Welcome Back, Kotter
Encyclopedia
Welcome Back, Kotter was an American television
sitcom
starring Gabe Kaplan
and featuring a young John Travolta
.
It originally aired on the ABC
network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.
Gabe Kaplan
as the title character Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his high school
alma mater—the fictional James Buchanan
High in Brooklyn, New York—to teach an often unruly group of remedial wiseguys known as the "Sweathogs". (The nickname reflected the fact that the remedial classes were held on the very top floor of the high school.) The school was based on New Utrecht High School
which was used in the opening credits, and also the high school that Kaplan attended. The school's principal was perpetually absent, while the uptight vice principal Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White
) dismissed the Sweathogs as worthless hoodlums and only expected Kotter to attempt to control them until they inevitably dropped out.
However, Kotter had attended the same remedial classes when he himself was a student at Buchanan and was a founding member of the Sweathogs. Recognizing that he was his students' last chance to learn enough to survive beyond school, he soon befriended them while they learned to recognize and appreciate his commitment and faith in their potential. His devotion to the class was such that his students often visited his Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman
).
Most of the major characters of Welcome Back, Kotter were based on people from Kaplan's teen years as a remedial high school student in Brooklyn. As a stand-up comic, one of Kaplan's most popular routines was "Holes and Mellow Rolls", in which he talked in depth about his former classmates. The names of three of the four major characters in Holes and Mellow Rolls were changed for the television series: "Vinnie Barbarino" was inspired by Eddie Lecarri; "Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington" was inspired by Freddie "Furdy" Peyton; and "Juan Epstein" was partially inspired by Epstein "The Animal"; only "Arnold Horshack's" name remained unchanged.
)
A facetious but well-meaning teacher who returns to Buchanan High, his alma mater
, after ten years, to teach a group of remedial students known as the Sweathogs. Being a founding member of the original Sweathogs, Kotter has a special affinity for the potential of these supposedly "unteachable" students. His first day on the job he launches into a Groucho Marx
impersonation. Kotter is married to Julie, with whom he eventually has twin girls (Robin and Rachel). When Buchanan High principal John Lazarus retires, Kotter becomes the vice-principal, though maintaining some teaching duties. He teaches Social Studies, and frequently role-plays events to the class. It was mentioned by Julie in the episode "Follow the Leader (part 1)" that Gabe is Jewish.
Kotter's catchphrase(s)
)
Gabe's wife and closest friend. Though she has a sense of humor, she often wishes Gabe would take matters more seriously. She is occasionally upset with the amount of time her husband spends with his students, and she is troubled that he allows them to visit their apartment regularly; in the two-part story arc "Follow the Leader" the Sweathogs' constant intrusions led Julie to separate briefly from Gabe and even seriously consider divorce. Originally from Nebraska
with a college degree in anthropology, Julie eventually became a secretary, and later a substitute teacher at Buchanan after Gabe's promotion to vice-principal. She makes several references to her "world famous tuna casserole
", a common meal at the Kotter dinner table, which Gabe (and the Sweathogs) dislike.
" No, but you will."
(After Gabe says "Did I ever tell you about....")
(from the episode "Classroom Marriage"):
Julie (to Gabe): You-u...love my tuna casserole.
Gabe: No! You love your tuna casserole! Nobody puts prunes in a tuna casserole!
)
The curmudgeonly vice-principal (and later principal) of Buchanan High. He makes no secret of his dislike for the Sweathogs, whom he considers the bottom of the social register
at his school. He refers to non-Sweathogs as "real" students. When Kotter was a student at Buchanan, Woodman taught Social Studies, the same class Kotter returns to Buchanan to teach. His old age (and sometimes his diminutive height) are common jokes with the Sweathogs. Woodman was totally against Kotter's unorthodox teaching methods (though as the series progressed, he began to tolerate them marginally), and at one point even put Kotter in front of the school's review board in an unsuccessful attempt to get him fired. Nonetheless, in the season one episode No More Mr. Nice Guy, Woodman is shown to be a gifted teacher, willing to wear historic costumes and role-play in front of the class during his lessons
Woodman's Catchphrases
)
A cocky, but slow-witted Italian-American, "unofficial official" leader and resident heartthrob of the Sweathogs. Barbarino's prowess with women was a source of envy (and more often amusement) among his classmates. On occasion he would break out in song of his last name sung to the tune of The Regents
' classic, "Barbara Ann
". He was the first of the Sweathogs to move out on his own when he got a job as a hospital orderly. In the first episode of the series and fourth season, he has a girlfriend, Sally. Vinnie is Catholic (often quoting his mother as a saint), and as shown in "I'm Having Their Baby", is a Star Trek
fan. Little is known about Vinnie's life at home other than his parents argue a lot ("Follow the Leader (part 2)"), his mother's name is Margie ("The Great Debate"), and he shares a bed with his brother ("California Dreamin'"); the episode "Don't Come Up And See Me Sometime" implied that Vinnie is the older of the two.
Vinnie's catchphrases
)
The class clown of the Sweathogs, completely comfortable with his oddball, if innocent personality. Horshack was known for his unique observations and his wheezing laugh, similar to that of a hyena
. It is possible that academically he is the smartest Sweathog. He was the only one of the central Sweathogs to be promoted out of remedial academics class, but he soon returned after feeling out of place. He has an affection for acting and enjoys old movies, particularly 1930s musicals. He eventually married Mary Johnson, a co-worker and fellow Sweathog. Although his surname sounds like a term for a brothel
, he claimed it's a "very old and respected name" meaning "the cattle
are dying." His middle name (and his mother's maiden name) is "Dingfelder."
Arnold's catchphrases
)
The hip African-American known as the athletic Sweathog for his skills on the basketball court, Washington claimed his nickname came from his habit of "pretending to play
the bass"
and singing "Boom-boom-boom-boom!". Though often the voice of reason among his classmates, Washington nonetheless was a willing participant in the Sweathogs' various antics and pranks. Freddie also found success as a radio disc jockey along with another former Sweathog, Wally "The Wow" (played by George Carlin
). At one point, Washington challenged Barbarino for leadership of the Sweathogs, and even replaced him for a time until they all reached a consensus that the Sweathogs did not really need a leader.
