Ted Lange
Encyclopedia
Theodore William "Ted" Lange (born January 5, 1948) is an American
actor
, director
, and screenwriter
best known for his role as the bartender
, Isaac Washington, in the 1970s
TV series The Love Boat
. Gavin MacLeod
who played his captain in the series, have remained close friends, who in turn, talks to Lange on the phone, continuously.
, Lange attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
. Lange was a cast member of the musical
Hair
. His first screen appearance was in the documentary film
Wattstax
in 1973. After appearing in the film Black Belt Jones
in 1974, he portrayed Junior on the series That's My Mama
before landing the role of the ship's bartender, Isaac on The Love Boat in 1977, opposite favorite idol Gavin MacLeod. After the series ended in 1986, Lange appeared in various films and guest roles on 227
, "The Cleveland Show
" Glitch!, Evening Shade
, Scrubs
, Drake & Josh
, The King of Queens
, and Psych
.
In addition to his film and television work, Lange has also done extensive theater work. He made his Broadway debut in 1968 in the musical Hair
. He also performed in a one-man show, Behind the Mask: An Evening with Paul Laurence Dunbar.
. In 1999, Lange directed two episodes of The Love Boat: The Next Wave
, the UPN
series based on The Love Boat. He also directed episodes of Moesha
, Dharma & Greg
, and Eve
. In 2008, he directed the drama For Love of Amy.
Lange has also done extensive theater work as playwright and stage director. He has penned seventeen plays including George Washington's Boy, a historical
drama about the relationship between the first president and his favorite slave, along with the comedy Lemon Meringue Facade.
folded in 2006, Lange wrote a sex and advice column
entitled "Ask Isaac" with adult film actress
Jenna Jameson
.
reality show Celebrity Fit Club
. He lost 28 pounds during the show's run.
along with the Paul Robeson Award from Oakland's Ensemble Theatre.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
best known for his role as the bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
, Isaac Washington, in the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
TV series The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
. Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod
Gavin MacLeod is an American actor most notable for playing Happy Haines on McHale's Navy, Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat...
who played his captain in the series, have remained close friends, who in turn, talks to Lange on the phone, continuously.
Early life and acting career
Born in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Lange attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. Lange was a cast member of the musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. His first screen appearance was in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Wattstax
Wattstax
Wattstax is a 1973 documentary film by Mel Stuart that focused on the 1972 Wattstax music festival and the African American community of Watts in Los Angeles, California. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Documentary Film in 1974...
in 1973. After appearing in the film Black Belt Jones
Black Belt Jones
Black Belt Jones is a 1974 American Blaxploitation action film. The main musical theme was performed by the funk guitarist Dennis Coffey. The film was featured as number 38 on the documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.-Plot:...
in 1974, he portrayed Junior on the series That's My Mama
That's My Mama
That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 1974 until December 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series.-Synopsis:...
before landing the role of the ship's bartender, Isaac on The Love Boat in 1977, opposite favorite idol Gavin MacLeod. After the series ended in 1986, Lange appeared in various films and guest roles on 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, "The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
" Glitch!, Evening Shade
Evening Shade
Evening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...
, The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
, and Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
.
In addition to his film and television work, Lange has also done extensive theater work. He made his Broadway debut in 1968 in the musical Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. He also performed in a one-man show, Behind the Mask: An Evening with Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Directing and screenwriting
During the run of The Love Boat, Lange also served as director and screenwriter on various episodes of the series. In 1977, he wrote the screenplay for the 1977 drama Passing Through, starring Cora Lee Day and Marla GibbsMarla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs is an American television and film actress and singer. She is best remembered for playing Louise and George Jefferson's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and spinoff Checking In...
. In 1999, Lange directed two episodes of The Love Boat: The Next Wave
The Love Boat: The Next Wave
The Love Boat: The Next Wave is an American television series which was based on the ABC sitcom The Love Boat. The series aired on UPN from 1998 to 1999.-Plot:...
, the UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
series based on The Love Boat. He also directed episodes of Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites...
, and Eve
Eve (TV series)
Eve is an American sitcom starring Eve, Jason Winston George, Ali Landry, Natalie Desselle-Reid, Brian Hooks and Sean Maguire. That aired on the UPN network from September 15, 2003 to May 11, 2006, with 66 episodes produced spanning 3 seasons...
