Famous Faces on "Welcome Back Kotter" (Season One)!
John Travolta, in his breakthrough role, plays Sweathog leader Vinnie Barbarino in this multicultaral, multicomical 1970's smash hit set in Brooklyn's James Buchanan High School. Joining him is Gabe Kaplan who stars as Mr. Kotter, a former Sweathog who's returned to his old high school as a new teacher! And teaching the "New Sweathogs" which include jivin', high-fivin' Freddie 'Boom-Boom' Washington (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs), tough-guy Juan Epstein (Robert Hedges) and peppy pipsqueak Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo). It's "Up your nose with a rubber hose " with this bunch!...
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- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Susan Lanier, also known as Suze Lanier-Bramlett, was born in Dallas, Texas. This multi-talented and sassy actress, producer, director, writer, vocalist and musician is most known for starring in The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) and Cut! (2014). She has performed everywhere from Broadway with Tennessee Williams to the big screen with Wes Craven to the small screen opposite John Travolta. She was married to musical icon Delaney Bramlett."Bambi" (as Susan Lanier)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actress
- Additional Crew
Helaine Lembeck was born on 16 April 1952 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), Wild Hogs (2007) and Flightplan (2005). She has been married to William Woff since 1 December 1984. They have two children."Judy Borden"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Became a member of Actor Equity acting in Children's theatre performing in over 13 Equity shows in Niles, Illinois. Was the Assistant Entertainment Director for the Mill Run Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and worked with over 100 different Stars including Lana Turner, Sammy Davis Jr., Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Alda, Vivian Blaine, Eddy Arnold, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, David Brenner, Glen Campbell, Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick, Jerry Vale, Danny Thomas, Sandler and Young, Don Rickles, and many more. As a professional actor; He also Co-Starred as Mr. Shepard in Friday the 13 Part VII, The New blood. John was the Cat-Con in Andrel Konchalovsky's Runaway Train with Eric Roberts and John Voight, He played a reporter in Native Son with Geraldine Page and Matt Dillon. He can be seen in such Movies as Mel Brook's To Be or Not to Be with Jose Ferrer and Tim Matheson, Again, played a reporter in Sir Richard Attenborough's Chaplin. He has worked extensively in television starring opposite Mark Harmon was his best friend n the Prince of Bel Air. He was requested back by the Producers for the final episode of "Mash"to play the Ambulance Attendant. He co-starred "In the Heat Of The Night" with Carrol O'Conner. He has produced and directed over ten stage plays. He also appeared in Twelve Angry Men at The Rita Hayworth Theater, directed by Walter Koeing of Star Trek fame. He also studied acting with Gordon Hunt, Cory Allen, and Byrne Piven. John is currently the President of Laddie O Productions and Executive Director of the Film Actor's studio where he and Gregory Avellone have produced and /or directed 50 Short films and in 1997 produced a festival short film screening in the Chaplin Theatre at the Raleigh Studios. He produced Gregory Avellone's Tina Gets Her Man, which can be seen on PBS. He produced and starred in the "The Red House" which was distributed in the USA,Canada,Germany,etc. He was requested by the Director and Producer to play a key supporting role, "The Preacher" at the end of the movie, "Peter Five Eight" that was filmed in the Mt Shasta area September 11,2021. He is attached to several film projects currently in development as a Director/ Producer and as Actor.Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Student- Actress
- Soundtrack
Debralee Scott was born in 1953 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as the youngest of four daughters born to William Henry Scott, Jr. (March 1, 1914, Scranton, Pennsylvania - September 17, 1993, Scranton, Pennsylvania) and Marion Jones (February 11, 1916, Scranton, Pennsylvania - October 1993, Pittston, Pennsylvania); Debralee's older sisters were producer Carol Ann Scott (later known as Scott Bushnell) and Beverly Hills talent manager Jerilyn Scott, and Ardith Lynn Scott, who had died in infancy. When Scott's sisters were young adults, they relocated from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California.
Scott was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she was a high school cheerleader. In Elizabeth, she worked at a movie theater while she attended a Greek-Latin course at Stroudsburg High School. In 1969, the 16-year-old Scott joined her older sisters in San Francisco; she graduated from Galileo Academy of Science and Technology in 1971 and started acting at the American Conservatory Theater.
