Welcome Back, Kotter
Stand-up comedian Gabe Kaplan played the teacher of a remedial high school class that called themselves “the Sweathogs.” One of the four featured students was played by John Travolta, who became a major breakout star in blockbuster movies.
Their show, “Welcome Back, Kotter,” debuted Sept. 9, 1975 — a half-century ago tonight. Together, Kaplan and his Sweathogs spent two years as one of America’s top-rated TV shows.
Unfortunately, the show stayed on the air for four seasons.
Based on Gabe Kaplan's Actual High School Days
The ABC sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter” was based on real-life memories for Gabe Kaplan. He had attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn and was forced into remedial classes, where only one teacher, he said, showed any faith Kaplan might have a successful career.
Kaplan wanted to play professional baseball. When his prospects dried up, he turned to stand-up comedy and mined his high school years for humor.
One day, when Kaplan was performing in Los Angles, another Brooklyn native — Alan Sacks, who was producer of the NBC sitcom “Chico and the Man” — caught his act.
Together, they worked up a sitcom pitch for NBC. Kaplan based the four main students on real people who had been his friends back in the day.
NBC gave Kaplan’s show a green light and planned to name it simply “Kotter.” But when the network hired former Lovin’ Spoonful singer John Sebastian to write a theme song, Sebastian found himself stumped. What rhymes with Kotter? Otter? Slaughter?
So Sebastian focused on the theme of a man returning to teach at his former high school. Everyone was so delighted with his song, “Welcome Back,” that they agreed to add that to the name of the show.“Welcome Back Kotter” would debut on Sept. 9, 1975, and would air 95 episodes over four seasons.
'Very Impressive, Mr. Kotter ...'
In the beginning, Kaplan was proud of the show for portraying four teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds who had become best friends. The show became known for the student’s put-downs: “Up your nose with a rubber hose” and “Off my case, toilet face.” Many of those were used by Kaplan’s high-school friends. They called it “ranking.”
John Travolta was the youngest of the four “Sweathog” actors, only 21 years old when the show began. A song he recorded, “Let Her In,” peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100 in 1976. In 1977, he starred in — and was nominated for an Academy Award for — “Saturday Night Fever.” A year later, he was in “Grease.” By this time, he was one of Hollywood’s biggest draws.
Robert Hegyes auditioned for the role of Vinnie Barbarino and thought he got it. It wasn’t until he showed up for the first day of production that he was introduced to Travolta. “No, no, no,” Hegyes said. “I’m Barbarino.” No, the producer said. “Do I get the same pay he does?” Hegyes asked. The answer was yes. “OK,” he replied. “It’s fine with me.”
Ron Palillo’s father had died of lung cancer when he was 10. When he developed a severe stutter, his mother sent him to acting classes to help him work his way out of it. Palillo created Horshack’s wheezy voice from memories of his father. He also pulled inspiration from Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Ratzo Rizzo in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy.”
Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Kate Jackson both auditioned for the role of Kotter’s wife. Marcia Strassman, who got the part, was horrified when she heard producers say they feared audiences would never believe Fawcett-Majors was Gabe Kaplan’s wife. A year later, Fawcett-Majors and Jackson were cast in “Charlie’s Angels.”
By the end of Season 3, ratings were falling fast, NBC kept moving the show around its schedule and the “Sweathog” actors were growing older: Palillo was rapidly approaching 30. Kaplan wanted the show to evolve and pushed to have the four graduate high school and move on to junior college, only to find Kotter teaching there as well. His idea was rejected.
Instead, producer James Komack fired the show’s writing staff and brought in the team who had written for “The Carol Burnett Show.” Disgusted by the show’s lack of direction, Kaplan departed his own series after just two episodes, although he was still credited as the star. Travolta departed after eight of that season’s 23 episodes.
Strassman became bored in the role as Kotter’s wife: All she did was react to his monologue in the show’s weekly cold open. She told a journalist: “I pray every day for a cancellation.” After Kaplan left the show, writers brought Strassman’s character in as another teacher at the school. Strassman later played Rick Moranis’ wife in the 1989 film “Honey, I Shrank the Kids.”
TV Songs In The Hot 100
While some TV series choose songs that have been hits as their opening theme music, others choose songs that then become hits. Here are a few examples of the latter.
