R.I.P. Robert Hegyes and Comedy TV’s ‘Age of Innocence’

Substitute Overly: “But, eh, why do they call them sweathogs?”
Vice-Principal Woodman: “Well, that’s cute. Don’t you recognize a term of endearment when you hear one?” (Lots of laughter!)

“Welcome Back Kotter.” “The Andy Griffith Show.” “Good Times.” “Mash.” “Green Acres” and “Leave It To Beaver.” “Sanford and Son” plus “Chico and the Man.” “All in the Family.” “Three’s Company.” “Diff’rent Strokes.” And, who could forget the hilarious antics on “I Love Lucy,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “Bewitched,” and “The Carol Burnett Show?” Ha-ha!

These were the good old days of comedy! An age of innocence in TV Land where families looked forward to sitting in front of their television sets to get some good laughs for the day. Sometimes, next to a handy box of tissues. I remember laughing just that hard! Tears would stream from my eyes. My brother and sisters and I would roll over cracking up, barely able to stay seated! Don’t you remember how funny TV was back then? As J.J. would say, “Dy-no-mite!”

This past week, we lost Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Epstein, one of the “immortal” sweathogs from the ABC TV series, “Welcome Back Kotter.” He died of a reported heart attack after complaining of chest pains at his home in Metuchen, NJ. The actor was 60 years old. His comedy TV cast was indeed colorful; it was made up of four academically challenged students from Buchanan High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Hegyes played the Puerto Rican Jewish kid who’s catch phrase was “Hey Mr. Kotter, I got a note!” His specialty was absenteeism with fake excuses.

Rounding out the infamous sweathogs were Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs (Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington), Ron Palillo ( Arnold Horseshack- “G’head, G’head”), and the one sweat hog whose star took off for the Hollywood heavens, John Travolta, another Jersey boy like Hegyes who played the handsome “delinquent,” “Vinnie Barbarino (“Up your nose with a rubber hose”)!

The show was the brainchild of comedian Gabe Kaplan, who teamed up with fellow Brooklynite Alan Sacks, already known for his work on “Chico and the Man,” starring Freddie Prinze. A product of New Utrecht High, Kaplan was one of those remedial students who sat in classes on the top floor of the school–thus earning that name “sweathog.” The characters were actual classmates, with three of the four names changed. Arnold Horshack is the only authentic name for Kaplan’s cast of characters.

The show debuted in September of 1975 to strong ratings. In three weeks time, “Welcome Back Kotter” was sitting in the Top Ten. It survived four seasons and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1976. The sitcom lost to one of comedy’s leading ladies, “Mary Tyler Moore.”

Hegyes did a stint as Detective Esposito on “Cagney and Lacey,” which aired on CBS and he also taught master classes at Rowan University, where he earned a Bachelors in speech/theater and secondary education.Though he played a Puerto Rican Jew, Hegyes was actually the product of a Hungarian-American father and Italian-American mother. He retired, but talked about directing. He was reunited with most of the original cast of “Welcome Back Kotter” last year at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards.

The scripts were spectacular; the jokes were funny; the shows were unpredictable. And, as a happy result, the audiences were rewarded with unlimited laughter and some pretty darn incredible comedic timing. Now, that’s real unforgettable stuff!

Yep, I miss those days of the great TV comedy sitcoms…where you could just gather around the TV after dinner, grab a box of tissues or a hanky, and get ready to laugh like crazy! Those were the days.

To hear the “Welcome Back Kotter” theme song, a No. 1 hit in 1976; composed and recorded by John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful, click here.

To view a photo gallery of Hegyes, visit here.

Sources

nj.com, imdb.com, youtube.com


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