![]() ![]() THE ORIGINAL CATCHPHRASES WERE MUCH RUDER. When Palillo auditioned for the role, he made up the character on the spot and imitated his father’s wheezy, gasping voice as he struggled to breathe during the late stage of his illness to create Horshack’s trademark laugh. He developed a severe stutter as a result of the tragedy, and his mother sent him to acting classes hoping that it would help to correct his speech problem. Ron Palillo was 10 years old when his father died of lung cancer. THE SHOW WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CALLED SIMPLY KOTTER. He got into an elevator with Alan Sacks and John Travolta, and Sacks introduced Travolta to him by saying, “Epstein, this is Barbarino.” “No, no, no” Hegyes corrected him, “I’m Barbarino.” “No,” Sacks repeated, “you’re Epstein, this is Barbarino.” After a brief pause Hegyes asked Sacks, “Do I get the same pay he does?” When he was assured that their salaries were equal, he replied, “OK, it’s fine with me.” 4. In fact, he thought he’d landed the part until he arrived to shoot the pilot. ROBERT HEGYES ORIGINALLY AUDITIONED FOR BARBARINO. Only Arnold Horshack’s character retained his real-life counterpart’s name … although the original Arnold was so obnoxious that by the fourth grade, according to Kaplan, even the teachers began calling him “Arnold Horsesh**.” 3. Freddie “Furdy” Peyton inspired Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, and “Epstein the Animal” (as he was known at Kaplan’s alma mater) was transformed into the half Puerto Rican Juan Epstein at the suggestion of ABC’s then-head of programming, Michael Eisner. Vinnie Barbarino (originally called “Eddie Barbarini” in the pilot script) was a combination of two real-life people: Kaplan’s fellow Sweathog Eddie Lecarri, and a tough kid named Joey Caluchi that Alan Sacks knew in junior high school. ![]() ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REAL PERSONS WAS STRICTLY INTENTIONAL. Fellow Brooklynite Alan Sacks, who was working in Los Angeles as the producer of Chico and the Man, caught Kaplan’s performance at The Comedy Store at the urging of Freddie Prinze, and a TV sitcom pitch was born. He eventually developed a routine based on his experiences in a remedial class at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School and took his act on the road. After watching the touring comedians who performed there for a few months, he decided to take a stab at stand-up. ![]() ![]() When he tanked at the San Francisco Giants’ spring training camp, he headed back east and took a job as a bellman at a resort hotel in Lakewood, New Jersey. Kaplan was a star player on his high school baseball team and dreamed of someday playing in the major leagues. THE SERIES WAS INSPIRED BY GABE KAPLAN’S STAND-UP ROUTINE. Not bad for a show that never cracked the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings. Yet before the first season had ended, kids across America were parroting the mannerisms of Washington, Horshack, et al., the Sweathogs were being marketed in every conceivable medium, and John Travolta signed a $1 million three-picture deal with Robert Stigwood. The cast was filled with television newcomers, and while the four main “students” had some film and Broadway chops, the star of the series had no acting experience whatsoever. When it premiered on September 9, 1975, Welcome Back, Kotter was just another sitcom in ABC’s “new fall season” lineup. ![]()
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