Scott's very first acting job was in 1971 as an uncredited extra in "Dirty Harry (1971)"; she played the nude corpse of Ann Mary Deacon, a 14-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped, and buried alive by the Scorpio Killer. Following this, Scott played the girlfriend of Harrison Ford in "American Graffiti (1973)" ("Ain't he neat?" her character says).
In the mid 1970s, Scott relocated to Los Angeles, California, and got an agent. Scott played semi-recurring character Rosalie 'Hotsy' Totsy on Welcome Back, Kotter (1975). At the age of 22, Scott starred in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) as the titular character's younger sister Cathy and reprised the role for the show's sequel Forever Fernwood (1977). After "Forever Fernwood" ended, Scott became a host for celebrity quiz game shows, including The $10,000 Pyramid (1973), Super Password (1984), and Match Game (1973). Scott also acted in Pandemonium (1982) and Police Academy (1984). She was in relationships with Desi Arnaz Jr., Micky Dolenz, Richard Dreyfuss, Jonathan Frakes, Peter P. Lucia Jr., Neal Schon, and Ringo Starr.
In the mid 1990s, Scott became a talent manager for the agency Empowered Artists. On December 15, 1995, she went to the Greenwich Village bar Hogs & Heifers and met her future fiancé, John Dennis Levi, an NYPD officer working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Over time, Scott lived at Levi's house in Brooklyn, New York, with his mother Joanne Priavity. In 2001, while on a cross-country trip, Levi proposed to Scott at a hotel in Winslow, Arizona, and she accepted. They planned to get married in March 2002, but Levi was killed in the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. Heartbroken, Scott became an alcoholic and developed cirrhosis of the liver.
In March 2005, Scott relocated from Brooklyn to Fernandina Beach, Florida, to care for her eldest sister, Carol Ann, who was suffering from emphysema and heart problems. One day, she collapsed and fell into a coma for several days. It was not known what caused the coma. On March 31, 2005, Scott woke up in the hospital, underwent eye surgery, and was released two days later on her birthday, appearing to be fine. Three days later, on April 5, 2005, Scott lay down to take a nap and died in her sleep at the age of 52. An autopsy was performed, but no specific cause of death was listed, and Scott was cremated."Rosalie 'Hotsy' Totsy"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Don Stark was born on 5 July 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Café Society (2016).Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Student Extra
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Student Extra (uncredited)- Hope Summers could portray a friendly neighbor or companion as she did for Frances Bavier's Aunt Bee character on many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (1960) or a seemingly amiable satanist in Rosemary's Baby (1968).
Born in Mattoon, Illinois, she developed an early interest in the theater. Graduating from Northwestern School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois, she subsequently taught speech and diction there. This, in turn, led to her the head position in the Speech Department at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, teaching students privately on the side as well. In the 1930s Hope began to focus on acting. She found work in community and stock theaters in Illinois and earned some notice for putting on one-woman shows such as "Backstage of Broadway." She made use of her vocal eloquence by building up her resumé on radio, performing in scores of dramatic shows, including "Authors' Playhouse," "First Night," "Ma Perkins", and "Step-Mother".
In 1950 Hope transferred her talents to the new medium of television and earned a regular role on the comedy series Hawkins Falls: A Television Novel (1950). By the age of 50 she was customarily called upon to play slightly older than she was, appearing in a number of minuscule matron roles in such films as Zero Hour! (1957), Hound-Dog Man (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), Spencer's Mountain (1963), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Charley Varrick (1973) and her last, Foul Play (1978). She never had any major stand-out roles in movies; TV would be a more prolific choice of medium. Her gently stern, old-fashioned looks allowed her to be a part of many small-town settings, including Dennis the Menace (1959) and Petticoat Junction (1963), and in various western locales such as Maverick (1957) and Wagon Train (1957).
