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Ron Palillo

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Ron Palillo
Ron Palillo in 1975
Born
Ronald Gabriel Paolillo[1]

(1949-04-02)April 2, 1949
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedAugust 14, 2012(2012-08-14) (aged 63)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeSt. Lawrence Cemetery
Other namesRonald G. Paolillo (as illustrator)
Alma materUniversity of Connecticut
Occupations
  • Actor
  • illustrator
  • playwright
Years active1975–2012
PartnerJoseph Gramm (1971–2012; Palillo's death)[2]

Ronald Gabriel Palillo (April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012) was an American actor and teacher.[3][4] He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979).[5][6]

Early life and education

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Ronald Gabriel Paolillo was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Italian-Americans[7] Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, and raised in nearby Cheshire. His father died of lung cancer when he was 10 years old.[8] He graduated from Cheshire High School[9] and the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he would teach in the 1990s.[4] He attended Fairfield University while pursuing a postgraduate degree. He adopted the last name Palillo for his acting career.

Career

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Palillo as "Sweathog" Arnold Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter, c. 1976

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.[10][11]

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.[12][better source needed]

He returned to New York in 1991, and played such stage roles as Mozart in Amadeus and regionally as George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Arthur in Camelot and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. He appeared on Broadway in 2008 in Broadway Backwards 4, a charity event benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Among his other New York City credits were a one-person show in 2000 where he portrayed Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in The Diary of Adolf Eichmann off-Broadway.[13] Palillo, in a newspaper interview in 1997, said he lamented his role as Horshack as he was permanently typecast, which he believed had damaged his career.[14] The following year Palillo starred in The Fourposter at the Wayside Theatre in Middletown, Virginia.[15][16]

As a director, Palillo directed successful productions of the musical Three Guys Naked From The Waist Down in Los Angeles, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, and a new edition of Phantom of the Opera at the Cuillo Center for the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida.[17] In 2007, he introduced a clothing line specializing in limited-edition T-shirts produced by Rotter and Friends. Palillo was also an artist, providing artwork for two children's books: The Red Wings of Christmas and A Gift for the Contessa. [18]

In 2006, his first full-length play, The Lost Boy, the true story of Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie,[19] premiered at the Helen Hayes Theatre in Nyack, New York, and later played at the Queens Theatre in the Park in Queens, New York, and at El Dorado Springs High School in El Dorado Springs, Missouri.[18]

He taught freshman drama at G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting in Palm Springs, Florida.[20][21]

Personal life and death

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Palillo and his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm, lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[22][23] On August 14, 2012, Palillo suffered a heart attack at his home and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He died seven months after co-star Robert Hegyes, who also died from a heart attack.[23][24][25]

Palillo's funeral service was held in Palm Beach Gardens on August 22, 2012.[26] He is buried at St. Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven, Connecticut.[27] A memorial tribute, directed by Lawrence Leritz and hosted by Tyne Daly, was held to honor and celebrate Palillo's life and career at New York City's Triad Theatre on October 3, 2012.[18]