Washington had an older sister who got divorced twice while living in Vermont ("The Longest Weekend"), and a brother, Leroy, and in "The Great Debate" he is revealed to have another brother named Douglas; their father's name is revealed to be Lincoln. Kotter would use his own past to bond with Freddie, as in addition to being a former Sweathog, he was a former star for Buchanan's basketball team as well.
Washington's catchphrases
)
A fiercely proud Puerto Rican Jew (his father was Puerto Rican; his mother's name was Bibbermann), and one of the toughest students at Buchanan High, despite his short stature. He normally walked with a tough-man strut, wore a red handkerchief hanging out of his right back pocket, and was voted "Most Likely to Take a Life" by his peers. In the season one episode, "One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing", Epstein was shown to be the sixth child in his family, although his mother had 10, while in the episode "I'm Having Their Baby" he mentions that his mother gave birth 8 times. The only names of his siblings mentioned in the show are two brothers, Pedro and Sanchez ("One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing") and a younger sister, Carmen ("A Love Story"). Epstein's toughness was downplayed later on, and became more of a wiseguy. He was also known to have a "buddy" relationship with Principal Lazarus as he often referred to him by his first name, Jack. On a few occasions, when Kotter would do his Groucho Marx impersonation, Epstein would jump in and impersonate Chico Marx
or Harpo Marx
. Epstein's diminutive height and large hair are common jokes associated with him.
Epstein's catchphrase
)
The femme fatale purported to have put the "sweat" in Sweathog, though her reputation was largely exaggerated by the Sweathogs' word of mouth. Her promiscuity was at least in part a reaction to the strict discipline enforced by her father, the Rev. Totsie. To restore her good name (and to prove a point), she fabricated a story about one of the Sweathogs getting her pregnant.
The sole female sweathog, she was a favorite amongst male viewers. The character was phased out of the series at the end of the first season (when Scott was picked to co-star in the syndicated Norman Lear comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
), but she reprised her role in a 1978 episode, "The Return of Hotsie Totsie", in which it was revealed that she dropped out of school because she became pregnant and had to become a stripper to support her infant child.
A recurring non-Sweathog character in the earlier seasons, Borden is a Straight A student and editor of the Buchanan Bugle, the school newspaper. She was Barbarino's tutor at one point. Despite her academic superiority, she can easily hold her own in a ranking
contest with any Sweathog.
(from the episode "Sweatgate Scandal")
Judy: I'm an honor student. In my whole life I've never even gotten a "B".
Horshack: Neither have I.
)
Introduced as a regular character in the fourth and final season, Beau is a handsome, blond, silver-tongued southerner who transfers from New Orleans after being kicked out of several other schools. He ends up in Kotter's class. The producers sought a heart throb that was not a direct knock-off of the "Italian-Stallion" trek that was permeating Hollywood in the mid 1970s. They wanted to retain female viewers, but avoid a Travolta clone. Beau's first reaction to the term "Sweathog" is, "That sounds gross." He seems to have a way with women, as shown in later episodes. One of his running jokes involved imparting whimsical sayings, such as one about how a real man never steps on a pregnant alligator.
Ratings slipped in the third season. In an interview some years later, Kaplan attributed the decline to the age of the actors playing the Sweathogs (Palillo was 29, Hegyes was 28, Hilton-Jacobs was 27 and Travolta was 24), saying they were no longer believable as high school students. His idea was that to have Kotter join the faculty of a community college
attended by the Sweathogs. However, this storyline never materialized. In order to increase viewership, the Kotters had twin girls, but this didn't prove to be enough to regain the show's earlier momentum. The show introduced a female Sweathog, Angie Grabowski, played by future Playboy model Melonie Haller
, but the character did not last.
Major changes took place in the fourth and final season.
es, doll
s, comic book
s, novel
s and even a board game
(advertised as "The 'Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose' Game" in a commercial with a class full of Sweathog look-alikes). The Sweathogs (or at least an impressionist's version of them) even made a crossover appearance with characters from the Happy Days
universe on one track (the disco
-themed "Fonzarelli Slide") of a 1976 TV-promoted oldies
compilation album
.
The TV characters' signature lines became enormously popular catchphrases such as Barbarino's "up your nose with a rubber hose" and Washington's deep-voiced "hi there" and Horshack's wheezing laugh. It wasn't long before the previously unknown actors became hot commodities, particularly Travolta, the show's breakout star.
Of arcane interest was a performance of "Welcome Back" on Saturday Night Live
(24 April 1976 - Season 1, Episode 18), when Sebastian flubbed the opening lyrics and stopped the song, to restart it.
published ten issues of a Welcome Back, Kotter comic book starting in 1976. Following its cancellation in 1978, a Limited Collectors' Edition was issued incorporating a new story and three reprints.
produced a series of 9 inch Welcome Back, Kotter action figures in 1977.
released a 6-episode Television Favorites collection on February 28, 2006. Due to the success of this release, Warner released the Complete first Season on DVD in Region 1 on June 12, 2007. It is unknown if the remaining 3 seasons will be released at some point.
for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1976 after its first season- it lost to The Mary Tyler Moore Show
.
Kotter was also nominated for three technical Emmy Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Videotape Editing for a Series in 1976, Outstanding Art Direction for a Comedy Series in 1978 and Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts (Dick Wilson) in 1979.
guest starred in the first episode ("The Great Debate") portraying a drama teacher who led the school debate team ("the Turkeys") in a competition against the Sweathogs. Pat Morita
appeared in the first episode of the second season. Comedian George Carlin
was featured, as was John Astin
. Other guest stars included Ellen Travolta
, Richard Moll
, Jean Stapleton, Della Reese
, and Dinah Manoff
, the last of whom would work with John Travolta
again in Grease
.