She played a rustic regular for many years on The Rifleman (1958). Usually assigned to play teachers, nurses and other helpful, nurturing types, her characters were also known to be inveterate gossips. Hope worked until close to the end of her life, passing away from heart failure in 1979.Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Ms. Riley - Actress
- Producer
- Director
Vernee Watson was born on 28 September 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Christmas with the Kranks (2004), The Kid (2000) and General Hospital (1963). She was previously married to Van Johnson and Joe Duckett."Vernajean Williams"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
James Howard Woods was born on April 18, 1947 in Vernal, Utah, the son of Martha A. (Smith) and Gail Peyton Woods, a U.S. Army intelligence officer who died during Woods' childhood. James is of Irish, English, and German descent. He grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, with his mother and stepfather Thomas E. Dixon. He graduated from Pilgrim High School in 1965, near the top of his class. James earned a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; dropping out during his senior year in 1969, he then headed off to New York with his fraternity brother Martin Donovan to pursue aspirations to appear on the stage. After appearing in a handful of New York City theater productions, Woods scored his first film role in All the Way Home (1971) and followed that up with meager supporting roles in The Way We Were (1973) and The Choirboys (1977).
However, it was Woods' cold-blooded performance as the cop killer in The Onion Field (1979), based on a Joseph Wambaugh novel, that seized the attention of movie-goers to his on-screen power. Woods quickly followed up with another role in another Joseph Wambaugh film adaptation, The Black Marble (1980), as a sleazy and unstable cable-T.V.-station owner in David Cronenberg's mind-bending and prophetic Videodrome (1983), as gangster Max Bercovicz in Sergio Leones mammoth epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and scored a best actor Academy Award nomination as abrasive journalist Richard Boyle in Oliver Stone's gritty and unsettling Salvador (1986).
There seemed to be no stopping the rise of this star as he continued to amaze movie-goers with his remarkable versatility and his ability to create such intense, memorable characters. The decade of the 1990s started off strongly with high praise for his role as Roy Cohn in the television production of Citizen Cohn (1992). Woods was equally impressive as sneaky hustler Lester Diamond who cons Sharon Stone in Casino (1995), made a tremendous H.R. Haldeman in Nixon (1995), portrayed serial killer Carl Panzram in Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995), and then as accused civil rights assassin Byron De La Beckwith in Ghosts of Mississippi (1996).
Not to be typecast solely as hostile hoodlums, Woods has further expanded his range to encompass providing voice-overs for animated productions including Hercules (1997), Hooves of Fire (1999), and Stuart Little 2 (2002). Woods also appeared in the critically praised The Virgin Suicides (1999), in the coming-of-age movie Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), as a corrupt medico in Any Given Sunday (1999), and in the comedy-horror spoof Scary Movie 2 (2001). A remarkable performer with an incredibly diverse range of acting talent, Woods remains one of Hollywood's outstanding leading men.Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Alex Welles- Dennis Bowen was born on 9 September 1950 in Gainesville, Florida, USA. He was an actor, known for Martial Law (1998), ABC Saturday Comedy Special (1976) and Van Nuys Blvd. (1979). He died on 9 March 2012 in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA."Todd Ludlow"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975) - Bridget Hanley was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Doris (née Nihlroos) and Lee Hanley. At the age of four, she moved with her parents and older sister Mary-Jo to Edmonds, Washington, where her younger sister Molly was later born. Best known for her starring roles as Candy Pruitt in Here Come the Brides (1968) and Wanda Reilly Taylor in Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981), Bridget made appearances in numerous classic television series including Gidget (1965), I Dream of Jeannie (1965), The Flying Nun (1967), Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) and Murder, She Wrote (1984).
After graduating from Edmonds High School in 1959, Bridget studied drama at the San Francisco College for Women (now the University of San Francisco's Lone Mountain Campus) for two years, before transferring to the University of Washington, where she appeared in 17 stage productions, and graduated with honors and a B.A. in drama. Hanley remained active in theater throughout her career, as a regular performer at Theatre West in Hollywood, California, and notably as the star of the award-winning one-woman play "May Day Sermon," based on the poem by James Dickey.
