The Horrifying Secret Behind Isaac Washington’s Smile: How the Fight Against Racism Destroyed Ted Lange’s Career and Marriage

In the history of popular television, few images are more iconic and comforting than Isaac Washington , the friendly, smiling bartender aboard the luxury cruise ship The Love Boat. Over the course of nine years, Ted Lange , who played Isaac, served cocktails to a host of guest stars from Charlie to Tom Hanks, becoming a household name and the epitome of smooth, attentive service.

But that smile is an elaborate mask.

At 77 , the truth behind the man the public only knew as “the bartender” is emerging, and it’s different, heartbreaking, and tragic. Ted Lange wasn’t just a sitcom actor; he was a Shakespearean -trained performer at UC Berkeley, a prolific playwright with more than 25 plays under his belt , and a powerful theater director. His journey wasn’t a smooth one, but a two-decade-long, arduous battle against systemic racism , professional prejudice, and personal pressures that brought his marriage to the brink of collapse.

From Classroom Troublemaker to Shakespeare Scholar

Ted Lange ‘s story began not with a passion for acting, but with vandalism . Born in Oakland, California, to an artistic family, Lange was known as a troublemaker. His teacher threw him into a play as punishment for disrupting class. Ironically, that disciplinary action launched a legendary career.

Lange was no clown. He was a serious student, serving as class president and student body president. He graduated with an Associate of Arts degree, majoring in theater, from San Francisco City College, and most importantly, honed his craft at UC Berkeley , performing Shakespearean classics . While global audiences saw a bartender serving vodka and guava juice, inside they were looking at a man capable of performing Hamlet or Othello with the same energy and intensity.

His early career proved that. Lange debuted on Broadway in the musical Hair and then had film roles in films like Black Belt Jones . But it wasn’t until 1977, when he stepped onto The Love Boat as Isaac Washington, that he truly became a household name.

Love Boat and the Pain of Systemic Racism

The Love Boat catapulted Ted Lange to fame, but behind the cocktail-serving smile was a constant battle. As one of the few black actors to hold a prime-time lead role in the 70s and 80s, Lange faced invisible pressures that few dared to speak out about.

Lange’s most shocking revelation was about the racism in the script. He recounted that a producer on The Love Boat flatly refused to give Isaac Washington any love interest . The reason? Simply because Isaac was black. While the white characters fell in love, broke up, and found new love week after week, Isaac could only pour martinis and crack jokes.

Lange revealed that justice for his character came not from the studio’s writers, but from his co-stars . They were the ones who stood up for his character and his humanity, writing him a love story themselves , because the producers wouldn’t. This solidarity was a ray of light, but it also highlighted a cruel truth: discrimination was written right into the script, undermining his role and character development.

The insults weren’t limited to the writers’ room. Lange recounted an infuriating incident where a major guest star appeared on set. The celebrity looked at Lange, a main cast member of the series, and flatly assumed he was an extra or a valet, refusing to shake his hand when introduced. This humiliation and disrespect, for an actor who had dedicated nine years to the series, showed the level of arrogance and prejudice Lange faced on a daily basis.

Dangerous Kiss and Broken Marriage

Ted Lange didn’t just fight with words. He fought with art. In a scene with legendary actress Diahann Carroll , the script called for only one kiss. But Lange, full of rebellious spirit, deliberately made mistakes and forgot his lines 15 times , just to sneak in the kiss. It wasn’t just a prank; it was a dare. At the time, interracial kissing on television was still a big deal, controversial and potentially jeopardizing his entire career.

The pressure of being Hollywood’s ” iconic black star ” didn’t just wear him down on set; it extended to real life. In 1978, just as The Love Boat was at its peak, Lange married actress Cheryl Thompson. They had two sons. But their marriage didn’t last 11 years. Lange admitted that the stress of battling racism on set and the pressure of representing his community “eaten away “ at him, eventually leading to the breakup .

Lange then remained single for 12 years , an incredibly long time in the world of Tinseltown. It wasn’t until 2001 that he remarried to Mary Lee, a relationship that has endured over time.

The Secret Stage Empire at 77

While Hollywood was busy stereotyping and limiting him to the role of bartender, Ted Lange was quietly building a theater empire behind the scenes. He not only wrote 25 plays but also directed dozens, including explosive, controversial plays that brought political issues and Black Lives Matter straight to the stage, like Blues in My Coffee .

His plays weren’t light comedies; they were “the kind of plays that leave you arguing all the way home”—honest, gritty, and political. In this way, Lange used his art to fight injustices he couldn’t change on set. He founded programs that brought theater to poor children and turned disadvantaged communities into creative hubs.

What makes Ted Lange ‘s story so exciting at 77 is that he’s kept moving forward. He hasn’t become an actor doing nostalgia tours. Instead, in 2025 , he’s running an off-Broadway play in New York City called Lady Patriot . What’s more, he’s co-founded a production company called ” Five for the Show ,” which aims to revolutionize theater by combining modern technology and social media engagement—turning Broadway into TikTok.

With an estimated net worth of $2 million , Lange is living proof that diversifying his career can bring long-term stability. He has turned his TV fame into a more meaningful, long-term career.

Ted Lange didn’t just survive Hollywood; he flipped the script, rewrote the play, and kept the spotlight exactly where he wanted it. From Oakland troublemaker to Shakespeare scholar, from TV’s favorite bartender to award-winning theater revolutionary, his story is a powerful reminder that talent and resilience can always triumph over racism and disrespect, even when the price is extremely high.