Gavin MacLeod, Mary Tyler Moore and Love Boat Actor, Dead at 90

Nick Caruso
·1 min read
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Veteran actor Gavin MacLeod, who starred in lead roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Love Boat, has passed away. He was 90.

MacLeod died early Saturday morning in the company of his loved ones and caretakers, his nephew Mark See told TMZ. The actor had been in and out of the hospital for months with varying illnesses, but an official cause of death has not been reported.

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Perhaps best known for playing Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, MacLeod played the head writer of the fictional TV station that Mary Richards worked at. He appeared in all 168 episodes over seven seasons.

On The Love Boat, MacLeod spent a decade playing Captain Merrill Stubing in a total of 250 episodes, including its accompanying TV movies and one episode of the 1998 revival series, Love Boat: The Next Wave. These two career highlights landed him a total of five Golden Globe nominations.

With over seven decades in the business, MacLeod’s other credits include shows like Hawaii Five-O, Hogan’s Heroes, Perry Mason, McHale’s Navy, The Andy Griffith Show, My Favorite Martian, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Charlie’s Angels, Murder She Wrote, Oz, JAG, That ’70s Show, Touched by an Angel, The Untouchables, It Takes a Thief and more.

MacLeod’s Mary Tyler Moore co-star Ed Asner, who played WJM-TV producer Lou Grant, took to Twitter to eulogize his late friend writing, “My heart is broken. Gavin was my brother, my partner in crime (and food) and my comic conspirator. I will see you in a bit Gavin. Tell the gang I will see them in a bit. Betty! It’s just you and me now.”

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