The Only Main Actors Still Alive From Welcome Back, Kotter
Gabe Kotter’s (Gabe Kaplan) dreams were his ticket out of Brooklyn — and his road map to television fame. Loosely based on Kaplan’s memories and stand-up routine about life as a teenager in a remedial class at New Ultrecht High School in New York, “Welcome Back, Kotter” caused teenagers and kids to flock to their television sets every week in the mid-1970s.
While the sitcom was surprisingly willing to delve into heavy topics in a fearless way, it also had a lot of fun whipping up comedic routines that paid tribute to classic comedians like the Marx Brothers. It made its central cast of four teenagers household names, but only John Travolta would see his career elevated beyond the show to become a lasting pop culture icon.
It’s been nearly fifty years since the iconic show aired its first episode, and, sadly, some of the “Welcome Back, Kotter’s” main stars are no longer with us. But a good chunk of the show’s regular cast has continued to survive and thrive in Hollywood. Here’s who’s still alive among the show’s regular recurring class.
Gabe Kaplan
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Gabe Kaplan was the inspiration for and central focus of “Welcome Back, Kotter.” The not-always-wise teacher with an ever-ready Groucho Marx impression made him a television celebrity, but when the show wrapped, his acting career went quiet while he pursued other interests. The sitcom star appeared in the short-lived sitcom “Lewis & Clark” and was one of many actors to pop up in “The Hoboken Chicken Emergency.” He resurfaced as an actor in the ’00s and appeared in “Jack the Dog” and “The Grand.” His most recent role was a voiceover part in “BoJack Horseman” as Abe Ziegler. He also released a book titled “Kotter’s Back: Emails from a Faded Celebrity to a Bewildered World” in 2007.
Kaplan’s other main interest is poker, and – like Hollywood card shark Jennifer Tilly – he’s made quite a secondary career for himself at the tables. As a player, he’s earned over a million dollars at high-stakes poker and has won several tournaments. Kaplan has also developed a career in card game commentary, holding down the job as the voice of PokerGO’s High Stakes Poker team from 2006 until January 2023, when he retired. He’s showing no signs of slowing down, though, as he’s slated to be a part of the reality show “Poker Boss.”
John Travolta
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“Welcome Back, Kotter” was the very first step toward mega-stardom for John Travolta.
Becoming the series’ breakout star and a teen idol as the meat-headed Vinny Barbarino, the rising star released an album at the height of his sitcom fame. Not satisfied with dominating the small screen, he gradually built up film credits while still working on the series. “Carrie” came first in 1976 and was followed by breakout back-to-back hits “Saturday Night Fever” and “Grease” in 1977 and 1978. Travolta nonetheless continued to keep up his “Kotter” commitments, appearing throughout the show’s fourth season even though Vinny had graduated school. The character got his own apartment and became an orderly at a hospital to help explain the actor’s occasional unavailability as he covered his movie commitments. Travolta stuck with the show until its cancellation in 1979.
His career has since seen some stratospheric highs (“Pulp Fiction”) and some nearly career-ruining, catastrophic lows (“Battlefield Earth,” anyone?). But no matter the decade, Travolta continues to be active in Hollywood. He’s returned to television to play Robert Shapiro in 2016’s “American Crime Story: OJ Simpson” and even became a pitchman for Capital One, portraying a disco dancing Santa Claus for their Christmas campaign in 2023. The actor currently has several movies in the pipeline.
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
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If the phrase “Hi, there!” means anything to you, then you probably have fond memories of the hard-hooping, smooth-talking Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, played by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs. Freddie and Vinnie are seen as perhaps the coolest members of the gang, and Freddie’s the only Sweathog to keep a steady girlfriend by his side.
“Steady” is also a word that can be used to describe Hilton-Jacobs’ career. When “Welcome Back, Kotter” wrapped in 1979, he began a regular stream of film and guest-starring gigs, including a stint as Sgt. Dobbs on “Alien Nation” and portraying patriarch Joseph Jackson in “The Jacksons: An American Dream.” Since then, his journeyman acting career has taken him from Christmas movies to animation to sitcom gigs. More recently, he starred as Cameran Sanders Sr. in all five seasons of the ALLBLK drama “A House Divided.” He continues to take on acting roles in the 2020s, and he and John Travolta even reunited on the red carpet for TCM’s showing of “Pulp Fiction” in early 2024.
Stephen Shortridge
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It’s definitely not easy filling in for a major superstar, but that was the position Stephen Shortridge found himself in when John Travolta reduced the number of episodes he was willing to take on during Season 4 of “Welcome Back, Kotter.”