Groucho Marx
was set to have a brief walk-on role in one episode. He arrived on-set, but was deemed to be too sick to appear. Pictures of Marx with the cast were taken, but were never released because of his ill appearance. http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL239.htm http://www.roberthegyes.com/kotter4.html
starred Pat Morita
as Taro Takahashi (Mr. T for short), a brilliant Japanese inventor whom he portrayed in one episode of Kotter. The show was not received well by critics and lasted just five episodes on ABC. There was also talk of developing a spin-off built around the Horshack character and his family, Rich Man, Poor Man; Horshack!, but it never went beyond the backdoor pilot stage, shown as an episode of "Kotter". In the mid-1990s, Hegyes announced on The Jenny Jones Show
that plans were in the works to create a spin-off featuring the Sweathogs (minus Travolta's Barbarino) all grown up. The project, however, never got off the ground, and little information about it was ever made public.
. Their characters joked that Kaplan seemed familiar and being a smart guy, "should become a teacher."
USA Network
aired reruns of the show during the summer of 1991.
When Travolta hosted Saturday Night Live
in 1994, he appeared in a sketch that lampooned his old show. Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back, Kotter gave viewers a humorous look at how the Pulp Fiction
director might have brought a strong dose of violence to the tame show. Travolta reprised his old character, Barbarino, with Mike Myers
as Mr. Kotter, Adam Sandler
as Epstein, Tim Meadows as Washington and David Spade
as Horshack.
In 1997, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles on an episode of the NBC
sitcom Mr. Rhodes
. Kaplan did not appear; instead, John Kassir
assumed the role of Mr. Kotter. The episode originally aired on February 3, 1997 and was entitled The Welcome Back Show.
Kotter had a renewed surge in popularity in the mid-1990s when it aired as part of the Nick at Nite
lineup on Nickelodeon
. Kaplan later said that the show found plenty of new fans during that run, but that they were turned off by the quality of the episodes from the fourth season (as a result, the fourth season episodes were rarely seen on Nick at Nite). A full weekend marathon aired on TV Land
during their Fandemonium weekend stunts in 1999.
In the 1990s, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs, and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles in a MadTV
parody of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
. Palillo played the role of John Travolta, Hilton-Jacobs played the role of Samuel L. Jackson
, and Hegyes played the role of Phil LaMarr
who was sitting in the backseat of the car eating a hamburger. While discussing hamburgers, near the end of the skit, Horshack turns to Epstein waving his gun and accidentally discharges his weapon. Instead of blood and brain matter splattering all over the back window and in the car covering the occupants, it was condiment
sauce, while pickles and tomatoes were dangling down the hair of the occupants.
In the late 1990s, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs, and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles for a commercial for Ames Department Stores. The commercial showed the three (by this point clearly in middle age
) waiting for Mr. Kotter to show up, but then hear over the PA system that Mr. Kotter wasn't teaching today because he went to a sale at Ames. An instrumental version of "Welcome Back" was playing in the background.
Cast members opened up about their experiences on the show in 2000's Welcome Back, Kotter: The E! True Hollywood Story. The two-hour program included interviews with cast members, including Kaplan, Scott, Palillo, Hilton-Jacobs, Strassman, Iranga and Shortridge. Kaplan spoke of a difficult relationship with executive producer James Komack, whom he saw as not serving the show's best interests. Like many viewers, Kaplan said the quality of the show dropped off in the fourth and final season. Hilton-Jacobs agreed, saying that the new writers brought in that year were not suited to a show of this nature. Palillo said the impact of an attempted ratings-grabber in the final season, Horshack's wedding, was derailed when President Jimmy Carter
gave a televised speech that pre-empted the heavily advertised episode. Strassman recalled how disappointed she was at her limited time on camera, a situation that changed in the fourth season when her character became a substitute teacher at Buchanan High.
In 2003, as part of ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration telecast, Kotter was featured in tribute montage and the original cast appeared together on stage.
In 2006, Welcome Back, Kotter was seen in reruns for a brief period on "i" (now ION Television).
In 2011, all of the living cast members, except Ron Palillo, appeared at the 9th annual TV Land Awards
to accept the award for the show's 35th anniversary.
The Transformers: Timelines character of Rodimus
is based on Vinnie Barbarino, using variants of his catchphrases.
"Hey Mr. Kotter" by Kingsauce
parodies the show's main characters.
The sign from the opening credits that reads "Welcome to Brooklyn, 4th largest city in America, Hon. Sebastian Leone Borough President" currently hangs in the lobby of Brooklyn Borough Hall
.
has been selected to play the role of Gabe Kotter, a choice applauded by Gabe Kaplan.
The film was slated to take place in South Central Los Angeles as opposed to Brooklyn
. No release date had been scheduled by the middle of August 2010, and whether this film would be a comedy or an urban drama with some humor injected into either the script or the performances was unknown as of that time.
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
starring Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
and featuring a young John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
.
It originally aired on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.
Premise
The show starred comedianComedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
as the title character Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
alma mater—the fictional James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
High in Brooklyn, New York—to teach an often unruly group of remedial wiseguys known as the "Sweathogs". (The nickname reflected the fact that the remedial classes were held on the very top floor of the high school.) The school was based on New Utrecht High School
New Utrecht High School
New Utrecht High School is a coeducational public high school in Brooklyn, New York City, serving 3,114 pupils. It is part of New York City Region 7....
which was used in the opening credits, and also the high school that Kaplan attended. The school's principal was perpetually absent, while the uptight vice principal Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White
John Sylvester White
John Sylvester White was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-born American actor.He was best known for his starring role as "Keith Barron" on the television soap opera Search for Tomorrow from 1951 to 1952, and many years later, to a different generation as the crabby, diminutive high school...
) dismissed the Sweathogs as worthless hoodlums and only expected Kotter to attempt to control them until they inevitably dropped out.
