Bernie Kopell on ‘Love Boat’ Reunions and Little Blue Pills

[Zoneboy]

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Too much information? Not for “The Love Boat” doctor. Bernie Kopell, making his New York stage debut in “Viagara Falls,” a comedy about old men and erectile-dysfunction pills, says he’s occasionally popped the performance-enhancing drugs himself. “Sometimes people of a certain age need a jet assist,” he said. “That’s a phrase that’s used in the aeronautics business.”

Kopell, 77 and best known as “Doc” from “The Love Boat,” has gotten cozy with the subject after performing “Viagara Falls” over the past two years. In the play, he portrays Moe Crubbs, a widower who suspects his best friend has a terminal illness and decides to throw him a birthday party involving a call girl and a “black market” bottle of the aforementioned pills. The show, which toured mostly in Canada, opens July 21 at the Little Shubert Theatre.

The actor, who first became a father at age 64, credits wife Catrina Honadle, age 44, for being “very fertile” and bringing him “back to the world of the living” after the breakup of his previous marriage. They are parents to 7-year-old Josh and 12-year-old Adam (the oldest is named for Kopell’s “Love Boat” character, Dr. Adam Bricker). Kopell lives in Tarzana, Calif., where the family routine includes swimming. (Young Josh enjoys getting dragged across the pool while hanging onto the tail of Klugman, a golden retriever named after Kopell’s actor-friend, Jack Klugman.)

Kopell talked with Speakeasy about the New York stage, “Love Boat” reunions and the family pediatrician’s sex life.

The Wall Street Journal: You’ve never performed Off Broadway?

Can I tell you some secrets? I’ve never done New York. I was born in Brooklyn, I grew up in Brooklyn, I went to NYU, I had a very formal Shakespeare training and all the good stuff happened to me in California. Actually, I was sort of hung up with my Shakespeare training and I was very speechified and trying to lose my Brooklyn accent and go into Shakespeare, but that really wasn’t what my market was.

Are you similar to your character in “Viagara Falls,” Moe Crubbs?

The biggest resemblance is he’s an old fart, which I am.

How do audiences react to the story?

I used to ask people in Canada, “Did any of this offend you?” Older people, younger people said, “Oh no, you could’ve gone farther.” Because it speaks to seniors, it speaks to young people. There’s no man in the world who has not had some issues with his private parts. It happens to everybody. It even happened to our pediatrician…He said something scary happened with his wife, they were about to have sex and he said, “Beee—yoop.” [Nose-dive sound]. …I said, “This is a universal thing.”

Would you ever do another “Love Boat” reunion?

Oh my dear, we’re a little long in the tooth for that. If they asked me, of course I would. I love to work. I love to work. I say to myself, “This is a privileged business.” This is a great joy on a professional level, and I’m loving it. I’m just having a good time.

Some actors say a series can feel like a trap—if it’s a hit, they’ll never get out. Was “The Love Boat” that way for you?

One of my mottos is, if you take a look at my Web site, “My attitude is gratitude.” I went through all the crappy jobs. I drove a taxi. I tried to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners. I drove a truck. I’ve become a devotee of a certain philosophy — I don’t even want to name it, it’s not to be confused with Scientology, God forbid—it just deals with being grateful for all the good stuff in your life.

Who was one of your favorite “Love Boat” guest stars?

Juliet Prowse. I had a crush on that lady. We had scenes in bed together…This is what happened—she was very cool, I’m a total wreck…She says just before the scene, “Maurice Chevalier had scenes in bed with an attractive leading lady. He said just before the scene, ‘If possibly I get—how you say—aroused, forgive me please. If on the other hand I don’t get aroused, forgive me please.’” She was just a doll.

Any prima donnas on the “Love Boat” set?

There was one pain in the ass and I don’t really want to mention the name because she’s dead now. Let her rest in peace.

Do you ever take cruises for fun?

A couple of years ago I took a cruise, it was sort of combined with work. I got to take an honorarium…One more thing about “Love Boat”—we generated billions and billions and billions of dollars for the cruise industry. …Talk about polluting the world with millions of gallons of oil to make those huge ships run…They burn a great deal of oil, an enormous amount. But we don’t have to get into that.

Tell me about your philosophy of life.

Just call it a positive philosophy. I’m trying to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners, unsuccessfully. I bomb out on a call and I’m coming back into this Kirby vacuum cleaner dealership and the boss very wisely is playing a positive-thinking tape. As I’m walking back I hear, “Your mind is as the earth.” This is 1961. The tape is saying, “If you plant potatoes in your mind, your mind can’t give you anything but potatoes…If you plant negativity and allow that to grow, that will become your life.” That was the most profound, powerful thought I ever had in my up-to-then negative life.

[catlover79]

Um...I'm speechless!!

[Teebs]

Wow! Really enjoyed reading this. I always loved Doc. And he seems like such a nice guy in real life!