- Fred Grandy
Infobox Congressman
name=Fred Grandy |
state=Iowa
district=6th and 5th
party=Republican
term_start =January 3 ,1987
term_end =January 3 ,1995
preceded=Berkley Bedell
succeeded=Tom Latham
date of birth= birth date and age|1948|06|29
place of birth=Sioux City, Iowa
religion= Episcopalian
profession=Actor ,Politician , andRadio Personality
party= RepublicanFredrick Lawrence "Fred" Grandy (born
June 29 ,1948 ) is a former actor best known for his role on the sitcom "The Love Boat" who became a member in 1986 of theUnited States House of Representatives from the state ofIowa .Grandy was born in
Sioux City, Iowa . He received hisbachelor's degree in English fromHarvard University in 1970 and is conversant in both French and Arabic. He played the ship'spurser Burl "Gopher" Smith for nine years on the Americantelevision series "The Love Boat ". Earlier, he was a recurring character on the 1970ssitcom "Maude", playing the boyfriend of Maude's daughter Carol (played byAdrienne Barbeau ).Unknown to most television viewers during the height of his "The Love Boat" stardom, Grandy's political interests preceded his acting career. Prior to college, he was the roommate of
David Eisenhower (grandson of President Eisenhower) atPhillips Exeter Academy and later was best man at Eisenhower's wedding to Julie Nixon. He also served as a speechwriter for CongressmanWiley Mayne (R-Iowa).Grandy, who campaigned as a Republican, won the election in 1986 by 3,000 votes. Although he tried to distance himself from his acting career, he told "People" magazine, "If there were no Gopher, there would be no Fred Grandy for Congress."
During his four terms in Congress, he served on a variety of committees, including House Ways and Means, Agriculture, Standards of Official Conduct, and Education and the Workforce. While a member of Congress, Grandy won eight "Watchdog of the Treasury" awards. In 1994, he entered the Republican primary race for
Governor of Iowa against incumbentTerry Branstad ; he lost the election by 4 percentage points.Grandy has three children, Marya, Monica, and Charlie.
Grandy later served as president and CEO of
Goodwill Industries from 1995–2000, became a political commentator onNational Public Radio , and served as a visiting professor teaching a course onnon-profit organizations at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park , School of Public Affairs. In 2003, Grandy was named co-host of "The Grandy & Andy Morning Show", a conservative radio news/talk show on 630WMAL -AM inWashington, D.C. His co-host is radio veteranAndy Parks . Grandy is a member of theEpiscopal Church External links
* [http://www.wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=16433 WMAL Morning News]
* [http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/grandy.htm Snopes.com debunking of an urban legend involving Fred Grandy]*Congbio|G000371
*imdb name | id = 0334948 | name = Fred Grandy*tvtome person|id=1098|name=Fred Grandy
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