Fred Grandy
| Fred Grandy | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th district |
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In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Jim R. Lightfoot |
| Succeeded by | Tom Latham |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 6th district |
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In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Berkley Bedell |
| Succeeded by | District eliminated |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Fredrick Lawrence Grandy June 29, 1948 Sioux City, Iowa |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Actor, politician, radio personality |
Fredrick Lawrence "Fred" Grandy (born June 29, 1948) is an American actor best known for his role as "Gopher" on the sitcom The Love Boat and who later became a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Iowa. Grandy was most recently the host of The Grandy Group, a morning drive time radio talk show on 630 WMAL in Washington, D.C.
Grandy was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the youngest of three sons of William Grandy, who worked in his father's insurance business, and his wife Bonnie. When Grandy was eleven, his father died of a heart attack. His mother died of an aneurysm a year later. The young Grandy was raised by Margaret Avery, his mother's best friend; a widow, who later married his father's doctor. He went to public schools until ninth grade, after which he attended high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, like his father and brothers had done. While there, Grandy was the roommate of David Eisenhower, the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and was later best man at Eisenhower's wedding to Julie Nixon, the daughter of then President-elect Richard Nixon, in December 1968. Grandy graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English studies from Harvard University in 1970.
Grandy is perhaps best known to millions of fans around the world as purser Burl "Gopher" Smith on the American television series The Love Boat. The series aired for nine seasons (1977–86). He also wrote several vignettes for the show. In 1982, while visiting Turkey to film scenes for the show, Grandy suffered severe burns when a balloon filled with hydrogen exploded.
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