'Love Boat' Creator and 'Wonder Woman' Producer Wilford Lloyd Baumes Dead at 86

Madison E. GoldbergThu, July 2, 2026 at 2:59 AM UTC

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Wilford Lloyd BaumesCredit: Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Home -

Wilford Lloyd Baumes died at 86 on June 28, according to his obituary

He adapted Jeraldine Saunders's memoir into The Love Boat, which ran for 10 seasons through 1987, and also produced Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter, which helped popularize the DC Comics superhero on television

Outside of TV, Baumes had a career in interior design with his work featured in Santa Barbara Magazine and Architectural Digest

Wilford Lloyd Baumes, the creator of The Love Boat and the producer of Wonder Woman, has died at 86.

Baumes died "peacefully" on June 28, according to an obituary from Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Homes in Ohio. He grew up in nearby Amberley Village, Ohio, before spending much of his adult life in Santa Barbara, Calif., according to the obituary. He is survived by several nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and great-grand-nieces, great-grand-nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews.

Before his most memorable film and television credits, Baumes worked as a writer on a number of TV shows, including The Wide World of Mystery, Help, Inc., and more.

Baumes adapted former cruise ship hostess Jeraldine Saunders's 1974 memoir The Love Boats for television as The Love Boat. The hit series, which starred Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Lauren Tewes, Jill Whelan, Patricia Klous, and more, ran from 1977 through 1987 for 10 seasons and followed an anthology format that saw frequent guest stars interacting with the core cast members as they fell in and out of love on the open seas.

Wonder Woman ran on ABC from 1975 to 1977 before moving to CBS from 1977 to 1979. The series, which starred Lynda Carter as the titular character, popularized the beloved DC Comics superhero to a mainstream audience, with season one set during World War II and the subsequent seasons set during the 1970s, the time in which it aired.

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Baumes also collaborated with executive producer Douglas S. Cramer for Bridget Loves Bernie from 1972 to 1973, Nightmare in Badham County in 1976, and Who Is the Black Dahlia? in 1975.

Wilford Lloyd BaumesCredit: Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Home

Following his time serving in the U.S. Navy, Baumes received degrees from Denison University and the University of California, Berkeley. Outside of his career in television, Baumes had a flourishing career in interior design. He created "masterpiece homesteads which have been featured in Santa Barbara Magazine and Architectural Digest," according to his obituary.

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"His creative free spirit was perfectly complimented with his thoughtful and generous nature," the obituary reads. "Bud's cocktail parties created lasting memories for his friends and family who he loved so deeply."

In lieu of flowers, Baumes' family has asked memorial guests to donate to the Alzheimer's Association in his honor.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”