His ancestry includes Irish, part Chippewa-Indian, Swedish and English.
His autobiography "Back on Course, the Remarkable Story of a Divorce That Ended in Remarriage" details his problems with alcohol and subsequent recovery and remarriage to second wife Patti MacLeod.
His father, George See, dropped out of grade school in the fifth grade, looking for work as a gas station attendant. His mother Margaret See, also dropped out of middle school in the seventh grade. She went on to work for Reader's Digest.
His mother, Margaret See, died on January 4, 2004, she lived to be 97.
Holds an Honorary Doctorate from his Alma Mater Ithaca College.
Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades, California.
Is a lacto-vegetarian.
Is one of the three actors to have appeared in every episode of "The Love Boat" (1977).
January 19, 2004: featured on "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) in their segment "Is It Potatoes or Gavin MacLeod?". It was, in fact, Gavin MacLeod.
Met Bernie Kopell on the set of "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970), before he co-starred with MacLeod on "The Love Boat" (1977).
Met first wife Joan at Radio City Music Hall when he was an usher and she was a Rockette. They had four children before they divorced after 18 years of marriage.
Remained good friends with Ted Lange during and after "The Love Boat" (1977).
Starred in the pilot of 3 shows that didn't sell.
Started acting when he was in Kindergarten.
Stepfather of Stephanie Steele. He also has two other stepchildren, Andrew and Tommy, with his wife Patti.
The oldest of two children.
Took his stage name from his college drama coach Beatrice Macleod, and from an affecting TV drama in which a cerebral palsy victim was named "Gavin".
Used to be a spokesperson for Princess Cruises in the 1980s.
Was a close friend (30 years) of actor Ted Knight long before they appeared together on "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970).
Was not the first choice to audition for the lead role as Capt. Merrill Stubing on "The Love Boat" (1977), it was when Aaron Spelling approached Dick Van Patten to play that role, when he was already doing "Eight Is Enough" (1977) at the time.