Patrick Labyorteaux has recounted his worst on-set experience while filming the classic comedy-drama series The Love Boat.
The former child actor, now 60, appeared on two episodes of the 10-season sitcom, which followed the adventures of crew members aboard the Pacific Princess cruise ship and a rotating cast of passengers all dealing with different relationship dilemmas. The series ran from 1977 to 1986.
Labyorteaux was 13 when he played Bobby Trymon in a 1979 episode, and 16 when he returned to the series in 1981 as Todd Andrews.
Recalling his brief time on the show during a recent episode of his The Patrick LabyorSheaux podcast, the actor admitted that “unfortunately, the second episode [was] probably one of the worst experiences that I’ve ever had on a TV show.”
He remembered at the time being “fascinated by all the stuff they did with the rear projection [while filming the show].”
“I was watching the guy who was doing this rear projection unit and then he acts like he’s electrocuted, falls down, and acts like he’s dead. Well, it wasn’t an act,” Labyorteaux revealed. “Sadly, tragically, he was truly electrocuted. I watched this man get electrocuted, have a heart attack.”
After running to get help, he was later told that the man was fine, but then eventually “found out that he had passed away.”
“It is the worst experience that I’ve had on a set,” he said of the tragic accident.
Looking back on his performance in the series, Labyorteaux said he felt “horrible,” his hair looked off and his eyes “are like, dead.”
“On top of the fact that my acting was so horrible, I was an absolute worst dancer. As we’ve discussed, I can’t dance. And here is physical proof,” he added.
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Labyorteaux is best known for playing Andrew “Andy” Garvey on the popular 1970s TV Western drama Little House on the Prairie, from 1977 to 1981.
He later landed single-episode roles on TV shows like 21 Jump Street, Hope & Gloria, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Living Single and Yes, Dear.
From 1995 to 2005, he starred in the 10-season military drama series JAG as Bud Roberts Jr., alongside David James Elliott, John M. Jackson, Catherine Bell, Scott Lawrence, Karri Turner and Zoe McLellan.
In recent years, Labyorteaux has appeared in the mystery-drama series Castle, Apple TV+’s historical fiction and sci-fi drama For All Mankind and the police procedural NCIS. His latest acting credits have been independent movies, including the 2025 slasher The Jolly Monkey and 2026’s apocalyptic drama Ice-Pocalypse.