Filmography

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Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1975–1979 Welcome Back, Kotter Arnold Horshack 94 episodes
1976 Mr. T and Tina Arnold Horshack Episode: "Pilot"
1979 The Love Boat Al Breyer Episode: "Gopher's Opportunity / The Switch / Home Sweet Home" S2 E15
1979 $weepstake$ Harold Episode: "Dewey and Harold and Sarah and Maggie"
1979 Greatest Heroes of the Bible Hevet Episode: "The Tower of Babel"
1979 Skatetown, U.S.A. Frankey Feature film
1981 The Love Boat Casper Martin Episode: "Lose One, Win One / The $10,000 Lover/Mind My Wife"
1981–1982 Laverne & Shirley in the Army Sgt. Squealy Voice, 13 episodes
1981 Alice Mutner Episode: "The Wild One"
1982 Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour Sgt. Squealy Voice, 8 episodes (Laverne & Shirley with the Fonz segment)
1983 Rubik, the Amazing Cube Rubik Voice, 13 episodes
1983 The A-Team Zack Episode: "Mexican Slayride"
1983 CHiPs Nick Episode: "Journey to a Spacecraft"
1983 The Invisible Woman Spike Mitchell TV film
1983 Matt Houston Charley Arbis Episode: "The Beverly Woods Social Club"
1984 Surf II Inspector Underpants Feature film
1984 Murder, She Wrote Norman Lester, Esq. Episode: "Hooray for Homicide"
1985 Doin' Time Pappion Feature film
1985 Pound Puppies Scrounger Voice, TV special
1986 Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Allen Hawes Feature film
1986 Trapper John, M.D. Kussman Episode: "Elusive Butterfly"
1986 Cagney & Lacey Mr. Larkin Episode: "Rites of Passage"
1987–1988 Little Clowns of Happytown Whiner Voice, 18 episodes
1988 Superman Additional voices Episode: "Night of the Living Shadows / Graduation"
1989 Snake Eater Torchy Feature film
1989 Hellgate Matt Feature film
1989 Snake Eater II: The Drug Buster Torchy Feature film
1990 The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda Additional voices Episode: "Pity the Poor Pirate"
1990 Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone Additional voices 13 episodes; aka Potsworth & Co.
1991 Committed Ronnie Feature film
1991 Darkwing Duck Ordinary Guy Voice, Episode: "Planet of the Capes"
1992 Wind Tony Feature film
1992 Phil Donahue Show Himself Famous Past Celebrities
1994 One Life to Live Gary Warren Daytime drama
1996 Ellen Himself Sitcom, 3 episodes
1997 Mr. Rhodes Arnold Horshack Episode: "The Welcome Back Show"
1997 Duckman Himself Episode: "Westward, No!"
2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Himself Cameo, Feature film
2003 Style Court Juror Episode #2.26
2004 Trees 2: The Root of All Evil Dougie Styles Feature film
2008 The Curse of Micah Rood Micah Rood Short film
2010 The Guardians Professor Walker Feature film
2010 It's a Dog Gone Tale: Destiny's Stand Randolph Baines Feature film (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ Diaz, Johnny (August 14, 2012). "Ron Palillo, of 'Welcome Back, Kotter' fame, 63". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
  2. ^ Kinser, Jeremy (August 14, 2012). "Welcome Back Kotter's Ron Palillo Dies". The Advocate.
  3. ^ "Ron Palillo". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012 – via Baseline & All Movie Guide.
  4. ^ a b Vitello, Paul (August 14, 2012). "Ron Palillo Dies at 63; Played Horshack on TV". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "So Soon, Another Sweathog Is Gone". The New York Times. August 14, 2012.
  6. ^ Hinckley, David (August 14, 2012). "Ron Palillo dead at 63: Actor best known to TV audiences as Horshack on 'Welcome Back, Kotter'". Daily News. New York.
  7. ^ Erstein, Hap (May 7, 1996). "Ron Palillo's Welcome Back". The Palm Beach Post.
  8. ^ "Welcome back, Kotter actor Ron Palillo dead at 63". Associated Press. August 14, 2012.
  9. ^ "Cheshire's 'Kotter' connection now a teacher". Republican-American. November 26, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "7 potential spinoffs that never saw the light of day". Me-TV Network. September 2, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ooh-ooh-ooh! "Horshack" Talks Up the Kotter DVD". TV Guide. June 12, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "The Curse of Micah Rood (Short 2008)". IMDb.
  13. ^ Rizzo, Frank. "Connecticut's Ron Palillo, Horshack in "Kotter", Dead at 63". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ron Palillo hurt by Arnold Horshack role in Kotter series". Big News Network. United Press International. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  15. ^ Horan Jr., John (May 22, 1998). "Palillo, Moran lack required chemistry in 'The Fourposter'". The Northern Virginia Daily. pp. D-1.
  16. ^ Laster, James H. "Owens: Production Chronology". allaboutwayside.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  17. ^ "Ron Palillo". ronpalillo.com.
  18. ^ a b c "Ron Palillo Tribute to be Held at the Triad, 10/3". BroadwayWorld. September 3, 2012.
  19. ^ Simonson, Robert. "Ron Palillo, Horshack of "Welcome Back, Kotter", Dies at 63". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "'Welcome Back, Kotter' actor teaches drama in Fla". USA Today. Associated Press. October 19, 2009.
  21. ^ Freeman, Marc (September 5, 2009). "Former Sweathog, actor Ron Palillo, now a teacher in Palm Beach County". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  22. ^ Streeter, Leslie Gray (August 14, 2012). "Obituary: Ron Palillo, 63, 'Kotter' star, G-star teacher". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Silverman, Stephen (August 14, 2012). "Welcome Back, Kotter Actor Ron Palillo Dies". People. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  24. ^ Moore, Frazier (August 14, 2012). "Ron Palillo, actor who played nerdy teen Arnold Horshack on 'Welcome Back, Kotter' dies at 63". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018.
  25. ^ "Ron Palillo, TV's Horshack, dies at 63". Variety. August 14, 2012.
  26. ^ Streeter, Leslie Gray (August 20, 2012). "Service for actor, teacher Ron Palillo". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  27. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3d ed.). McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7.
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