Love Boat’s Bernie Kopell Slows Down But Still Cherishes the Cruise of a Lifetime

MEGA

Beloved Love Boat doc Bernie Kopell is nearing his final voyage, fear sources close to the bespectacled actor.

The 91-year-old TV veteran, best known for playing amiable Dr. Adam Bricker on the long-running ABC series set at sea, has become a near recluse who our sources say rarely leaves his L.A. home.

Our exclusive images show the barely recognizable star shuffling through his neighborhood on a sunny spring day.

“Despite his advancing age, Bernie was still working here and there until a few years ago, but he seems to have given that up,” says an insider. “He’s frailer than ever and hunched over. These days, just leaving the house can be a burden.”

Kopell played the ship’s dashing doctor, who navigated his way through his own romantic sojourns on every voyage, but in real life he married third wife Catrina Honadle, 59, in 1997 and they have two sons, Adam, 26, and Josh, 21, together.

“It’s sad because Bernie was a workaholic with more than 100 credits on his résumé, but he seems like a different person now,” notes the insider. “He’s slowed down to the point where it’s a huge effort for him to just walk down to the mailbox.”

MEGA

Sources say Bernie hasn’t really been his old self since the passing of his good friend and Love Boat costar Gavin MacLeod, who died in May 2021 at age 90. Gavin played the cruise ship’s Capt. Merrill Stubing following his breakout role as news-writer Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Shortly after Gavin’s death, Bernie reminisced about him in a Facebook video posted by Jill Whelan, 58, who played the captain’s daughter, Vicki.

“It’s an everlasting love I have for Gavin, a dear, supportive friend, supportive and nurturing, I love you Gavin,” Bernie said at the time.

The loss of his old pal has apparently taken the wind out of Bernie’s sails.

“Gavin’s death made Bernie realize that his own time is limited,” shares the insider. “But he still has his memories, and he still enjoys entertaining people with stories about the old days.”