She and director/producer E.W. Swackhamer were married from April 1969 until his death in December 1994.Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Mary Flannigan - Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Lyle Flannigan - Actor
- Director
- Executive
Robert Hegyes was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to an Hungarian-American father, Stephen, and an Italian-American mother, Marie Dominica (Cocozza). He is the eldest of their children. The others are: Mark Hegyes, MD - Billings, Montana, Ms. Stephanie Hegyes - Princeton, New Jersey, and Ms. Elizabeth Cocozza - Los Angeles, California.
Robert began studying acting in earnest at Metuchen High School under the direction of Dr. Barton Shepard, Ph.D, in the mid-1960s. He was accepted into the Theater Program at Rown University of New Jersey (formerly Glassboro State College) and, in the early 1970s, graduated with a BA in Theater & Secondary Education. Hegyes then ventured into New York City to practice his trade, immediately taking up with the "Greenwich Village Children's Repertory Companies", "Theater in a Trunk", and "The NYC Children's Puppet Ensemble". In short order Robert hooked up with his third Greenwhich Village troupe, "Jack LaRumpa's Flying Drum & Kazoo Band", performing improvisational anti-war comedy in Washington Square and the Provincetown Playhouse.
Within a year of graduating from Rowan, Hegyes was cast to co-star in the Manhattan Theater Club Emsmble's highly-acclaimed drama, "Naomi Court", which starred another young actor, Brad Davis (of Midnight Express (1978)). After completing that successful engagement Robert was tapped to co-star for Tony Award-winning actor/director Len Cariou, A Little Night Music (1977) & Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982), in the Broadway drama, "Don't Call Back", starring Arlene Francis at the Helen Hayes Theater. It was during the run of that Broadway drama that he was cast by producer James Komack to star in the award-winning comedy series, Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) and, at the age of twenty-five, became one of the show's directors.
Robert has guest-starred in over thirty episodic series, including Saturday Night Live (1975) with host Quentin Tarantino, Diagnosis Murder (1993) with Dick Van Dyke and The Drew Carey Show (1995). He has starred in the award-nominated "Passat" commercial, "The Chase", for director Kinka Usher and in the feature films, Honeymoon Hotel (2004) opposite Jane Kaczmarek, Underground Aces (1981) with Melanie Griffith, Bob Roberts (1992) for director Tim Robbins, Purpose (2002) starring Mia Farrow, and Bar Hopping (2000) alongside Kevin Nealon.
Hegyes made his Los Angeles stage debut to rave notices as Chico Marx in Arthur Marx's play, "An Evening with Groucho", and was shortly thereafter cast as a series regular starring in the award-winning drama, Cagney & Lacey (1981). Robert has been awarded a lifetime artist-in-residence status at his alma mater and has taught there and continues to guest lecture regularly. He is also a California Certified Secondary Education Teacher and teaches for the Los Angeles Unified School District at Venice High School.
As a long-time resident of Venice, California, Robert and partner Craig Titley, (Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)) developed the original Internet series, "The Venice Walk"."Juan Epstein"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs was born in New York City. He is one of nine children born to Hilton and Clothilda Jacobs. Larry, as his family and friends call him, attended public schools in New York City, so he has first-hand knowledge of what it is like to be a student in a big-city high school like the one pictured on "Welcome Back, Kotter." After high school, Larry worked at an odd assortment of jobs before turning to acting. First, he was a delivery boy, then a florist, then a messenger boy, and then a stock boy in a department store. His first "real important job," as he puts it, was as a freelance artist and package designer. This introduction to the world of the arts made up for all of the menial jobs he had performed while waiting to find himself. While working as an artist, Larry became interested in acting and began studying at Al Fann's Theatrical School and then with the Negro Ensemble Company. These are two all-black acting companies which produce experimental plays in New York City. They also train promising young black actors in the performing arts. With these companies, Larry acted in such plays as "Cora's Second Cousin," "The Dean," "What the Wine Sellers Buy," "Mask in Black," and "The Exterminator." None of these productions made him famous, but they did bring him to the attention of film casting directors. He was given parts in the movies Claudine (1974) and Cooley High (1975). Cooley High (1975) was Larry's big breakthrough in show business. It was because of this film that he was given his 'Boom Boom Washington' role on Welcome Back, Kotter (1975). He also had two important roles in major made-for-television features, "The Sojourner" and the tremendously popular Roots (1977). Besides acting, Larry also sings, plays the piano and writes music."Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Gabe Kaplan was born on 31 March 1945 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Welcome Back, Kotter (1975), Lewis & Clark (1981) and The Grand (2007)."Gabe Kotter" (as Gabriel Kaplan)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