. In 2008, he directed the drama For Love of Amy.
Lange has also done extensive theater work as playwright and stage director. He has penned seventeen plays including George Washington's Boy, a historical
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
drama about the relationship between the first president and his favorite slave, along with the comedy Lemon Meringue Facade.
"Ask Isaac"
Before the American edition of FHMFHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
folded in 2006, Lange wrote a sex and advice column
Advice column
An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist . The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt"...
entitled "Ask Isaac" with adult film actress
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult-entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn."...
.
Celebrity Fit Club
In 2006, Lange appeared in the fourth season of the VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
reality show Celebrity Fit Club
Celebrity Fit Club
Celebrity Fit Club is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed to see if they reached their target weights...
. He lost 28 pounds during the show's run.
Personal life
Lange has been married to wife Sheryl Thompson since 1978. The couple have two children, Ted IV and Turner Wallace Lange. His mother is Geraldine Lange, who was a personal secretary to a San Francisco mayor and was public affairs director of KBHK-TV in San Francisco in the early 1970s. She also hosted television programs on KBHK-TV.Awards
For his work theater directing, Lange received the NAACP's Renaissance Man Theatre Award, the Heroes and Legends HAL Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Dramalogue Award. Lange has also been the recipient of the James Cagney Directing Fellow Scholarship Award from the American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
along with the Paul Robeson Award from Oakland's Ensemble Theatre.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1973 | Trick Baby | Melvin the Pimp | Alternative title: The Double Con |
| Blade | Henry Watson | ||
| 1974 | Black Belt Jones Black Belt Jones Black Belt Jones is a 1974 American Blaxploitation action film. The main musical theme was performed by the funk guitarist Dennis Coffey. The film was featured as number 38 on the documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.-Plot:... |
Militant | Uncredited |
| 1975 | Friday Foster Friday Foster (film) Friday Foster is a 1975 blaxploitation film, written and directed by Arthur Marks, and starring Pam Grier in the title role. Yaphet Kotto, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers and Carl Weathers co-starred. It was an adaptation of the 1970-74 eponymous syndicated newspaper comic strip, scripted by Jim... |
Fancy Dexter | |
| 1977 | Passing Through | |
Director |
| 1978 | Record City | The Wiz | |
| 1987 | Terminal Exposure | Fantastic | Alternative title: Double Exposure |
| 1988 | Glitch! | DuBois | |
| 1989 | Othello | Othello Othello The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565... |
Director |
| 1990 | Penny Ante: The Motion Picture | The Deacon | |
| 1991 | Perfume | George | |
| 1992 | The Naked Truth The Naked Truth (1992 film) The Naked Truth is a 1993 comedy film starring Robert Caso and Kevin Schon, as well as a host of C-list celebrities such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lou Ferrigno, Erik Estrada, Ted Lange, Billy Barty, Yvonne De Carlo, Norman Fell, Little Richard, David Birney, M... |
The Flower Peddler | |
| 1998 | Sandman | Gnome | |
| 2000 | The Redemption | Reverend | |
| 2002 | Is This Your Mother? | ||
| 2003 | Banana Moon | Prof. Williams | Co-producer |
| Gang of Roses Gang of Roses Gang of Roses is a 2003 Western action drama film written and directed by Jean-Claude La Marre. It starred Monica Calhoun, Lil' Kim, Lisa Raye, Charity Hill, Bobby Brown, Stacy Dash, and Marie Matiko.-Plot:... |
Bartender #2 | ||
| 2006 | Uncle Tom's Apartment | Pops | |
| National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 is the mystery/farce sequel to the 2003 comedy National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze. Chris Owen and Danielle Fishel reprised their roles from the original along with Tony Denman, James DeBello, Patrick Cavanaugh, Marieh Delfino, Jennifer Lyons and Gable Carr... |
Celebrity Judge #2 | ||
| 2007 | Last of the Romantics | Cole Henderson | |
| Carts | Sam | ||
| 2008 | Senior Skip Day | Reverend | Alternative title: High School's Day Off |
| Who Shot Mamba? | Dr. Crazy | ||
| The Adventures of Umbweki | Airline Captain Boka | ||
| Phil Cobb's Dinner for Four | Old Friend | ||
| For Love of Amy | |
Director | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974–1975 | That's My Mama That's My Mama That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 1974 until December 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series.-Synopsis:... |