However, Kotter had attended the same remedial classes when he himself was a student at Buchanan and was a founding member of the Sweathogs. Recognizing that he was his students' last chance to learn enough to survive beyond school, he soon befriended them while they learned to recognize and appreciate his commitment and faith in their potential. His devotion to the class was such that his students often visited his Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman
Marcia Strassman
Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...
).
Most of the major characters of Welcome Back, Kotter were based on people from Kaplan's teen years as a remedial high school student in Brooklyn. As a stand-up comic, one of Kaplan's most popular routines was "Holes and Mellow Rolls", in which he talked in depth about his former classmates. The names of three of the four major characters in Holes and Mellow Rolls were changed for the television series: "Vinnie Barbarino" was inspired by Eddie Lecarri; "Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington" was inspired by Freddie "Furdy" Peyton; and "Juan Epstein" was partially inspired by Epstein "The Animal"; only "Arnold Horshack's" name remained unchanged.
Gabe Kotter
(played by Gabe KaplanGabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
)
A facetious but well-meaning teacher who returns to Buchanan High, his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, after ten years, to teach a group of remedial students known as the Sweathogs. Being a founding member of the original Sweathogs, Kotter has a special affinity for the potential of these supposedly "unteachable" students. His first day on the job he launches into a Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
impersonation. Kotter is married to Julie, with whom he eventually has twin girls (Robin and Rachel). When Buchanan High principal John Lazarus retires, Kotter becomes the vice-principal, though maintaining some teaching duties. He teaches Social Studies, and frequently role-plays events to the class. It was mentioned by Julie in the episode "Follow the Leader (part 1)" that Gabe is Jewish.
Kotter's catchphrase(s)
- "Did I ever tell you about... (Varying relatives, usually an uncle)?"
(early on, Kotter usually said this only to Julie, but it was later incorporated into conversations with other characters at the beginning and the end of a given episode. As episodes went on, the 'opening joke' dropped.)
Julie Kotter
(Marcia StrassmanMarcia Strassman
Marcia A. Strassman is an American actress best known for her roles as Julie Kotter in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter and Diane Szalinski in the 1989 feature film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, its first sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the 3-D film spin-off Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which...
)
Gabe's wife and closest friend. Though she has a sense of humor, she often wishes Gabe would take matters more seriously. She is occasionally upset with the amount of time her husband spends with his students, and she is troubled that he allows them to visit their apartment regularly; in the two-part story arc "Follow the Leader" the Sweathogs' constant intrusions led Julie to separate briefly from Gabe and even seriously consider divorce. Originally from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
with a college degree in anthropology, Julie eventually became a secretary, and later a substitute teacher at Buchanan after Gabe's promotion to vice-principal. She makes several references to her "world famous tuna casserole
Tuna casserole
Tuna casserole is a casserole mainly composed of egg noodles and canned tuna fish, with canned peas and corn sometimes added. The casserole is often topped with potato chips, corn flakes or canned fried onions. It is a common dish in some parts of the United States of America...
", a common meal at the Kotter dinner table, which Gabe (and the Sweathogs) dislike.
" No, but you will."
(After Gabe says "Did I ever tell you about....")
(from the episode "Classroom Marriage"):
Julie (to Gabe): You-u...love my tuna casserole.
Gabe: No! You love your tuna casserole! Nobody puts prunes in a tuna casserole!
Mr. (Michael) Woodman
(John Sylvester WhiteJohn Sylvester White
John Sylvester White was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-born American actor.He was best known for his starring role as "Keith Barron" on the television soap opera Search for Tomorrow from 1951 to 1952, and many years later, to a different generation as the crabby, diminutive high school...
)
The curmudgeonly vice-principal (and later principal) of Buchanan High. He makes no secret of his dislike for the Sweathogs, whom he considers the bottom of the social register
Social Register
Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite, . The "Directory" automatically includes the President of the United States and the First Family, and in the past always included the U.S. Senators and...
at his school. He refers to non-Sweathogs as "real" students. When Kotter was a student at Buchanan, Woodman taught Social Studies, the same class Kotter returns to Buchanan to teach. His old age (and sometimes his diminutive height) are common jokes with the Sweathogs. Woodman was totally against Kotter's unorthodox teaching methods (though as the series progressed, he began to tolerate them marginally), and at one point even put Kotter in front of the school's review board in an unsuccessful attempt to get him fired. Nonetheless, in the season one episode No More Mr. Nice Guy, Woodman is shown to be a gifted teacher, willing to wear historic costumes and role-play in front of the class during his lessons
Woodman's Catchphrases
- "You're Nuts!"
- "Nutsy Cuckoo!"
(Often used to describe Kotter's class, Kotter's teaching methods, and sometimes Kotter himself.) - "They're not people!"
(Another way he used to describe the Sweathogs.)
Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino
(John TravoltaJohn Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
)
A cocky, but slow-witted Italian-American, "unofficial official" leader and resident heartthrob of the Sweathogs. Barbarino's prowess with women was a source of envy (and more often amusement) among his classmates. On occasion he would break out in song of his last name sung to the tune of The Regents
The Regents
The Regents were an American doo-wop vocal group from New York, operating in the late 1950s and early 1960s.They are best known for writing and recording the hit "Barbara Ann" in 1961, which reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
' classic, "Barbara Ann
Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert and performed by The Regents in 1961. The recording reached a peak position of #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart....
". He was the first of the Sweathogs to move out on his own when he got a job as a hospital orderly. In the first episode of the series and fourth season, he has a girlfriend, Sally. Vinnie is Catholic (often quoting his mother as a saint), and as shown in "I'm Having Their Baby", is a Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
fan. Little is known about Vinnie's life at home other than his parents argue a lot ("Follow the Leader (part 2)"), his mother's name is Margie ("The Great Debate"), and he shares a bed with his brother ("California Dreamin'"); the episode "Don't Come Up And See Me Sometime" implied that Vinnie is the older of the two.