At 14, Ron Palillo (born Ronald Gabriel Paolillo) started his own summer theater in Cheshire, Connecticut. His parents, Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, were surprised when the summer theater actually made money. After graduating from high school, Ron went to the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he majored in drama. He appeared in many school plays in college. After graduation, Ron got a job with a touring company which performed in Shakespearean plays. He claimed to have received invaluable drama training during that tour, acting in Shakespearean masterpieces like "Macbeth", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
After his Shakespearean tour, Ron became a member of a repertory company in Miami, Florida. Shortly after arriving in New York, Ron got a role in the off-Broadway success "Hot l Baltimore." He stayed with the show for over a year. Because of his work in "Hot L Baltimore". Ron was given a lead role in a musical special, "The Last Sweet Days of Isaac", on television. After Isaac, he once again went on tour and appeared with Mickey Rooney in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and with Jan Sterling in a serious play, "Summer Brave". He has two brothers and a sister. His elder brother, Richard Paolillo, is an eye surgeon, his brother Robert Paolillo, is a salesman and his sister Ann, became a teacher."Arnold Horshack"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actress
- Soundtrack
This tall (5'10"), pretty, willowy brunette (but frequently blonde) was born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, as one of four children. Raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Marcia grew into a striking young teen and worked for a time as a model in a local children's department store. A talented singer, she initially attempted a singing career and was picked up as a recording artist for Uni Records in 1967. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top 40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets,
Trekking back to New York City equipped only with her modeling and singing credentials, Marcia found herself performing in an off-Broadway show at the ripe old age of 15, replacing 17-year-old Liza Minnelli in the musical "Best Foot Forward." Inspired, Marcia ventured ahead with a number of stage roles, then broke into television, appearing in several episodes as a teen on the popular The Patty Duke Show (1963). Following some sporadic work on such shows as "Ironside" and "The Paul Lynde Show," Marcia scored her first semi-regular role as an army nurse on the very first season of M*A*S*H (1972).
Making her film debut in the featured role of a reporter in the obscure, semi-counterculture film Changes (1969), Marcia focused on TV work into the 1970's with parts in such shows as "Police Story," "Marcus Welby," "City of Angels," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and the TV-movies Journey from Darkness (1975) and Brenda Starr (1976). Her huge, breakout role, and the one for which she will best be remembered, was as Gabe Kaplan's wife on the popular sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) for four seasons. Despite the steady work, Marcia remained disillusioned at playing the relatively overlooked role of Julie Kotter. The primary focus landed squarely on Brooklyn schoolteacher Kotter (the show was based on Kaplan's real-life experiences as a teacher) and his interaction with student "Sweathogs" Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Ron Palillo and pre-megastar John Travolta. Stuck with what many deemed a reactive character, she gamely stayed with the show, however, throughout its run.
While "Kotter" would remain her only hit series, she immediately went into another, albeit short-lived, series playing an office worker to sexist sportswriter Ted Bessell in the comedy Good Time Harry (1980). In a second attempt, she co-starred in the crime series Booker (1989) as boss to Dennis Booker, the titular insurance investigator played by handsome, young Richard Grieco, a spin-off character from the series 21 Jump Street (1987).
In between, she remained a steady focus as a guest on such shows as "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I.," "E/R" and "I Married Dora," she appeared in the occasional film -- the offbeat romantic comedy Soup for One (1982) co-starring Saul Rubinek and featured in the Christopher Reeve adventure The Aviator (1985). she regained some popularity as the wholesome wife of nerdy Rick Moranis in the surprise Walt Disney hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). She reprised that role in the equally popular sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) and played the same kind of wife in the family fantasy comedy And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird (1991).
