Gavin MacLeod

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Gavin MacLeod

Born Allan George See
February 28, 1930 (1930-02-28) (age 78)
Mount Kisco, New York, U.S.

Gavin MacLeod (born February 28, 1930) is an American actor most notable for playing Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat. He is the father of Drew Steele, of the rock band the Surf Punks.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Born Allan George See in Mount Kisco, New York, he grew up in Pleasantville and studied acting at Ithaca College, graduating in 1952. His father, a gas station attendant, was a Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indian. After serving in the Air Force, he moved to New York City and worked at Radio City Music Hall while looking for acting work. At about this time he changed his name, drawing "Gavin" from a cerebral palsy victim in a TV drama, and "MacLeod" from his Ithaca drama coach, Beatrice MacLeod.

[edit] Career

His first movie appearance was in I Want To Live!, a 1958 prison drama starring Susan Hayward. He was soon noticed by Blake Edwards, who in 1958 cast him as a neurotic navy clerk in Operation Petticoat with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. Operation Petticoat proved to be a breakout role for MacLeod, and he was soon cast in another Edwards comedy, High Time, with Bing Crosby.

MacLeod also appeared as the villain on TV shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He played the role of a drug pusher, 'Big Chicken', in two episodes of the first season of Hawaii Five-O. His first regular TV role came in 1962 as Joseph "Happy" Haines on McHale's Navy. MacLeod's role as Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show won him lasting fame, and two Golden Globe nominations, followed by another three nominations for his The Love Boat work.

[edit] Conversion

During the mid-80's, McLeod and his then ex-wife Patti became Evangelical Christians and remarried (see TPE "Conversations 12/25/2005"). Following his conversion and remarriage, he and his wife wrote about struggles with divorce and alcoholism in Back On Course: The Remarkable Story of a Divorce That Ended in Remarriage. The MacLeods have been hosts on the Trinity Broadcasting Network for 14 years, primarily hosting a show about marriage called Back on Course (see TBN "Our Programs").

[edit] Current work

MacLeod currently serves as the honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television

[edit] External links