Welcome Back Kotter Goodbye Ron Palillo

While I never watched the original airings of the Welcome Back Kotter Sitcom which aired between 1975 and 1979, I did get somewhat hooked on the series during numerous re-runs in the 80’s. Even though I watched the episodes reqularly I never really knew what to think about the quirky show and its quirky characters. It was like the show make me uncomfortable, was boring at times but I couldn’t resist watching.

 Perhaps the characters on Welcome Back Kotter had a lot to do with the attraction. Actors like afro haired Ron Palillo who played the nerdy Arnold Horshack and John Travolta who went on to become a huge Hollywood success story. In other words, I was watching characters I couldn’t really relate to but was somehow mesimerized with to the point that I had to keep watching.

Ron Palillo died at age 63 of an apparent heart attack on Tuesday. He was  teaching acting at the G-Star School of the Arts in Palm Beach at the time of his death. Goodbye Kotter, Goodbye Ron Palillo.