by Tim Gordon
Happy Birthday to actor, director, and screenwriter, Ted Lange, best known for his roles as bartender Isaac Washington in the TV series The Love Boat, and Junior in That’s My Mama.
His first screen appearance was in the documentary film Wattstax. After appearing in the film Black Belt Jones in, he portrayed Junior on the series That’s My Mama before landing the role of the ship’s bartender, Isaac, on The Love Boat, opposite Gavin MacLeod.
After he left the show in 1987, Lange appeared in various films and guest roles on 227, The Cleveland Show, Evening Shade, Scrubs, The King of Queens, Boy Meets World, Psych, and Are We There Yet?
In 1977, he wrote the screenplay for the drama Passing Through, starring Cora Lee Day and Marla Gibbs. During the run of The Love Boat, Lange also served as director and screenwriter of several episodes of the series. Later, Lange directed two episodes of Love Boat: The Next Wave, the UPN series based on The Love Boat. He also directed episodes of Moesha, Dharma & Greg, and Eve.