Marcia remained true blue to the small screen with single performances on "Civil Wars," "Sweet Justice," "Charlie Grace," "Murder, She Wrote," "Highlander," "L.A. Heat," "Tracy Takes On..." and "Baywatch." Returning to films with the crime comedy Another Stakeout (1993), the family sci-fi comedy Earth Minus Zero (1996), in 1998, Marcia returned to her singing talents and performed with "Beauty and the Beast" star Susan Egan in "Hello Again," which was a revamped version of the Max Ophüls classic French film La Ronde (1950). Here she played against type as a prostitute. Marcia attempted two other short-lived series with the comedy Noah Knows Best (2000) and action adventure Tremors (2003) and phased away from the camera not long after a recurring role as a sergeant in the police series Third Watch (1999).
Over the years Marcia carved out a niche for herself not only as a fine actress but also as a social and labor activist, and lent her skills and talents to many progressive causes. Diagnosed with breast and bone cancer in 2007, she published Life with a Side Order of Cancer, a memoir in which she detailed her life, career and challenging illness the following year. Marcia died of complications on October 24, 2014, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. She was 66 and survived by her sister Julie Strassman-Cohn, a TV story editor, brother Steve Strassman and daughter Elizabeth Collector, from a brief 1980's marriage to writer/director Robert Collector."Julie Kotter"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J. Travolta. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His father owned a tire repair shop called Travolta Tires in Hillsdale, NJ. Travolta started acting appearing in a local production of "Who'll Save the Plowboy?". His mother, herself an actress and dancer, enrolled him in a drama school in New York, where he studied voice, dancing and acting. He decided to combine all three of these skills and become a musical comedy performer. At 16 he landed his first professional job in a summer stock production of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie". He quit school at 16 and moved to New York, and worked regularly in summer stock and on television commercials. When work became scarce in New York, he went to Hollywood and appeared in minor roles in several series. A role in the national touring company of the hit 1950s musical "Grease" brought him back to New York. An opening in the New York production of "Grease" gave him his first Broadway role at age 18. After "Grease", he became a member of the company of the Broadway show "Over Here", which starred The Andrews Sisters. After ten months in "Over Here", he decided to try Hollywood once again. Once back in Hollywood, he had little trouble getting roles in numerous television shows. He was seen on The Rookies (1972), Emergency! (1972) and Medical Center (1969) and also made a movie, The Devil's Rain (1975), which was shot in New Mexico. The day he returned to Hollywood from New Mexico, he was called to an audition for a new situation comedy series ABC was planning to produce called Welcome Back, Kotter (1975). He got the part of Vinnie Barbarino and the series went on the air during the 1975 fall season.
He starred in a number of monumental films, earning his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his role in the blockbuster Saturday Night Fever (1977), which launched the disco phenomenon in the 1970s. He went on to star in the big-screen version of the long-running musical Grease (1978) and the wildly successful Urban Cowboy (1980), which also influenced trends in popular culture. Additional film credits include the Brian De Palma thrillers Carrie (1976) and Blow Out (1981), as well as Amy Heckerling's hit comedy Look Who's Talking (1989) and Nora Ephron's comic hit Michael (1996). Travolta starred in Phenomenon (1996) and took an equally distinctive turn as an action star in John Woo's top-grossing Broken Arrow (1996). He also starred in the classic Face/Off (1997) opposite Nicolas Cage, and The General's Daughter (1999), co-starring Madeleine Stowe. In 2005, Travolta reprised the role of ultra cool Chili Palmer in the Get Shorty (1995) sequel Be Cool (2005). In addition, he starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in the critically-acclaimed independent feature film A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004), which was screened at the Venice Film Festival, where both Travolta and the films won rave reviews. In February 2011, John was honored by Europe's leading weekly program magazine HORZU, with the prestigious Golden Camera Award for "Best Actor International" in Berlin, Germany. Other recent feature film credits include box-office hit-comedy "Wild Hogs", the action-thriller Ladder 49 (2004), the movie version of the successful comic book The Punisher (2004), the drama Basic (2003), the psychological thriller Domestic Disturbance (2001), the hit action picture Swordfish (2001), the infamous sci-fi movie Battlefield Earth (2000), based upon the best-selling novel by L. Ron Hubbard, and Lonely Hearts (2006).
