Actor/director/writer. Born Theodore William Lange on January 5th, 1948, in Oakland, California.
To the average person, the name Ted Lange isn't going to ring a bell. But once you hear the name of one of his famous characters (okay, his only famous character), you'll know right away who he is.
Yes, that's right. Everybody's favourite TV bartender from "The Love Boat", the king of margaritas, the master of the dual finger point, and Gopher's zany partner, is not somebody real. Isaac is a character and he's played by Ted Lange.
Fortunately (unfortunately?) for Mr. Lange, he's still playing off his Isaac character into a money-making business - TV commercials ("This calls for a Bud Light!"), an advice column (FHM, where he shares duties with another wonderful advice dispenser in the form of Jenna Jameson, porn queen extraordinaire), and convention appearances (yes, there are Love Boat conventions).
Aside from this typecasting, Mr. Lange is actually quite prolific. He's directed quite a few television shows (Moesha, Dharma and Greg, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy) plus numerous stage productions (Lemon Meringue Facade, Hamlet, Richard III, Driving Miss Daisy). On top of that, he's also written a number of television screenplays and stage plays, including "Evil Legacy - The Story of Lucrezia Borgia" and "Four Queens - No Trump" which won the NAACP Best Play award in 1997. Mr. Lange was also named an adjunct associate professor at the School of Cinema/Television at USC, where he taught a weekly course in film directing.
Will you remember all of that? Probably not. More than likely, you'll remember the afro, the big mustache, the red bartender suit, the dual finger point, and the crazy escapades with Gopher.
By the way, he's great with advice, as bartenders are always known to be. Why, just the last day, I was flipping through FHM reading the articles when I came upon his advice for a fellow with a love problem. It seems the poor chap could only get aroused with his lover if WWF was on TV and playing in the background. What should he do?
Isaac's advice? "You're gay. Next question."
Sources
- IMDB - www.imdb.com
- www.castproductions.com/tedlange.html