Vinnie's catchphrases
- "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"
(Barbarino was the first in the series to rankThe dozensThe Dozens is a game that has its origins in African American slavery. The game originates from the devaluing and bargaining off of deformed or defective slaves in auction houses. This element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a...
somebody. In later episodes, other body parts and objects whose names rhymed were incorporated into the rank. For example, "Up your gizzard with a rubber lizard!" was used by Washington in a later episode.) The so-called art of rankingThe dozensThe Dozens is a game that has its origins in African American slavery. The game originates from the devaluing and bargaining off of deformed or defective slaves in auction houses. This element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a...
was immortalized in song in 1976 performed by Gabe Kaplan. The song, "Up Your Nose", did not get very far as it highly dated itself by making numerous contemporary references-- CB Radios, The Gong ShowThe Gong ShowThe Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
, singing cat commercials, et al.).
- "Wah-ha-ha-ha-howwww..."(Whenever he becomes love-stricken)
- "What?" "Where?" "Why?"
(Usually to feign ignorance when accused of something or asked to do something he's not ready to do) - "I'm so con-fused!" (Usually over-dramatized)
- "I'm Vinnie Barbarino!" (Also over-dramatized, usually when a girl snubs or spurns him)
Arnold Horshack
(Ron PalilloRon Palillo
Ronald Gabriel "Ron" Palillo is an American television and film actor, perhaps best known for his role as high school student Arnold Dingfelder Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, which aired from 1975 to 1979....
)
The class clown of the Sweathogs, completely comfortable with his oddball, if innocent personality. Horshack was known for his unique observations and his wheezing laugh, similar to that of a hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
. It is possible that academically he is the smartest Sweathog. He was the only one of the central Sweathogs to be promoted out of remedial academics class, but he soon returned after feeling out of place. He has an affection for acting and enjoys old movies, particularly 1930s musicals. He eventually married Mary Johnson, a co-worker and fellow Sweathog. Although his surname sounds like a term for a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
, he claimed it's a "very old and respected name" meaning "the cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
are dying." His middle name (and his mother's maiden name) is "Dingfelder."
Arnold's catchphrases
- "Ooh-ooh-ooooh!"
(Used with raised hand when Arnold gets excited because he believes he knows an answer to Mr. Kotter's question. The shout was an imitation of Joe E. RossJoe E. RossJoe E. Ross was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooh! Ooh!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as The Phil Silvers Show and Car 54, Where Are You?.-Career:...
's phrase from Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You?Car 54, Where Are You? is an American sitcom that ran on NBC from 1961 to 1963. Episodes had various directors, the most recognized being Al De Caprio. Stanley Prager and Nat Hiken also directed several episodes. Most of its filming was on location in The Bronx, and at Biograph...
.) - "Hullo. (pause) How-wah-ya? (pause) I'm AHH-nol'd HOR-shaaaaack"
(How Arnold introduces himself) - "That was ver-ry impressive, Mister Kotter-r-r!"(How Arnold praises Mr. Kotter's teaching, sometimes jokes.)
- "G'head, G'head! (Go ahead, go ahead)"
Freddie "Boom Boom" Percy Washington
(Lawrence Hilton-JacobsLawrence Hilton-Jacobs
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in a number of films and television programs, including Claudine , Cooley High , Roots , Welcome Back, Kotter , Bangers and Mash , and The Jacksons: An American Dream .Lawrence's name, at least as shown in the credits of Welcome...
)
The hip African-American known as the athletic Sweathog for his skills on the basketball court, Washington claimed his nickname came from his habit of "pretending to play
Air guitar
Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching...
the bass"
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and singing "Boom-boom-boom-boom!". Though often the voice of reason among his classmates, Washington nonetheless was a willing participant in the Sweathogs' various antics and pranks. Freddie also found success as a radio disc jockey along with another former Sweathog, Wally "The Wow" (played by George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
). At one point, Washington challenged Barbarino for leadership of the Sweathogs, and even replaced him for a time until they all reached a consensus that the Sweathogs did not really need a leader.
Washington had an older sister who got divorced twice while living in Vermont ("The Longest Weekend"), and a brother, Leroy, and in "The Great Debate" he is revealed to have another brother named Douglas; their father's name is revealed to be Lincoln. Kotter would use his own past to bond with Freddie, as in addition to being a former Sweathog, he was a former star for Buchanan's basketball team as well.
Washington's catchphrases
- "Hi there."
(His normal greeting, usually in a basso profondo voice) - "My assignment? Yes, Mr. Kotter. I have my assignment. Unfortunately, I don't have it here...han-n-dy-y..."
(Whenever he forgot his homework or failed to accomplish any given task) - Hey, Mister Kot-taire (how he addresses Mr. Kotter)
Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein
(Robert HegyesRobert Hegyes
Robert Hegyes is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Epstein in the 1970s television series Welcome Back, Kotter.-Early life:...
)
A fiercely proud Puerto Rican Jew (his father was Puerto Rican; his mother's name was Bibbermann), and one of the toughest students at Buchanan High, despite his short stature. He normally walked with a tough-man strut, wore a red handkerchief hanging out of his right back pocket, and was voted "Most Likely to Take a Life" by his peers. In the season one episode, "One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing", Epstein was shown to be the sixth child in his family, although his mother had 10, while in the episode "I'm Having Their Baby" he mentions that his mother gave birth 8 times. The only names of his siblings mentioned in the show are two brothers, Pedro and Sanchez ("One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing") and a younger sister, Carmen ("A Love Story"). Epstein's toughness was downplayed later on, and became more of a wiseguy. He was also known to have a "buddy" relationship with Principal Lazarus as he often referred to him by his first name, Jack. On a few occasions, when Kotter would do his Groucho Marx impersonation, Epstein would jump in and impersonate Chico Marx
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
or Harpo Marx
Harpo Marx
Adolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
. Epstein's diminutive height and large hair are common jokes associated with him.
Epstein's catchphrase
- "Hey, Mr. Kotter, I got a note!"
(The phony notes, excusing Epstein from classes and other sundry functions, were always written by Epstein himself, though he claimed they were signed by, as written, "Epstein's Mother." Epstein would lip-synch the wording of the note while Kotter would read it aloud, usually proving the note was written by Epstein himself.)