Travolta has been honored twice with Academy Award nominations, the latest for his riveting portrayal of a philosophical hit-man in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994). He also received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for this highly-acclaimed role and was named Best Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, among other distinguished awards. Travolta garnered further praise as a Mafioso-turned-movie producer in the comedy sensation Get Shorty (1995), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. In 1998, Travolta was honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts with the Britanna Award: and in that same year he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chicago Film Festival. Travolta also won the prestigious Alan J. Pakula Award from the US Broadcast Critics Association for his performance in A Civil Action (1998), based on the best-selling book and directed by Steven Zaillian. He was nominated again for a Golden Globe for his performance in Primary Colors (1998), directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Emma Thompson and Billy Bob Thornton, and in 2008, he received his sixth Golden Globe nomination for his role as "Edna Turnblad" in the big-screen, box-office hit, Hairspray (2007). As a result of this performance, the Chicago Film Critics and the Santa Barbara Film Festival decided to recognize Travolta with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his role.
In addition, Travolta starred opposite Denzel Washington in Tony Scott's remake The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), and he provided the voice of the lead character in Walt Disney Pictures' animated hit Bolt (2008), which was nominated for a 2009 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and a Golden Globe for Best Animated Film, in addition to Best Song for John and Miley Cyrus' duet titled, "I Thought I Lost You".
Next, Travolta starred in Walt Disney Pictures' Old Dogs (2009), along with Robin Williams, Kelly Preston and Ella Bleu Travolta, followed by the action thriller From Paris with Love (2010), starring opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers. In 2012, John starred alongside Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demián Bichir in Oliver Stone's, Savages (2012). The film was based on Don Winslow's best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times' Top 10 Books of 2010. John was most recently seen in Killing Season (2013), co-starring Robert De Niro, and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. John recently completed production on the Boston-based film, The Forger (2014), alongside Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer and Critic's Choice nominee Tye Sheridan. John plays a second-generation petty thief who arranges to get out of prison to spend time with his ailing son (Sheridan) by taking on a job with his father (Plummer) to pay back the syndicate that arranged his release. John has received 2 prestigious aviation awards: in 2003, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation Award for Excellence for his efforts to promote commercial flying, and, in 2007, The Living Legends Ambassador of Aviation award.
John holds 11 jet licenses: 747, 707, Gulfstream II, Lear 24, Hawker 1251A, Eclipse Jet, Vampire Jet, Canadair CL-141 Jet, Soko Jet, Citation ISP and Challenger. Travolta is the Qantas Airways Global Goodwill "Ambassador-at-Large" and piloted the original Qantas 707 during "Spirit of Friendship" global tour in July/August 2002. John is also a business aircraft brand ambassador for Learjet, Challenger and Global jets for the world's leading business aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier. John flew the 707 to New Orleans after the 2005 hurricane disaster bringing food and medical supplies, and in 2010, again flew the 707, this time to Haiti after the earthquake, carrying supplies, doctors and volunteers.
John, along with his late wife, actress Kelly Preston (1962-2020), were very involved in their charity, The Jett Travolta Foundation, which raises money for children with educational needs."Vinnie Barbarino"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 10
The Reunion (18 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 11
Barbarino's Girl (25 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)- John Sylvester White was born on 31 October 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Welcome Back, Kotter (1975), Kojak (1973) and Search for Tomorrow (1951). He was married to Joan Alexander. He died on 11 September 1988 in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA."Mr. Michael Woodman"
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 1
The Great Debate (9 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 2
Basket Case (16 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 3
Welcome Back (Pilot) (23 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 4
Whodunit? (30 Sep. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 5
The Election (7 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 6
No More Mr. Nice Guy (14 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 7
Classroom Marriage (21 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 8
One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing (28 Oct. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 9
Mr. Kotter, Teacher (4 Nov. 1975)
Welcome Back, Kotter: Season 1, Episode 12
California Dreamin' (2 Dec. 1975)