Welcome Back Kotter Cast Then and Now (2023)

In the 70s, Welcome Back Kotter was a beloved sitcom that starred John Travolta early in his career. After more than 40 years, the cast has changed quite a bit. In this video, we're taking a look at the Welcome Back Kotter cast then and now to see how they've changed through the years.

00:00 - Intro
0:19 - Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter
1:24 - John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino
2:29 - Marcia Strassman as Julie Kotter
3:34 - Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein
4:39 - John Sylvester White as Michael Woodman
5:40 - Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington
6:45 - Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack

The show stars stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel "Gabe" Kaplan as the title character, Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High School in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, to teach a remedial class of loafers, called "Sweathogs." The rigid vice principal, Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White), dismisses the Sweathogs as witless hoodlums, and only expects Kotter to contain them until they drop out or are otherwise banished. As a former remedial student, and a founding member of the original class of Sweathogs, Kotter befriends the current Sweathogs and stimulates their potential. A pupil-teacher rapport is formed, and the students often visit Kotter's Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes via the fire-escape window, much to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman).

Welcome Back, Kotter's first season was controversial. In Boston, the local ABC affiliate (WCVB-TV) initially refused to air the show. The city was going through a tumultuous school busing program that involved widespread protests and riots, and the local affiliate felt Kotter's fictional integrated classroom would exacerbate the situation. The show became an early ratings success, however, and the affiliate relented, picking it up from its fifth episode.

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 Son to protect the reputation of junkmen.

Censor concerns about depiction of juvenile delinquency faded after the Sweathogs' antics proved to be silly rather than criminal. Like Kaplan, Hegyes was a fan of the Marx Brothers. Hegyes claimed that he suggested that the Sweathogs be modeled after the Marx Brothers in order to reduce tension.

Ratings slipped greatly in the third season. Kaplan later attributed the decline to the age of the actors playing the Sweathogs, all then in their mid- to late-twenties, claiming that they were no longer believable as high school students. His idea was 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 did not prove to be enough to regain the show's earlier momentum. The show introduced a female Sweathog, Angie Grabowski, played by Melonie Haller.

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 p.m. time slot to Monday 8:00 p.m. to make way for the impending hit series Mork & Mindy. Virtually the entire writing staff was fired after season 3, and replaced with veteran writers from family-based series (such as Bob Claver from Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters). Travolta, who had already starred in box office hits such as Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Carrie, began to focus more time on his film career. He appeared in ten episodes, earning $2,000 for each one, and he was billed as a "special guest star". Mr. Woodman was promoted to Principal of the school (Principal Lazarus quit to take a "less stressful" job at a high-security prison), and Kotter was promoted to Vice-Principal, purposefully moving the show's focus away from Kotter's class. Major off-screen disputes led Kaplan to break his contract and reduce his appearances. To help fill the voids, Stephen Shortridge joined the cast as smooth-talking Southerner Beau De LaBarre, and Kotter's wife, Julie, became a school secretary and occasional fill-in teacher, despite having one-year-old twin daughters.

Knowing the series was in a nosedive, producer James Komack attempted to spin-off a newly married Arnold Horshack into a new sitcom.
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[scottfulps]

So touching. I watched this tv show as a kid when it was at it's peak...so much time has passed. People have passed. Sometimes I long for the old days. They were good days.

[thebstduo]

Almost cried 😢 one of thee very best shows back n the daze!!

[idgaseyaknow]

To have Ron Palilo listed as "Justine Bateman" at the end of his portion was so messed up...

[workhourse]

I was fortunate enough to see Ron Palillo perform in a play at a local theater. During the show I told my two daughters about Palillo's character on "Welcome Back Kotter" - of course I had to include an impersonation "Ooo, ooo Mr Kotter". After the show the cast was collecting money for a charity and Ron happened to be at the exit my kids and I used. To my great embarrassment both of my daughters greeted him by saying "Ooo, Ooo Mr Kotter". He burst into laugher, gave them lessons on how to properly say it. He and I discussed the TV show for a few minutes, he expressed great fondness and for all the cast and writers. Seemed such a kind and pleasant person. So sad that he, and many other cast members died young.

[DN-wbvf]

Gotta love those Sweathogs! Loved watching this show growing up..

[susieohanlon]

THANK YOU FOR SUCH AMAZING MEMORIES!! Such a great time to live..

[mmedeuxchevaux]

I worked on an ultra low budget film back in 1988. Robert Hegye, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Ron Palillo had parts. They were so fun and professional to work with, especially Hegye and Hilton-Jacobs. Those two were charismatic.

[globalspiritualrevolutionmedia]

This is one of the greatest classics in TV History!

[mariovision]

This show was playing when i came home from school...Followed by Night Court lol

[susieohanlon]

John Travolta at the beginning. OMGsh! I WAS THERE.. Amazing times..

[invoxicated]

One of the best sitcoms of the 70s. Watched it all the time. Lots of good humor and wit. Marsha Strassman was looker. So sad some of the cast died so young. Would have been great to see a reunion of the original cast.

[rayjimenez]

That brought back memories. Great show. The ones that passed away my the R.I.P. Thanks for sharing!

[macllemos]

One of so many great 70's shows during my early teenage life.

[lealoggins]

As a child of the 1970's Sweet, Poetic, and Beautiful!!!

[tracym]

I used to love this show. It's sad that half the cast is gone. And at such young ages. May they RIP. 🕯

[elshaitan]

RIP to the dead. Lots of fun memories when I was 4 years old

[fp]

Great show thanks for the memories RIP Marcia .Robert .John. John .

[williamm]

Thanks for the memories, a great video. Robert Hegyes was from my neck of the woods, he started out in a little theater in Piscataway NJ and was a resident of Metuchen NJ when he passed away.

[nancyel]

I loved that show! I didn’t know so many had passed. 😥

[kathleenhenson]

1975 was an awesome year. I finished high school and got a job. This was one of my favorite shows.