Rosalie "Hotsie" Totsie
(Debralee ScottDebralee Scott
Debralee Scott was an American actress best known for her role on the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter as the sweathog Rosalie "Hotsie" Totsie...
)
The femme fatale purported to have put the "sweat" in Sweathog, though her reputation was largely exaggerated by the Sweathogs' word of mouth. Her promiscuity was at least in part a reaction to the strict discipline enforced by her father, the Rev. Totsie. To restore her good name (and to prove a point), she fabricated a story about one of the Sweathogs getting her pregnant.
The sole female sweathog, she was a favorite amongst male viewers. The character was phased out of the series at the end of the first season (when Scott was picked to co-star in the syndicated Norman Lear comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
), but she reprised her role in a 1978 episode, "The Return of Hotsie Totsie", in which it was revealed that she dropped out of school because she became pregnant and had to become a stripper to support her infant child.
Judy Borden
(Helaine Lembeck)A recurring non-Sweathog character in the earlier seasons, Borden is a Straight A student and editor of the Buchanan Bugle, the school newspaper. She was Barbarino's tutor at one point. Despite her academic superiority, she can easily hold her own in a ranking
The dozens
The Dozens is a game that has its origins in African American slavery. The game originates from the devaluing and bargaining off of deformed or defective slaves in auction houses. This element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a...
contest with any Sweathog.
(from the episode "Sweatgate Scandal")
Judy: I'm an honor student. In my whole life I've never even gotten a "B".
Horshack: Neither have I.
Beauregarde "Beau" De LaBarre
(Stephen ShortridgeStephen Shortridge
Stephen Shortridge is an American actor.Shortridge has appeared in more than 20 film and television projects throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most recognizably from his role as a southern high school student named Beau De Labarre on the television comedy Welcome Back, Kotter...
)
Introduced as a regular character in the fourth and final season, Beau is a handsome, blond, silver-tongued southerner who transfers from New Orleans after being kicked out of several other schools. He ends up in Kotter's class. The producers sought a heart throb that was not a direct knock-off of the "Italian-Stallion" trek that was permeating Hollywood in the mid 1970s. They wanted to retain female viewers, but avoid a Travolta clone. Beau's first reaction to the term "Sweathog" is, "That sounds gross." He seems to have a way with women, as shown in later episodes. One of his running jokes involved imparting whimsical sayings, such as one about how a real man never steps on a pregnant alligator.
Other recurring characters
- Vernee WatsonVernee Watson-JohnsonVernee Watson-Johnson is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter and as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing the mother of Will Smith's character.She played a small role on Sister, Sister as Lisa's best...
as Verna Jean - Susan LanierSusan LanierSusan Lanier-Bramlett is an American film, television actress and entertainer.Born as Susan Jean Engledow in Dallas, Texas to Gene and Dorothy Lanier Engledow, she moved to New York City to pursue an acting career in 1967 where she attended New York University...
as Bambi: Bambi was a female addition to the Sweathogs introduced mostly as eye candy. - Charles FleischerCharles FleischerCharles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
as Carvelli: Carvelli was introduced as a student foil to the Sweathogs in Season 4. - Bob Harcum as Murray: Murray was Carvelli's loyal, and extremely dim, sidekick.
- Dennis Bowen as Todd Ludlow: Todd was a nerdy academic high achiever.
- Geoffrey Stump as Kyle "the Heartbreaker" Lucas
- Irene Arranga as Mary Johnson: She later became Arnold Horshack's wife.
Show history
Welcome Back, Kotters first season was controversial.- In BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, the local ABC affiliate (WCVB-TVWCVB-TVWCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
) initially refused to air the show. The city was going through a tumultuous school busing program to enforce racial 'equality' and the local affiliate felt Kotter's fictional integrated classroom would only add fuel to the fire. However, the show became an early ratings success and the affiliate relented, picking it up from its fifth episode. (UHF station WSBK-TVWSBK-TVWSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
Channel 38 picked up the first few episodes.) - Teachers in other cities had concerns about how Kotter would be portrayed, so producers allowed a union representative on the set to ensure the show protected the image of those in the profession. Kaplan opposed the idea, at one point asking a reporter if there was a junkman on the set of Sanford and SonSanford and SonSanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
to protect the reputation of junkmen. - There were also concerns that the show would glorify juvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
. These sentiments faded after the Sweathogs' antics proved to be silly rather than criminal. Like Kaplan, Hegyes was a fan of the Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
. Hegyes claims that he suggested that the Sweathogs be modeled after the Marx Brothers in order to reduce tension.http://www.roberthegyes.com/kotter9.html
Ratings slipped in the third season. In an interview some years later, Kaplan attributed the decline to the age of the actors playing the Sweathogs (Palillo was 29, Hegyes was 28, Hilton-Jacobs was 27 and Travolta was 24), saying they were no longer believable as high school students. His idea was that to have Kotter join the faculty of a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
attended by the Sweathogs. However, this storyline never materialized. In order to increase viewership, the Kotters had twin girls, but this didn't prove to be enough to regain the show's earlier momentum. The show introduced a female Sweathog, Angie Grabowski, played by future Playboy model Melonie Haller
Melonie Haller
Melonie Haller is an American actress known for her role as Angie Globagoski on the television comedy series Welcome Back, Kotter during its third season . Before Kotter, Haller had small uncredited roles in The Love Machine and The French Connection, both 1971...
, but the character did not last.
Major changes took place in the fourth and final season.
- Shortly before the season began, the series was moved from its successful Thursday 8:00 time slot to Monday 8:00 to make way for the impending hit series Mork & Mindy.
- Travolta, who had already starred in box office hits such as GreaseGrease (film)Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
, Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
and Carrie, began to focus more time on his film career. He was featured in eight episodes and was billed a "special guest star." It was Travolta's phasing out from the storyline that was the primary contributor to the cancellation of the show itself. - Mr. Woodman was promoted to Principal of the school (Principal Lazarus retired), and Kotter was promoted to Vice-Principal, and the show's focus moved away from Kotter's class.
