What happened to Lauren Tewes after The Love Boat? Fred Grandy expresses regret over not standing up for co-star amid addiction struggles

American actor Fred Grandy recently shared his regret of not standing up for his co-star Lauren Tewes after she was kicked out of the ABC sitcom The Love Boat in 1984 for her cocaine addiction. On the October 27 episode of the CW docuseries TV We Love, Grandy stated:

“My one regret about her situation was that I never really came forward and defended and supported her in a way that we should have. So, there is some regret there, at least as far as I'm concerned... I mean, let's face it, this is a business where a lot of people use controlled substances in one way, shape or form.”

Following her departure from The Love Boat in 1984 at the end of the seventh season, Lauren Tewes, who played cruise director Julie McCoy on the show, got sober in real life and later returned for a cameo on the series finale in 1986. She also landed other gigs in the industry.

Fred Grady, 77, further mentioned that Lauren Tewes, 72, was already in recovery for her addiction when she was fired. Meanwhile, the actress, who also appeared on TV We Love, shared:

“It was a different time. I was a woman, so I was blacklisted for that. In those days, if you did that kind of thing, you were punished. You didn't get help.”

Exploring Lauren Tewes’ life after The Love Boat

During a March 1985 interview with TV Guide, Lauren Tewes shared that she began her cocaine consumption after joining the cast of The Love Boat. At the time, she wanted to be “one of the gang” and was on her way to a party when her date suggested that they “do drugs,” and despite initial hesitation, she eventually agreed.

“The feeling it gave me was incredible euphoria. You think you are fine. You think you are stronger, braver. I thought it gave me the courage I missed. It was like going to Oz and asking for courage. But instead, I got cocaine,” Tewes stated.

The actress explained that the more money she earned from the show, the more she spent on substance abuse.

“I was trying to keep my job, keep my husband, keep my house. I was trying to please everybody, and I was destroying myself. I was on drugs. I didn't sleep. I slept at work. I behaved poorly at work, and that is where I made my fatal mistake,” Lauren admitted.

By 1980, she realized that her professional and personal life were hampered by her addiction and decided to get sober with the help of a counsellor. She acknowledged “not having a good time,” but instead harmed herself and wasted all her money. So, she initially stopped taking the drugs at work, on nights, over the weekend, and later stopped completely.

However, in 1984, Douglas Cramer, the executive producer of The Love Boat, fired her due to her struggle with cocaine addiction, which only became public after she had embarked on her sobriety journey. They reportedly shared disagreements on the sets. The character of the cruise director was later played by Patricia Klous, who appeared as Julie McCoy’s sister.

Eventually, Lauren Tewes got fully clean and returned as a guest on the season final in 1985, followed by The Love Boat television films in 1986 and 1987.

Subsequently, she was also cast on the CBS sitcom Anything for Love, which was later cancelled. She also played supporting roles on other TV shows, including Fantasy Island, My Two Dads, The New Mike Hammer, T. J. Hooker, Hunter, and Murder, She Wrote, among others.

In 1994, Lauren Tewes relocated to Seattle, where she pursued theater acting, directing, and provided voiceovers for commercials. Four years later, she was called to appear in an episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave.

With the turn of the century, the Pennsylvania native bagged the recurring role as police detective Linda Westershulte on the CBS action drama The Fugitive. She also played the role of the protagonist Maxine Murdoch on the Imagination Theater production’s comedy mystery radio show, Murder and the Murdochs.

Over the years, Lauren also attended a culinary school and became a sous chef come cheese specialist for a Seattle-based catering company.

This is not the first time Fred Grandy has expressed his regret about not showing solidarity for Lauren Tewes when she was fired. During a September 2024 interview with People Magazine, he stated:

“The circumstances of her departure were not so lovely. This would've been the early '80s, substance abuse on a set in those days was a punishable offence. It was not a healthcare problem, and it was not understood in the way it is understood now.”

Grandy, who played Gopher on The Love Boat, continued:

“And to some degree, she was a victim of circumstance at the time because the attention and care and therapy she should have gotten were meted out in the form of discipline.”

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Calling Tewes a “sister” for the entire cast, Fred praised her for recovering “magnificently” and mentioned being still close with her.

Now, on Monday’s episode of TV We Love, Fred Grandy blamed Lauren Tewes' substance abuse problem on the “party atmosphere” of The Love Boat, and the cast and crew travelled across the world and spent time drinking and having a “good time” on the boat.

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