Shortly after the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Gavin was back on the small screen, but this time he played Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat. He appeared in 250 episodes during its run from 1977 to 1987.

He returned in 1990 as captain for the television movie The Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage and appeared in the 1998 reunion episode of the relaunched series The Love Boat: The Next Wave.

Given Gavin’s decades-long Hollywood career, he had other impressive acting credits. The actor has appeared on numerous shows including Hawaii Five-O, Perry Mason, the Andy Griffith Show, OZ, The Man from UNCLE, Charlie’s Angels, Murder She Wrote, JAG, That ’70s Show, and many more.