- Behind-the-scenes disputes led to limited appearances by Kaplan. To help fill the voids, Stephen ShortridgeStephen ShortridgeStephen Shortridge is an American actor.Shortridge has appeared in more than 20 film and television projects throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most recognizably from his role as a southern high school student named Beau De Labarre on the television comedy Welcome Back, Kotter...
joined the cast as smooth-talking SouthernerSouthern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
Beau De LaBarre, and Kotter's wife, Julie, became a secretary at the school.
Popularity
The show enjoyed ratings success during its first two seasons, spawning a host of merchandising tie-ins including lunch boxLunch box
The lunch box, also referred to as a lunch pail or lunch kit, is used to store food to be taken to work or school. The concept of a food container has existed for a long time, but it wasn't until people began using tobacco tins to haul meals in the early 20th century, followed by the use of...
es, doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s, novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and even a board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
(advertised as "The 'Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose' Game" in a commercial with a class full of Sweathog look-alikes). The Sweathogs (or at least an impressionist's version of them) even made a crossover appearance with characters from the Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
universe on one track (the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-themed "Fonzarelli Slide") of a 1976 TV-promoted oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
.
The TV characters' signature lines became enormously popular catchphrases such as Barbarino's "up your nose with a rubber hose" and Washington's deep-voiced "hi there" and Horshack's wheezing laugh. It wasn't long before the previously unknown actors became hot commodities, particularly Travolta, the show's breakout star.
Theme song
The popular theme song, "Welcome Back", written and recorded by former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John B. Sebastian, became a No. 1 hit in the spring of 1976. The show was originally going to be called Kotter, but that was changed because of the theme song lyrics. Sebastian has said he tried to find a more general theme for the song after being unable to find any reasonable rhymes for Kotter.Of arcane interest was a performance of "Welcome Back" on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(24 April 1976 - Season 1, Episode 18), when Sebastian flubbed the opening lyrics and stopped the song, to restart it.
Comic books
DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
published ten issues of a Welcome Back, Kotter comic book starting in 1976. Following its cancellation in 1978, a Limited Collectors' Edition was issued incorporating a new story and three reprints.
Action figures
MattelMattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
produced a series of 9 inch Welcome Back, Kotter action figures in 1977.
DVD releases
Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
released a 6-episode Television Favorites collection on February 28, 2006. Due to the success of this release, Warner released the Complete first Season on DVD in Region 1 on June 12, 2007. It is unknown if the remaining 3 seasons will be released at some point.
Nominations
Kotter failed to receive any major awards, though it was nominated for an Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1976 after its first season- it lost to The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
.
Kotter was also nominated for three technical Emmy Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Videotape Editing for a Series in 1976, Outstanding Art Direction for a Comedy Series in 1978 and Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts (Dick Wilson) in 1979.
Guest stars
Several noteworthy performers enjoyed guest stints on Kotter either during or prior to their widespread fame. James WoodsJames Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
guest starred in the first episode ("The Great Debate") portraying a drama teacher who led the school debate team ("the Turkeys") in a competition against the Sweathogs. Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
appeared in the first episode of the second season. Comedian George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
was featured, as was John Astin
John Astin
John Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...
. Other guest stars included Ellen Travolta
Ellen Travolta
Ellen Travolta is an American actress, the eldest sibling of John Travolta. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Louisa Arcola Delvecchio, the mother of Chachi Arcola in the 1950s-based sitcom Happy Days, and its unsuccessful spinoff, Joanie Loves Chachi...
, Richard Moll
Richard Moll
Charles Richard Moll is an American actor and voice artist,best known for playing Bull Shannon, the bailiff on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1983 to 1992...
, Jean Stapleton, Della Reese
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
, and Dinah Manoff
Dinah Manoff
Dinah Beth Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress and television director best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony award,...
, the last of whom would work with John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
again in Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
.
Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
was set to have a brief walk-on role in one episode. He arrived on-set, but was deemed to be too sick to appear. Pictures of Marx with the cast were taken, but were never released because of his ill appearance. http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL239.htm http://www.roberthegyes.com/kotter4.html
Spin-offs
At least three spin-offs of Kotter were seriously considered, but only one ever became a series. The short-lived Mr. T and TinaMr. T and Tina
Mr. T and Tina is an American sitcom that aired for five episodes on ABC in the fall of 1976. Starring Pat Morita, the series was a spin-off of the then-hit series Welcome Back, Kotter...
starred Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
as Taro Takahashi (Mr. T for short), a brilliant Japanese inventor whom he portrayed in one episode of Kotter. The show was not received well by critics and lasted just five episodes on ABC. There was also talk of developing a spin-off built around the Horshack character and his family, Rich Man, Poor Man; Horshack!, but it never went beyond the backdoor pilot stage, shown as an episode of "Kotter". In the mid-1990s, Hegyes announced on The Jenny Jones Show
The Jenny Jones Show
The Jenny Jones Show is an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Telepictures and was distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
that plans were in the works to create a spin-off featuring the Sweathogs (minus Travolta's Barbarino) all grown up. The project, however, never got off the ground, and little information about it was ever made public.
