15 Big Stars You Never Knew Set Sail On ‘The Love Boat’

7. Mark Harmon

Mark Harmon was on two episodes of The Love Boat in 1979, including one which voyaged to Alaska. Mark originally thought he might go into law after finishing up a college career of playing football, but eventually he turned to acting instead. He started out with a lot of guest appearances on TV, then landed some regular gigs. He was even named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 1986. He is probably best known for his role on NCIS, but was also a regular on Chicago Hope and The West Wing.

8. Florence Henderson

Florence Henderson had already wrapped The Brady Bunch by the time she guest starred on the pilot of The Love Boat. She went on to be the actor with the most appearances on the show (yup, more than Charo), saying she’s lost count of how many husbands she had. There was one episode that also starred Robert Reed (aka Mike Brady) but in a parallel storyline, so they didn’t act together. However, the two did pass each other in the buffet line and gave each other a “hey, you look vaguely familiar” glance. Since then she’s enjoyed a very busy acting career that has also included making appearances as herself on reality TV shows like Dancing With the Stars. These days she has her own talk show called The Florence Henderson Show, as well as a cooking show called Who’s Cooking With Florence Henderson.

9. Sonny Bono

Sonny Bono set sail on The Love Boat in 1979. He had already established a successful music career by that point, as a solo artist and songwriter as well as performing with his wife, Cher. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour was a variety staple on 1970s TV. The couple continued performing together even after they divorced, and last sang “I Got You Babe” together on Late Night with David Letterman on November 13, 1987. Sony Bono became the mayor of Palm Springs and then a California Congressman, but sadly passed away in a skiing accident in 1998.