The sitcom tried to fill the hole left by the semi-absent superstar, first by promoting former bully Carvelli (Charles Fleischer) to the front of the pack, then by introducing handsome southerner Beau DeLabarre (Shortridge) as a new transfer student. But with Travolta still around, albeit in a limited capacity, audiences were able to resist Beau’s charms (unlike many of the Sweathog’s girlfriends). Alas, they never fully warmed up to him before the show was cancelled.
After his time as Beau came to an end, Shortridge landed a regular role in the short-lived romantic drama “Aloha Paradise” and became a successful commercial pitchman. He appeared five times on “The Love Boat” and appeared in 50 episodes of “The Bold and the Beautiful” before performing in his best-known role of Ray in “Say Anything…” It would prove to be his final turn in front of the camera as Shortridge left the entertainment business to turn to his real love – painting. He still paints and sells pictures to this day, and even had a gallery co-showing with Peter Falk. His work rests in the collections of celebrities can be purchased through multiple galleries and at his official website.
Charles Fleischer
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Improvisational stand-up comedian Charles Fleischer found himself in an unusual position when it came to ABC sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s. While he appeared fairly often as bully Carvelli during the first couple of seasons of “Welcome Back, Kotter,” he became a more frequent presence on the show during Season 4 when John Travolta dialed back his presence on the program. Becoming friends with the Sweathogs after transferring to James Munroe High, he soon began to participate in their shenanigans instead of opposing them.
Once “Welcome Back, Kotter” was canceled, he joined Stephen Shortridge in appearing on “Aloha, Paradise.” When that series wrapped, Fleischer was transferred over to “Laverne & Shirley” to help bolster that sitcom through its waning days, playing the out-there literal space cadet Chuck. A few years later, Fleischer would land one of his most notable roles, launching his voiceover acting career in a big way by becoming Roger Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” That began a strong relationship between Fleischer and Disney, for whom he would continue to voice Roger and other characters. He’s also worked with a number of outside studios while continuing his acting career, appearing in films and guest-starring in numerous TV shows.
Fleischer has continued to work as an actor, comedian, and digital artist while maintaining an active presence on the internet.
Helaine Lembeck
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As Judy Borden, Helaine Lembeck provided a brainy foil for “Welcome Back, Kotter’s” sometimes-luggish gang of Sweathogs. Unafraid to go toe-to-toe with them, she could match them insult for insult — something that won the temporary admiration of Vinny Barbarino, whom she briefly dated. Her position as editor of the school newspaper often put her in the gang’s orbit as well.
Lembeck — who happens to be the daughter of comic Harvey Lembeck, himself the comedic foil for Phil Silvers and Eric von Zipper in the “Beach Party” series of films — brought a unique zest to the role that she continues to show in her acting career to this day. Her participation in the entertainment industry is definitely a family affair; her brother, Michael, also acts and is perhaps best known as Max from “One Day at a Time.” The two run the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop in Los Angeles together, teaching improvisational comedy to a whole new generation of entertainers.
Outside of “Kotter,” Lembeck appeared in “The Krofft Supershow” and “Magic Mongo.” She popped up alongside her dad in the “Beach Party” series reunion TV movie, “Frankie & Annette: The Second Time Around,” and has appeared in a wide variety of TV movies and television shows. Her latest credit is as a reporter in 2019’s “Sneaky Pete.”
Vernee Watson
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Vernee Watson struck a unique figure as “Welcome Back, Kotter’s” Vernajean Williams. Unlike the show’s short-lived female presences like Angie Grabowski (Melonie Haller), Mary Johnson — later Mary Johnson-Horshack (Irene Arranga) — and Rosalie “Hotsie” Totsie (Debralee Scott), Vernajean stood out among the distaff members of the Sweathogs due to her indomitable spirit and her steady relationship with Freddie.
Watson has taken that spirit and crafted quite a career for herself. Post-“Kotter,” she landed a regular role in “Carter Country,” appeared in the film “All Night Long,” and began a successful voiceover career that ultimately had her land parts in “Animaniacs” and “Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.” ’90s’ sitcom fans might recognize her best as Viola “Vi” Smith, Will Smith’s (Will Smith) mom on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” More recently, she wrapped up a regular role on “Bob Hearts Abishola” as Abishola’s hospital co-worker Gloria Tyler. She continues to appear on “General Hospital” as Stella Henry, a part that’s won her two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. Mr. Kotter would be proud.