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Vinnie Barbarino and Freddy “Boom-Boom” Washington reunited this week when Welcome Back, Kotter vet Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs surprised long-ago “classmate” John Travolta on the red carpet at the TCM Classic Film Festival.
Travolta was on hand for the annual film festival’s celebration of Pulp Fiction, which came out 30 years ago this October.
TCM shared video of the encounter below, where zero noses were invited to be subject to rubber hoses.
Welcome Back, Kotter aired for four seasons on ABC, from 1975 to 1979, and followed the eclectic array of students (aka “Sweathogs”) assigned to a remedial education class at the fictional James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn. Gabe Kaplan played titular teacher Gabe Kotter, while a pre-Urban Cowboy/Staying Alive Travolta played too-cool-for-school heartthrob Vinnie and Hilton-Jacobs played hoops star Freddie.
The cast also included Marcia Strassman as Kotter’s sssssmokin’ wife Julie, John Sylvester White as grumpy vice principal Woodman, plus “Sweathogs” Ron Palillo (ooh, ooh, ooh! Horshack) and Robert Hegyes (Epstein).
Back in 2011, Kaplan, Strassman, Travolta, Hegyes, Hilton-Jacobs and Ellen Travolta (aka John’s big sister, who recurred as Horshack’s mother) were on hand when Kotter was honored at the TV Land Awards.
White passed away back in 1988, followed by both Palillo and Hegyes in 2012, and Strassman in 2014.
That’s awesome!
Their other costars seem to have died so young. Such a sad fact. It would have been nice to have a ‘Kotter’ reunion, or even a new series about their characters’ kids hanging out together and coping at the same school. Fun!
Love it! Back when TV was good.
This TV show was great to watch,the cast was amazing,thanks for sharing this