Career beginnings After college, Lange started in theatre appearing in local Oakland productions and as guest artist in residence at the
University of Santa Clara. Later, he joined the New Shakespearan Company, acting in plays at the
University of California, Berkeley. He also performed in a
one-man show,
Behind the Mask: An Evening with Paul Laurence Dunbar. Lange's first screen appearance was in the
documentary film Wattstax in 1973. After appearing in the film
Black Belt Jones in 1974, he portrayed Junior on the series ''
That's My Mama'' before landing the role of the ship's bartender, Isaac, on
The Love Boat in 1977, opposite
Gavin MacLeod. After he left the show in 1987, Lange appeared in various films and in guest roles on
227,
In the Heat of the Night, Evening Shade,
Boy Meets World,
The King of Queens,
Scrubs,
Drake & Josh,
Psych,
The Cleveland Show, and
Are We There Yet? In the early 1980s, following a letter of recommendation from
Lynn Redgrave (whom he met on an episode of
The Love Boat), Lange attended a summer school at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to perfect his Shakespeare acting skills.
Directing and writing In 1977, he co-wrote the screenplay for the drama
Passing Through, starring
Nathaniel Taylor. During the run of
The Love Boat, Lange also served as director and screenwriter of several episodes of the series. In 1999, Lange directed two episodes of
Love Boat: The Next Wave, the
UPN series based on
The Love Boat. He also directed episodes of
Moesha,
Dharma & Greg, and
Eve. In 2008, he directed the drama
For Love of Amy. Lange has also done extensive theater work as playwright and stage director. He has penned 17 plays, including ''George Washington's Boy
, a historical drama about the relationship between the first president and his favorite slave, along with the comedy Lemon Meringue Facade''. Lange remained close to Gavin MacLeod, his acting mentor, who was a Palm Springs resident and saw his plays. In a 2014 interview with
CBS New York, he said of his long-running friendship with him "Gavin lives in Palm Springs, I'm in LA. So, when I do my plays, he comes down and sees my plays or I'll go see what he's doing!" Lange also said in a 2017 interview with The Wiseguyz Show: "Oh yeah, sure, Gavin was wonderful. Gavin lives down here in Palm Springs and we're still tight, all of us, Gavin and
Bernie and
Jill; we still see each other.
Fred lives in a different state, we're still close, we're still good friends."
"Ask Isaac" Before the American edition of
FHM folded in 2006, Lange wrote a sex and
advice column, titled "Ask Isaac", with
adult film actress Jenna Jameson.
Celebrity Fit Club In 2006, Lange appeared in the fourth season of the
VH1 reality show Celebrity Fit Club. He lost 28 pounds during the show's run. ==Personal life==