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Bernie Kopell was big on health, so producers made Dr. Adam Bricker skip rope
"Frequent watchers will notice Adam Bricker does a lot of skipping rope stuff on The Love Boat," he said.
We hear a lot about actors portraying characters that are the complete opposite of their personalities in real life. Yet, there are instances when producers will add traits of the actor into their roles, whether for character development purposes or to spice up a series.
Bernie Kopell played Dr. Adam Bricker on the hit series The Love Boat and looked at the role as his "television alter ego." Why? Because some of the things the character did were things Kopell did in real life. The main thing: skipping rope. In an interview with The Times-Tribune in 1983, Kopell spoke about his character and how exercising became a part of Bricker.
"Frequent watchers will notice Adam Bricker does a lot of skipping rope stuff on The Love Boat," he said. "That's because I do that. This is what happens when you're on a show for years and years. The writers get tuned into you and put you in the character."
When a doctor told Kopell he needed to start doing something physical, he started skipping rope. The actor said, "He explained the necessity of exercise to me. This is weird business, this energy stuff, but it's very important."
Becoming more in tune with his heart and health, Kopell took the doctor's advice and turned it into a wellness movement for himself. In the article, staff writer Terry Bonifanti revealed that the actor skipped rope and was the California chairman of the "Jump Rope for Heart" campaign. Kopell participated in celebrity tennis tournaments for charities and finished eighty situps and thirty push-ups just before the interview.
Since writers added this into the Adam Bricker character, they had to make it interesting enough for people to notice. What better way to do that than act like Bricker was staying fit for women who caught his eye on the cruise ship? It was the perfect opportunity.
In reality, the only woman who caught Kopell's eye was his wife, Yoland Veloz, a successful realtor and financier. At the time of the interview, they had been married for eight years.
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Everybody gets a gift this season, instead of a Smiley Face.
Happy Seasonal Greetings to everyone!
The tradition was flipped on its head in "Seinfeld", where it was the main character who had that name.
