LOS ANGELES: Gavin MacLeod, a veteran supporting actor best known for his role as an ever-smiling cruise ship captain on the 1970s-80s sitcom “The Love Boat,” died Saturday at the age of 90.

His death was confirmed to the showbiz publication Variety by his nephew Mark See. No cause of death was given.

MacLeod was little known to the public until he landed the role of a wisecracking television news writer on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1970. The program was a smash hit, lasted seven seasons and is considered a classic of the American sitcom genre.

MacLeod went on to even greater fame playing Captain Stubing on “The Love Boat,” in which passengers, often played by real life stars such as Gene Kelly, came aboard for a cruise and had romantic or humorous adventures.