Ron palillo and joseph gramm

Ron Palillo, the actor and G-Star arts school teacher who died last Tuesday at age 63 in his Palm Beach Gardens apartment, was remembered by fans and fellow actors with an outpouring of sadness and sweet memories.

The Welcome Back, Kotter star was cited for playing one of TV’s first great iconic nerds, the nasal-voiced Arnold Horshack. Palillo’s death also served a quiet coming-out for the actor, who was survived by his longtime partner Joseph Gramm. Some commentators said they had long surmised that Horshack was meant to be a gay character.

Here’s what people are saying about the actor and his beloved TV character:

His ‘Kotter’ co-star John Travolta: “Ron was a wonderful person and talent, and helped catapult Welcome Back, Kotter to great success. We will miss him.”

‘Kotter’ star and co-creator Gabe Kaplan: “I think everyone had a Horshack in their school, and there’s also a little bit of Horshack in all of us.” He fondly recalled how perfectly Palillo embodied the nebbishy character he’d been developing for some time in his stand-up act: “When Ron walked into the audition and did his first line, ‘Hello, how are you, I’m Arnold Horshack,’ I said, ‘That’s him. That’s the guy I’ve been talking about for five years.’”

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Horshack’s distinctive hyena-like laugh: According to Welcome Back, Kotter co-creator Alan Sacks, that famous guffaw was entirely Palillo’s creation. “We had in the script ‘laugh,’ but we didn’t have the strange sound that came out,” he said.

Was Horshack gay? Even before Palillo’s death, fans had speculated that Horshack, with his love of movie musicals and exuberant mannerisms, was meant to be a gay character. In a blog post for the San Francisco Chronicle, David Wiegand argued that Horshack “was an important point in the timeline of how LGBT people are depicted on TV.” It’s a claim Sacks denied - sort of. “That was never in our minds,” he sai

American actor and teacher (1949–2012)

Ronald Gabriel Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American actor and teacher. He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979).

Early life and education

Ronald Gabriel Paolillo was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Italian-Americans Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, and raised in nearby Cheshire. His father died of lung cancer when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Cheshire High School and the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he would teach in the 1990s. He attended Fairfield University while pursuing a postgraduate degree. He adopted the last name Palillo for his acting career.

Career

In 1975, Palillo was cast as Arnold Horshack, one of the misfit "sweathogs" in the high school sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, whose antics made him one of the standout characters of the series. In the last season of the series, a backdoor pilot episode for a spin-off series featuring Horshack was produced, but the series was not developed.

Following Kotter, Palillo appeared in leading and supporting roles in various television series and films. He voiced characters on such animated series as Laverne & Shirley in the Army, Darkwing Duck, and Rubik, the Amazing Cube, in which he played the lead character. In 1996, Palillo played himself in several episodes of the television sitcom Ellen, playing the love interest of Ellen's friend Audrey. Palillo also spent a year on the daytime show One Life to Live and also acted in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), and the lead in The Curse of Micah Rood.

He returned to New York in 1991, and played such stage roles as Mozart in Amadeus and regi

Ronald Gabriel "Ron" Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American television and movie actor, who is best known for his role as high school student Arnold Dingfelder Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, from 1975 to 1979.

Palillo was born in Cheshire, Connecticut on April 2, 1949. He was educated at University of Connecticut. Palillo died on August 14, 2012 from a heart attack in his Palm Beach, Florida home. He was 63 years old. He is survived by his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm.

References

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