ABC broadcast history
| September 1975 - January 1976 | Tuesday 8:30-9:00 p.m. |
| January 1976 - August 1978 | Thursday 8:00-8:30 p.m. |
| September 1978 - October 1978 | Monday 8:00-8:30 p.m. |
| October 1978 - March 1979 | Saturday 8:00-8:30 p.m. |
| May 1979 - August 1979 | Friday 8:00-8:30 p.m. |
Nielsen ratings
| 1975–1976 | #18 |
| 1976–1977 | #13 |
| 1977–1978 | #27 |
| 1978–1979 | Not in Top 30 |
International airing
- In GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 23 episodes of "Welcome Back, Kotter" were shown dubbed, but under its original name - first from September 1979 till May 1980 by the ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
, then again from April to July 1985 by Sat.1Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
. - In the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 26 episodes were shown from December 1981 until July 1983 on ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. - In AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the show was broadcast on The Seven Network from June 1976 and rated very well for the first two seasons - In New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the show was screened on Television New ZealandTelevision New ZealandTelevision New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
's TV ONE. As in Australia, the first two seasons rated highly. - In ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the show was aired by the Italian TV second channel RAI 2 in the spring of 1980. Since at the time there were only 2 national TV networks, the rating was high. The show was dubbed, and the title was translated in Italian into I ragazzi del sabato sera (Saturday Night Guys), clearly aiming to build on the success of Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
. As a matter of fact, most viewers believed that the show had been shot after the movie. - In GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, the show was screened on ANT1ANT1Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
really late, in the summer of 1992, on a morning slot (07.30). It passed unnoticed.
After the show
Kaplan welcomed back Hegyes and Hilton-Jacobs on his short-lived 1981 sitcom, Lewis & ClarkLewis & Clark (TV series)
Lewis & Clark was a short-lived situation comedy that ran on NBC for one season from October 29, 1981 to July 30, 1982.-Plot:For a naive New Yorker, Stewart Lewis has a strange—some would say twisted—ambition: he wants to own a country-music club. His wife and kids hate the idea...
. Their characters joked that Kaplan seemed familiar and being a smart guy, "should become a teacher."
USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
aired reruns of the show during the summer of 1991.
When Travolta hosted Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1994, he appeared in a sketch that lampooned his old show. Quentin Tarantino's Welcome Back, Kotter gave viewers a humorous look at how the Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
director might have brought a strong dose of violence to the tame show. Travolta reprised his old character, Barbarino, with Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
as Mr. Kotter, Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
as Epstein, Tim Meadows as Washington and David Spade
David Spade
David Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
as Horshack.
In 1997, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles on an episode of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Mr. Rhodes
Mr. Rhodes
Mr. Rhodes is an American television situation comedy which was aired by NBC as part of its 1996-97 lineup.Mr. Rhodes starred comedian Tom Rhodes as an eponymous character who taught at a small-town preparatory school after having failed as a novelist...
. Kaplan did not appear; instead, John Kassir
John Kassir
John Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
assumed the role of Mr. Kotter. The episode originally aired on February 3, 1997 and was entitled The Welcome Back Show.
Kotter had a renewed surge in popularity in the mid-1990s when it aired as part of the Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
lineup on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. Kaplan later said that the show found plenty of new fans during that run, but that they were turned off by the quality of the episodes from the fourth season (as a result, the fourth season episodes were rarely seen on Nick at Nite). A full weekend marathon aired on TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
during their Fandemonium weekend stunts in 1999.
In the 1990s, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs, and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles in a MadTV
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
parody of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
Pulp fiction
Pulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...
. Palillo played the role of John Travolta, Hilton-Jacobs played the role of Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
, and Hegyes played the role of Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
who was sitting in the backseat of the car eating a hamburger. While discussing hamburgers, near the end of the skit, Horshack turns to Epstein waving his gun and accidentally discharges his weapon. Instead of blood and brain matter splattering all over the back window and in the car covering the occupants, it was condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
sauce, while pickles and tomatoes were dangling down the hair of the occupants.
In the late 1990s, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs, and Palillo reprised their Sweathog roles for a commercial for Ames Department Stores. The commercial showed the three (by this point clearly in middle age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
) waiting for Mr. Kotter to show up, but then hear over the PA system that Mr. Kotter wasn't teaching today because he went to a sale at Ames. An instrumental version of "Welcome Back" was playing in the background.
Cast members opened up about their experiences on the show in 2000's Welcome Back, Kotter: The E! True Hollywood Story. The two-hour program included interviews with cast members, including Kaplan, Scott, Palillo, Hilton-Jacobs, Strassman, Iranga and Shortridge. Kaplan spoke of a difficult relationship with executive producer James Komack, whom he saw as not serving the show's best interests. Like many viewers, Kaplan said the quality of the show dropped off in the fourth and final season. Hilton-Jacobs agreed, saying that the new writers brought in that year were not suited to a show of this nature. Palillo said the impact of an attempted ratings-grabber in the final season, Horshack's wedding, was derailed when President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
gave a televised speech that pre-empted the heavily advertised episode. Strassman recalled how disappointed she was at her limited time on camera, a situation that changed in the fourth season when her character became a substitute teacher at Buchanan High.
In 2003, as part of ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration telecast, Kotter was featured in tribute montage and the original cast appeared together on stage.
In 2006, Welcome Back, Kotter was seen in reruns for a brief period on "i" (now ION Television).
In 2011, all of the living cast members, except Ron Palillo, appeared at the 9th annual TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards
The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...
to accept the award for the show's 35th anniversary.
The Transformers: Timelines character of Rodimus
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...
is based on Vinnie Barbarino, using variants of his catchphrases.
"Hey Mr. Kotter" by Kingsauce
Kingsauce
Kingsauce is a "novelty-pop" project headed by Richie Chodes. They are considered to be an extension of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Combining elements of mid-1960s pop, 1970s AM radio, and a touch of vaudeville, Kingsauce creates tunes with silly, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Their last full...
parodies the show's main characters.
The sign from the opening credits that reads "Welcome to Brooklyn, 4th largest city in America, Hon. Sebastian Leone Borough President" currently hangs in the lobby of Brooklyn Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall
Brooklyn Borough Hall was designed in 1835 by architect Gamaliel King, and constructed under the supervision of superintendent Stephen Haynes. It was completed in 1849 to be used as the City Hall of the City of Brooklyn...
.
Motion picture possibilities
A motion picture based on this television series was being planned as of August 2010. Ice CubeIce Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
has been selected to play the role of Gabe Kotter, a choice applauded by Gabe Kaplan.
The film was slated to take place in South Central Los Angeles as opposed to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. No release date had been scheduled by the middle of August 2010, and whether this film would be a comedy or an urban drama with some humor injected into either the script or the performances was unknown as of that time.