With a show as old as ABC’s “The Love Boat,” getting first-hand accounts of behind-the-scenes shenanigans is a precious and rare thing. Fortunately, several main “Love Boat actors are still alive to share such anecdotes. For instance, Adam “Doc” Bricker actor Bernie Kopell recently revealed some interesting information about guest star Debbie Reynolds’ willingness to steal the spotlight — and her apparent dislike of magicians. In a panel discussion during Princess Cruises’ “‘Love Boat’ Celebration at Sea” cruise event, Kopell and fellow “The Love Boat” cast members Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, and Jill Whelan answered questions from attendees, and the star used the opportunity to share a less than flattering story about Reynolds. 

“Debbie Reynolds always had to be the center of attention,” Kopell said (via People). “She came to me and she said, ‘Bernie, you don’t do anything. I’ll just do everything. You just stand there.'” Kopell then relayed a story about filming a scene with one or more magicians that, it seems, were getting too much attention for Reynolds’ tastes. “She didn’t care for some magicians,” Kopell said. “And so, she went over to the band leader and she whispered something in his ear. I don’t know what it was. And then she came to me and she said, ‘Bernie, you don’t do anything. I’ll just do everything. You just stand there.'”

People’s story about the anecdote gets a little vague, but Kopell wrapped it up with the revelation that Reynolds had instructed the band leader to play the Fandango, allowing her to dance to the music — thus presumably eliminating the need for any magicians in the scene.  “They played the Fandango, and she whirled around by herself, and whirled nearer to me, then came away from me,” Kopell said. “And our scene ended with her jumping up onto my right shoulder to tremendous applause. Debbie Reynolds and the Disappearing Magician.”

The history of “The Love Boat” features some seriously talented guest stars, and there’s little question that Debbie Reynolds was among the brighter ones to step aboard the Pacific Princess. The actor and singer appeared in some of Hollywood’s finest movies during her decades in the entertainment business, won numerous awards, and landed an Academy Award nomination for her leading role in “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” With films like the classic musical “Singin’ in the Rain” and the Western juggernaut “How the West Was Won” in her CV, it’s not all that difficult to understand that she felt she knew what she was doing during her five guest-star episodes of “The Love Boat.”

Bernie Kopell was aware of Reynolds’ talents too. While his appraisal of her wasn’t entirely positive, the “Love Boat” star also made sure to mention her among the show’s great guests. “I just loved the people who came aboard,” Kopell said. “We’ve had some amazing, amazing people: Eva Marie Saint, Shirley Jones, Debbie Reynolds. I had fun with them, appreciated their talents.”