Bald-pated, initially stocky actor Gavin MacLeod rapidly established himself as a slimy villain in several major TV programs of the late 1950s-early 1960s. His gift for comedy was fitfully exploited in films like Operation Petticoat (1959) and on TV series like McHale's Navy, but MacLeod wasn't fully "humanized" as a lovable comic actor until 1970's The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Originally, the actor had been called in to read for the part of Mary's boss, Lou Grant. But MacLeod saw more potential in the smaller role of harried newswriter Murray Slaughter, and insisted upon trying out for that part; he ended up playing Murray throughout the entire seven-year run of the program.

When co-star Valerie Harper shed a great deal of weight during the summer hiatus of 1971, MacLeod was encouraged to do likewise, and has remained slender ever since. Like most of his Mary Tyler Moore colleagues, Gavin MacLeod was able to parlay his popularity into lasting TV success: no sooner had MTM been cancelled in 1977 than MacLeod was cast as Captain Merrill Stubbing on The Love Boat, a job he held down for nine consecutive seasons.

Credit: movies.yahoo.com