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‘Welcome Back, Kotter’: Robert Hegyes’ ‘Epstein’ helped adapt TV
January 27, 2012 | 4:55 pm
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“Welcome Back, Kotter” television brilliant Robert Hegyes died Thursday, giving millions of Americans abeyance to reflect aback in time to 1975, aback Epstein, Vinnie Barbarino and the added “Sweathogs” ruled.
The artifice for “Welcome Back, Kotter” ability complete a little accustomed to Gleeks (problem apprentice becomes teacher, allotment to old stomping grounds). And, like “Glee,” the appearance was groundbreaking — and affluence arguable – aback it was alien into ABC’s prime-time line-up.
The appearance lasted four seasons and launched John Travolta’s career. But It captivated the nation with it’s racially assorted casting and anxious adventure band involving aerial academy misfits.
Perhaps that explains why “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “Epstein” accept remained some of the best Googled agreement in America aback account that Hegyes died Thursday of a amore advance at his home in New Jersey.
TV historian Robert Thompson explained why “Welcome Back, Kotter,” a appearance that was pulled from the air in 1979, addled such a ambit with viewers.
To activate with, the show, which starred Gabe Kaplan as abecedary to a agglomeration of blurred students, created altercation afore it alike aired. An ABC associate in Boston initially banned to air the show. At the time, the burghal was in the bosom of a academy busing crisis, and there were fears that the show’s racially chip classroom would aggravate tensions. Elsewhere, agents feared the appearance would glorify, and encourage, apprentice aerial jinks.
It ultimately alien America to a diverse, economically disturbing allotment of activity rarely apparent on TV.
“‘Kotter’ was important in that respect. You had this racially assorted casting and yet they didn’t accomplish a big accord out of it. They were chip as article that was accustomed and at the time not alike aces of comment,” he said. “That was a appealing accelerating affair to do.”
The ambience itself was unique. Today’s TV writers apperceive that aerial academy is a affluent breadth to abundance for drama, Thompson said. “You’re at this date amid adolescence and adulthood, you’re sexually mature, but still bound by rules of childhood…. It doesn’t get abundant added affecting than aerial school,” yet that area was about untrod afore “Welcome Aback Kotter” came along, he said.
“Maybe it didn’t do it as able-bodied as ’90210′ would after do it, but for the 1970s it did a appealing acceptable job. It nailed aerial school.”
It additionally nailed activity in Brooklyn, giving the New York Burghal apple its own appearance in the adumbration of glitzier Manhattan, he said. (In fact, Brooklyn got top announcement in the show’s addition — see aloft — as John Sebastian crooned the “Welcome Back” affair song.)
And again there were those accents. Not alone weren’t they watered bottomward to address to Middle America, they were accustomed to booty centermost stage.
“It absolutely accustomed a abundant accent to play,” he said. “This is one of the aboriginal times that was absolutely featured as a above allotment of all of the characters.”
The absolute casting had bolt phases, which advance through the nation like bonfire at a time aback there was no amusing media to advice acceleration things along, like “up your adenoids with a elastic hose.” Hegyes character, Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein — a appreciative Puerto Rican Jew, as he admired to admonish anyone who would accept — was accepted for accomplishment addendum from “Epstein’s mother.”
“People haven’t been talking about ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ for years, but if you are of a assertive age, it has consistently been bustling about in the aback of your brain,” said Thompson, founding administrator of the Bleier Centermost for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
“There’s this abysmal amore for bodies who either watched it the aboriginal time around, or saw it in reruns. Aback you apprehend some affiliate of the casting has died, you apprehend how adored a appearance like this is to your own memory.”
And aback you anticipate about the 1970s, Thompson said, you anticipate about disco. And “Saturday Night Fever.” And John Travolta. “If I had to name 10 things that say 1970s, ‘Welcome Aback Kotter’ would be about on that list,” he said.
