FEATURES [1

 

Welcome Back, Kotter—the Easy Way Out (of this issue, that is)

Kevin Welsh, Features Editor

 

 

It’s hard being the Features Editor, you know. The other sections (News, Arts &
Entertainment, and Sports) have actual news to report—if you know where to find it,

you can pick and choose your stories. Then there’s Opinions, which has got to be the
most slack, self-serving, and fun section to write: Just pick a topic and beak off about
it for a few paragraphs and, voila, you’re an “editor.” But Features, well, it’s tough. ’m
charged with the awesome responsibility of finding something new to write about
every week, something that’s not reported, but found—sniffed out by yours truly and
presented to you, our faithful readers, in a professional manner that will not just hold
your interest, but captivate, enthrall, and enlighten you.

Well, nuts to that, I say. If the theme of this issue is Welcome Back to School or
Welcome Back to Douglas or Welcome Back, Kotter, or whatever it is (hey, it takes time
to pay attention—and I’m a busy guy) then I’m taking things literally, stepping on
Arts & Entertainment editor Ian Reeve’s toes, and writing about the 70’s sitcom sta-
ple, Welcome Back, Kotter. Oh, how I love theme issues.

Welcome Back, Kotter graced the prime time airwaves for five seasons and is best
known as being, “that show John Travolta started out on.” Created in 1975, the series
followed the zany and heart-warming exploits of Gabe Kotter (series creator and
stand-up comedian Gabe Kaplan), a teacher who returns to his old inner-city New
York high-school to teach, guide, and bond with the “Sweathogs,” a crop of trouble-
makers. Hilarity promptly ensued.

Each episode would begin and end with Kotter cracking a joke (which always tied
into the theme of the episode) to his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman). The bulk of the
episode would take place in the classroom, where Kotter had to deal with “edgy” cur-
rent issues and repetitive signature lines.

Welcome Back, Kotter was always predictable and, if truth be told, always good for at
least a couple of chuckles, with the odd guffaw, snicker, and chortle. The theme song
became a number-one hit in 1975, and the show earned four Emmy nominations:
Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Achievement in Video Tape Editing in
1976; Outstanding Art Direction for a Comedy Series in 1978; and Outstanding
Individual Achievement-Creative Technical Crafts (whatever the hell that means)
in 1979.

When the series signed off in 1979, the cast went their separate ways. Some found
stardom (well, one did), some have eked out journeymen careers in the industry, and
some have fallen off the map entirely. So, without further ado, I present to you the
exploits of the cast of Welcome Back, Kotter. Who got rich, who won awards, who got
fat, who went to jail, who’s making a comeback, who’s playing poker for a living, and
who’s working retail.

Gabe Kaplan (Gabe Kotter)

The creator and star of Welcome Back, Kotter floundered somewhat after the series
was cancelled. Despite captaining the ABC Team on Battle of the Network Stars from
1976-81, Kaplan’s less-than-stellar film credits include Fast Break, Tulips, Nobodys
Perfekt, and my personal favourite, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. Though he has
made a comeback as a stand-up comedian, Kaplan has also worked in the interim as a
financial investor, providing colour commentary for televised poker, and is also a
champion poker player, finishing third in the World Poker Tour Event in Las Vegas in
March, 2005.

Marcia Strassman (Julie Kotter)

Perhaps best know now for her roles as Rick Moranis’ wife in the Honey, I Shrunk
the Kids series, (she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Honey, I Blew Up the Kid)
Strassman has worked consistently in both film and TV. She enjoyed recurring guest
roles on M*A*S*H, Providence, and Third Watch. Plus, she could never seem to bring
herself to actually laugh at any of Kaplan’s jokes. Atta girl.

John Travolta (Vinnie Barbarino)

The resident cement head among the Sweathogs, Travolta’s career survived a late
80s early 90s slump and has skyrocketed. A pair of Oscar nominations for Saturday
Night Fever and Pulp Fiction highlight a career that’s lasted 30 years.

Robert Hegyes (Juan Luis Pedro Phillip de Huevos Epstein)

Epstein’s schtick on the show was that he always had a note from his mother
excusing him from doing anything and everything. The note was always signed,
“‘Epstein’s Mother,” and I always laughed...every single time. Hegyes has endured a
spotty career since Kotter, but did spend two years on the 80s hit Cagney ¢ Lacey, and
as recently as 2002, played “Mexican Police Official” in Purpose. 1 know...I’ve never
heard of it, either.

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington)

Not to be confused with Bam-Bam, Boom-Boom was, well, the black guy on
Kotter. Really, Hilton-Jacobs is arguably the most successful Kotter alumni after
Travolta, having amassed a thirty-year, workmanlike career including supporting roles
in numerous feature and TV movies like Roots, Alien Nation (both the film and the TV
series), and The Jacksons: An American Dream.

Ron Palillo (Arnold Horshack)

The token loser of the Sweathogs, Horshack could always be relied upon to make
bone-headed observations and raise his hand for every questions and go, “Ooooh!
Oooooooooooh! Mr. Kotttt-air!” Again, I laughed every time. Palillo went on to pro-
vide the voice for Rubik in the 1983 cartoon Rubik, the Amazing Cube. He also had a
small part in Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives, in which he gets impaled by Jason and
pukes blood. Delightful. His most recent appearance was in the 2004 film, The Root of
All Evil, a film about killer Christmas Trees. Enough said.