“Back” to School: The 45th Anniversary of “Welcome Back, Kotter”

By Michael Lyons

Going back to school used to be easier...A LOT easier!

And a reflection of that easier, simpler time, (where the biggest decision for students was what metal lunch box to choose and what color Trapper Keeper to buy) celebrates a milestone this fall.

“Welcome Back, Kotter” debuted on ABC on September 9, 1975 and, as hard as it is to believe for the generation who grew up with the show, it is celebrating its 45th anniversary.

The show was inspired by the stand-up routine of comedian Gabriel Kaplan, in which he poked fun at his high school days.  Kaplan would also take the lead in the show, as Gabe Kotter, the unconventional high school teacher, who returns to his alma mater of James Buchanan High School in  Brooklyn, NY.

Kotter had once been one of the tough, “remedial” students in the school, who were dubbed “Sweat Hogs” and he now returns to teach a new generation of “Hogs.”

While the inspiration and star of the show belonged to Kaplan, it was the young actors playing the “Sweat Hogs” who soon moved to the head of the class, so to speak, in audience popularity.

There was Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as smoother-than-smooth Freddy “Boom Boom” Washington, whose “Hi There” greeting and bright smile became a character moment that immediately elicited laughs.  There was Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein, one of the toughest kids at Buchanan High, with a talent as a writer for notes to the teacher, all signed by “Epstein’s Mother.”

As the lovable “mensch,” Ron Palillo starred as the naive Arnold Horshack, whose eagerness to answer every question with his hand thrust in the air, while yelling “Oooh!  Oooh!  Oooh!,” became not just a hallmark of the show, but seeped into classroom culture for kids of the day.

Then, as lunkhead ladies man, there was Vinnie Barbarino, played by John Travolta, in the role that made him a star in the ‘70’s universe and catapulted him to some of the biggest movies of the decade like “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease.”  Whether it was Barbarino asking “What?  Where?”  When he knew the answer, or dancing to his trade mark “Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbarino” theme song, Travolta demonstrated the timing and moves that would endear him to audiences for some time.

In fact, the entire Cast demonstrated this: the Sweat Hogs were like a Disco-era Marx Brothers, with Mr. Kotter as Groucho, trying to keep control, while humorously commenting on the proceedings.  In fact, Kaplan was such a Marx Brothers fan, that Groucho himself was supposed to guest star on the show, but the legendary comedian’s failing health at the time, sadly prevented that.  

Many early episodes of “Welcome Back, Kotter” contain some of the biggest laughs to come out of TV at this time.  “The Telethon,” where the class goes on live TV, is just non-stop funny, even after repeated viewings.

Adding to this was a solid supporting Cast, including Marcia Strassman, as Gabe’s wife Julie, whose dry humor perfectly off-set Gabe (particularly his jokey “family stories” that closed each episode) and veteran actor John Sylvester White as the stone faced, adversary, Principal Woodman.

Recurring roles on “Welcome Back, Kotter,” also helped kick-off careers, such as Charles Fleischer (later the voice of Roger Rabbit) as bully Carvelli and James Woods as Alex, the school’s Drama teacher.

Debuting on September 9, 1975, “Welcome Back, Kotter” initially stirred up controversy, as there was a fear that the show would glamorize juvenile delinquency and issues with schools in major cities at the time.  Once critics and audiences saw the show and how, in so many ways, innocent it was, it soon became must watch TV.

“Welcome Back, Kotter” was also a merchandise phenomenon and could be found everywhere from lunch boxes and comic books to action figures and board games (years later, Quentin Tarantino actually used this board game as part of John Travolta’s “audition” for 1994’s “Pulp Fiction”).  Essentially, if you stepped foot in any store at the time, you saw the “Sweat Hogs.”

The “Welcome Back, Kotter” lunchbox and board game

In its third season, the popularity of “Welcome Back, Kotter” began to wane.  Some attributed this to a change in its scheduled night and time and/or the fact that the Cast no longer looked high school age.

Despite this, forty-five years later, the popularity of this show can still be felt, not just from the generation who grew up with it, but many others, as well, who gladly say “Welcome Back,” every time they see a rerun.

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia