Trivia for
"Welcome Back, Kotter" (1975) More at IMDbPro »

• The original title of the series was to be simply "Kotter," but that was before composer John Sebastian had difficulty writing the theme song lyrics. He couldn't find enough rhyming words for the title. Giving up on that tack, he decided to compose lyrics that illustrated the premise of the show in a song called, "Welcome Back." The producers were so impressed with the song that they decided to change the series title to "Welcome Back, Kotter." The song was also released on a single which went to #1 on the charts.
  
  
• The show always began and ended with Gabe Kotter telling his wife Julie a joke, except for the last episode. In that episode, Marcia Strassman had left the set after a dispute, so Gabe Kaplan tells the last joke to a stuffed bear.
  
  
• The show was originally banned in Boston. The Boston ABC affiliate did not want to air the show at first because they thought it was about busing, a very heated topic at the time. They eventually ran the show with no problems.
  
  
• Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta both left the show after the third season. Kaplan left after two episodes in the final season due to, creative differences with producer James Komack. Kaplan's name still in the credits but, he rarely appeared in the show. On the other hand, Travolta's original five year contract was altered after the massive success of Saturday Night Fever. Finally, Travolta appeared in eight of the 22 episodes, for $2,000 an episode and, he was billed as "Special Guest Star".
  
  
• Jonathan Frakes tested for a role in this series.
  
  
• The sweathogs' putdown line "Up your nose with a rubber hose!" was ranked #15 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 20 Top Catchphrases" (21-27 August 2005 issue).
  
  
• During the opening theme we see a sign that says "Welcome to Brooklyn: The 4th Largest City In America". The sign was located on the Brooklyn side of The Verrazano Narrows Bridge which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn.
  
  
• This sitcom was not aired in Italy until John Travolta's big smash on the silver screen as Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977), whose title was literally translated as "La febbre del sabato sera". This is why Italian adaptors decided to rename this sitcom "I ragazzi del sabato sera", i.e. "Saturday Night Guys".
  
  
• The Vinnie Barbarino character was originally going to be named Eddie Barbarini.
  
  
• Juan Epstein's full name was Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein.
  
  
• Gloria Swanson auditioned for the role of the school principal. But the character was changed to a male and became Mr. Woodman.
  
  
• Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson auditioned for the role of Julie Kotter.
  
  
• The actors playing the four main Sweathogs were much older than the characters they played. By the final season, Ron Palillo was 29, Robert Hegyes 27, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs 25, and John Travolta 24.
  
  
• "Ooo, Ooo I Do!" was supposed to air on May 25, 1979, but the episode was pre-empted when then-president Jimmy Carter gave a press conference about the recent fuel crisis in America. The episode was aired a week later and was intended as a series finale, but "The Breadwinners" aired after it.
  
  
• In the final season, the writing staff for the show was replaced by "seasoned comedy writers", who had earlier worked on "Here's Lucy" (1968), and other shows with actors much older than the high schoolers who were the focus of "Welcome Back Kotter". The new writers weren't capable of delivering the fresh, hip dialogue the show needed, and the ratings fell off quickly.
  
  
• One plan to continue the series was to have the Sweathogs graduate and go to college, with Kotter becoming a college professor, but the idea was ultimately rejected.
  
  

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