” he gushed. “We’ve had some amazing, amazing people: Eva Marie Saint, Shirley Jones, Debbie Reynolds. I had fun with them, appreciated their talents.”

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Kopell also considered Jeraldine Saunders, whose 1974 book The Love Boats inspired The Love Boat series, a good friend. “She was just a beautiful woman. What a light,” he said. “We were really close. She chose to become a cruise director, and she never thought of herself as a writer, but she just jotted down some notes about the captain, the doctor, the purser and some guests, and here we are.”

Saunders died in February 2019 at age 95, and Kopell spoke at her memorial. Saunders’ legacy lives on through The Love Boat’s continued popularity, which has already inspired another Love Boat Celebration at Sea that will set sail on the Regal Princess from Nov. 16-23, 2025, and make stops throughout Mexico in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan.

Kopell considers his own legacy to be his two sons, the youngest of whom, Josh, wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps as an actor. “He wakes up singing and doing funny things and is a good, good boy,” Kopell said of his 22-year-old son.

As for the advice Kopell would give Josh, he said bluntly, “Don't mess up!”

Related: The Love Boat's Fred Grandy Says Lauren Tewes 'Was a Victim of Circumstance' Being Fired for Drug Addiction

The Love Boat Celebration sailing began its seven-night sailing in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Aug. 31 and made stops in Boston and Eastport, Maine, as well as Saint John and Halifax in Canada. Throughout the trip, guests could participate in Love Boat trivia, sip on specialty Love Boat cocktails, rewatch episode of the series by the pool, snap photos with the cast and attend one of two Air Supply concerts. The Love Boat stars officiated a vow renewal on board, the show’s bartender, Lange, 76, hosted cocktail demonstrations and Whelan, 57, performed in the farewell show on Friday, Sept. 6, ahead of the ship’s return to New York City.

Passengers on board the Enchanted Princess from Aug. 31-Sept. 7 also enjoyed access to specialty dining available at seafood spot The Catch by Rudi, steak destination Crown Grill and immersive dining experience 360, where Brooke Shields takes guests through Europe for a seven-course meal that engages all five senses. Additional entertainment on board the Love Boat Celebration at Sea sailing included magic and comedy from Quinn "The Mighty Quinn" Beasley and Eric Buss, DJ sets by DJ Robert Micheal and a staging of the musical Rock Opera.

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