Junior | 11 episodes |
| 1976 | Mr. T and Tina Mr. T and Tina Mr. T and Tina is an American sitcom that aired for five episodes on ABC in the fall of 1976. Starring Pat Morita, the series was a spin-off of the then-hit series Welcome Back, Kotter... |
Harvard | 5 episodes |
| 1977–1986 | The Love Boat The Love Boat The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain... |
Bartender Isaac Washington | 246 episodes, director, writer |
| 1977 | The Love Boat II | Bartender Isaac Washington | Television movie Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to... |
| The New Love Boat | Bartender Isaac Washington | Television movie | |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:... |
The Great Scott | 1 episode |
| Charlie's Angels Charlie's Angels Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men... |
Bartender Isaac Washington | 1 episode | |
| 1983 | The Fall Guy The Fall Guy The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series... |
Bartender | 1 episode |
| Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:... |
|
1 episode, director | |
| 1984 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer... |
|
2 episodes, director |
| 1986 | That's My Mama Now! | Junior | Television movie |
| 1987 | Starman Starman (TV series) Starman is an American science fiction television series, starring Robert Hays and Christopher Daniel Barnes. The series ran on the ABC network from September 19, 1986 to May 2, 1987... |
|
1 episode, director |
| 1988 | Christmas | Ghost of Christmas Present | Television movie |
| 227 | Lou | 1 episode | |
| In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night (TV series) In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995... |
James Jeffson | 1 episode | |
| 1989 | It Nearly Wasn't Christmas | Napoleon | Television movie |
| 1990 | The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage | Bartender Isaac Washington | Television movie |
| 1993 | Evening Shade | Mr. Taxerman | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Platypus Man Platypus Man Platypus Man is an American sitcom that aired on UPN in 1995. Starring comedian Richard Jeni, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted for only one season, with a total of thirteen episodes.... |
Mr. Angel | 1 episode |
| 1996 | Weird Science Weird Science (TV series) Weird Science is a mid-1990s American comedy series made for television, based on the 1985 film of the same name.-Plot:The series follows the adventures of Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly , two socially inept high school students in an unspecified town in California... |
Isaac | 1 episode |
| 1996–2000 | Moesha | |
Director, 5 episodes |
| 1997 | Martin Martin (TV series) Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox... |
Bartender Isaac Washington | 2 episodes |
| Family Matters | Frank Winslow | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | The Love Boat: The Next Wave | Bartender Isaac Washington | 1 episode |
| The Wayans Bros. The Wayans Bros. The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from 1995 to 1999 on The WB. The series starred real-life brothers Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Both brothers were already well-known from the sketch comedy show In Living Color... |
|
Director, 1 episode | |
| 1999 | L.A. Heat | Frank Millan | 1 episode |
| The Love Boat: The Next Wave | |
Director, 2 episodes | |
| 2001 | Cody: An Evening with Buffalo Bill | |
Director |
| Dharma & Greg Dharma & Greg Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites... |
|
Director, 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | The Hughleys The Hughleys The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L... |
Mr. Henderson | 1 episode |
| Scrubs Scrubs (TV series) Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes... |
Mr. Blair | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | The King of Queens The King of Queens The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures... |
Barkeep | 1 episode |
| Half & Half Half & Half Half & Half is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout their childhood, and are finally developing a close relationship... |
Repairman | 1 episode | |
| 2004 | Eve | |
Director, 1 episode |
| 2004–2005 | Drake & Josh Drake & Josh Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,... |
Mr. Calvert | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | All of Us All of Us All of Us is an American sitcom that premiered on the now-defunct UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UPN and The WB All of Us is an American sitcom that... |
|
Director, 1 episode |
| 2007 | General Hospital General Hospital General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns.... |
Judge | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Pookie | 1 episode |
| 2010 | The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States... |
As himself | 1 episode |