Welcome Again, Kotter was greatest remembered as one of many defining sitcoms of the Nineteen Seventies, however what has its forged been doing because the present went off the air? Airing for 4 seasons from 1975 to 1979, the comedy sequence captured the zeitgeist of that difficult period and transcended its style by truly having one thing to say concerning the state of inner-city faculties on the time. Hilarious and poignant in equal measure, the sequence was comparatively short-lived by sitcom requirements, but it surely had a large impression on standard tradition. Its success was due largely to its memorable forged, a few of which went on to change into bona fide stars.
The character of the Welcome Again, Kotter forged was placed on full show in each episode, and it stood out from most different sitcoms due to its real tone and over-the-top humor. Normally thought-about one in every of John Travolta’s greatest roles, it was a launching pad for the younger actor’s profession, and he wasn’t the one forged member to search out success due to Welcome Again, Kotter. Although it wasn’t with out its controversial components, the sequence was a time capsule to the last decade it was made, and catchphrases like “up your nostril with a rubber hose” grew to become everlasting fixtures in popular culture.
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Gabe Kaplan (Gabe Kotter)
Slapstick comedian Gabe Kaplan was forged within the titular position because the affable and understanding Gabe Kotter, and he usually used his stage presence when instructing the Sweathogs at James Buchanan Excessive. Welcome Again, Kotter was launched as a car for the funnyman, and he appeared in practically each episode over its four-season run. Caplan’s filmography was relatively transient, however he did land starring roles in movies just like the TV film Groucho from 1982 which allowed him to play his idol from the Marx Brothers motion pictures. Kaplan was most just lately heard lending his voice to an episode of the irreverent darkish comedy sequence BoJack Horseman in 2018.
Marcia Strassman (Julie Kotter)
The long-suffering spouse of Gabe Kotter, Julie Cotter was delivered to life by Marcia Strassman, and he or she completely embodied her loving nature that was balanced by her want that Gabe would take issues extra significantly. Strassman was no stranger to TV earlier than WBK, and he or she had beforehand had stints on The Patty Duke Present and M*A*S*H*. Afterward, she would proceed to work principally in TV however landed a starring position within the Disney movie sequence Honey, I Shrunk the Youngsters within the ’80s and ’90s. Strassman continued to work up till 2014 when she handed away all of a sudden on the age of 66.
John Sylvester White (Michael Woodman)
Although components of the long-lasting ’70s present would not fly at this time, Welcome Again, Kotter characters like John Sylvester White’s Vice Principal Michael Woodman have been what made the present basic. Whereas not downright villainous, Vice Principal Woodman was ostensibly the antagonist of the sequence, and White excelled at exhibiting the character’s contempt for the Sweathogs and Kotter. John Sylvester White had a short profession in present enterprise with bit elements in exhibits like Kojack earlier than Welcome Again, Kotter, and he would solely make sporadic TV appearances up till his passing in 1988 on the age of 68.
John Travolta (Vincent “Vinnie” Barbarino)
The brash and boastful Vinnie Barbarino was the position that made Travolta well-known, and he was essentially the most profitable member of the forged of Welcome Again, Kotter by far. Barbarino’s swaggering angle and catchphrases made him a preferred character, and Travolta went from sitcoms to motion pictures and located quick success with an Oscar nod for his position in 1977’s Saturday Evening Fever. Travolta was a blockbuster star all through the ’80s and ’90s, and although his star started to slide within the ’00s, he delivered gorgeous performances in TV exhibits like The Folks Vs O.J. Simpson in 2016 and returned to type in comedies like 2020’s Die Hart.
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Ron Palillo (Arnold Dingfelder Horshack)
Tapped to play the category clown of the Sweathogs, Ron Palillo made a splash because the lovable goofball Arnold Dingfelder Horshack. Welcome Again, Kotter was Palillo’s first position, and he adopted it up with a slew of visitor spots on exhibits like The Love Boat and CHiPs the place he would principally play different oddball characters all through the ’80s. Palillo labored continuously in motion pictures and TV however returned to the theater later in his life and made solely small cameo appearances in sitcoms and underrated animated exhibits like Duckman. Palillo handed away on the age of 63 in 2012.
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Freddie “Growth Growth” Washington)
One of many smartest Sweathogs, Freddie “Growth Growth” Washington went alongside together with his classmates’ antics however tried to be the voice of motive when he might. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was brilliantly forged within the position as Washington, and lots of the actor’s distinct and hilarious mannerism made the character pop. Welcome Again, Kotter was his first main position, and Hilton-Jacobs discovered equal success in motion pictures and TV with elements in sequence like Roots in 1977 and L.A. Warmth in 1989. Hilton-Jacobs was a relentless presence in TV all all through the ’00s and ’10s, and even offered a voice for the 2022 cartoon sequence The Proud Household: Louder and Prouder.
Robert Hegyes (Juan Luis Epstein)
The most effective sitcoms are these with various characters who carry one thing completely different to the desk, and Juan Epstein was maybe the distinctive member of the forged of Welcome Again, Kotter. Performed by the incomparable Robert Hegyes, Epstein was the powerful man of the Sweathogs, and he was fiercely happy with his Puerto Rican and Jewish heritage. After Welcome Again, Kotter, Hegyes made sporadic appearances on TV, principally as himself on sport exhibits, and largely caught to stage work. Hegyes’ final onscreen look got here in a 2007 episode of The Singing Bee, and he would later go away in 2012 on the age of 60.
Debralee Scott (Rosalie “Hotsie” Totsie)
A well-liked character throughout the present’s first season, Debralee Scott performed Rosalie “Hotsie” Totsie, a lady at James Buchanan Excessive who was standard with the boys in th Sweathogs. Scott had beforehand appeared within the George Lucas-directed movie American Graffiti in 1973, and continued to play small roles in motion pictures and TV all through the ’70s and ’80s. Scott appeared in two of the Police Academy movies within the mid-’80s earlier than slowly transitioning to work behind the scenes. Scott handed away on the age of 52 in 2005.
Stephen Shortridge (Beauregard “Beau” De LaBarre)
Launched as a substitute for Vinnie Barbarino throughout the present’s closing season, Beauregard “Beau” De LaBerre launched a little bit of Southern attraction to the forged of Welcome Again, Kotter. Actor Stephen Shortridge performed the half appropriately grandiose to match his fellow Sweathogs, and he did what he might to avoid wasting a present on its final legs. Shortridge labored virtually solely in TV over his transient profession on exhibits like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and he made his closing onscreen look within the 1989 film Say Something. Stephen Shortridge departed present enterprise after 1989 to pursue different creative endeavors.