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]
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.[9][10]
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.[11][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 Eichmannoff-Broadway.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14] 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.[15]
Palillo and his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm, lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[19][20] 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.[20][21][22]
Palillo's funeral service was held in Palm Beach Gardens on August 22, 2012.[23] He is buried at St. Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven, Connecticut.[24] 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.[15]
^Hinckley, David (August 14, 2012). "Ron Palillo dead at 63: Actor best known to TV audiences as Horshack on 'Welcome Back, Kotter'". New York Daily News.
palillo, ronald, gabriel, palillo, april, 1949, august, 2012, american, actor, teacher, best, known, role, endearingly, witted, character, arnold, horshack, sitcom, welcome, back, kotter, 1975, 1979, 1975bornronald, gabriel, paolillo, 1949, april, 1949new, hav. 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 Ron PalilloRon Palillo in 1975BornRonald Gabriel Paolillo 1 1949 04 02 April 2 1949New Haven Connecticut U S DiedAugust 14 2012 2012 08 14 aged 63 Palm Beach Gardens Florida U S Other namesRonald G Paolillo as illustrator Alma materUniversity of ConnecticutOccupation s Actor illustrator playwrightYears active1975 2012PartnerJoseph Gramm 1971 2012 Palillo s death 2 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life and death 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and education EditRonald Gabriel Paolillo was born in New Haven Connecticut to Italian Americans 7 Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo and raised in nearby Cheshire He graduated from Cheshire High School 8 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 Edit 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 9 10 Following Kotter Palillo appeared in leading and supporting roles in various television series and films He voiced characters on such animated series as Laverne amp 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 11 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 amp 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 15 In 2006 his first full length play The Lost Boy the true story of Peter Pan author J M Barrie 16 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 15 He taught freshman drama at G Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting in Palm Springs Florida 17 18 Personal life and death EditPalillo and his partner of 41 years Joseph Gramm lived in Palm Beach Gardens Florida 19 20 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 20 21 22 Palillo s funeral service was held in Palm Beach Gardens on August 22 2012 23 He is buried at St Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven Connecticut 24 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 15 Filmography EditFilm and TelevisionYear Title Role Notes1975 1979 Welcome Back Kotter Arnold Horshack 94 episodes1976 Mr T and Tina Arnold Horshack Episode Pilot 1979 The Love Boat Al Breyer Episode Gopher s Opportunity The Switch Home Sweet Home 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 film1981 The Love Boat Casper Martin Episode Lose One Win One The 10 000 Lover Mind My Wife 1981 1982 Laverne amp Shirley in the Army Sgt Squealy Voice 13 episodes1981 Alice Mutner Episode The Wild One 1982 Mork amp Mindy Laverne amp Shirley Fonz Hour Sgt Squealy Voice 8 episodes Laverne amp Shirley with the Fonz segment 1983 Rubik the Amazing Cube Rubik Voice 13 episodes1983 The A Team Zack Episode Mexican Slayride 1983 CHiPs Nick Episode Journey to a Spacecraft 1983 The Invisible Woman Spike Mitchell TV film1983 Matt Houston Charley Arbis Episode The Beverly Woods Social Club 1984 Surf II Inspector Underpants Feature film1984 Murder She Wrote Norman Lester Esq Episode Hooray for Homicide 1985 Doin Time Pappion Feature film1985 Pound Puppies Scrounger Voice TV special1986 Friday the 13th Part VI Jason Lives Allen Hawes Feature film1986 Trapper John M D Kussman Episode Elusive Butterfly 1986 Cagney amp Lacey Mr Larkin Episode Rites of Passage 1987 1988 Little Clowns of Happytown Whiner Voice 18 episodes1988 Superman Additional voices Episode Night of the Living Shadows Graduation 1989 Snake Eater Torchy Feature film1989 Hellgate Matt Feature film1989 Snake Eater II The Drug Buster Torchy Feature film1990 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 amp Co 1991 Committed Ronnie Feature film1991 Darkwing Duck Ordinary Guy Voice Episode Planet of the Capes 1992 Wind Tony Feature film1994 One Life to Live Gary Warren Daytime drama1996 Ellen Himself Sitcom 3 episodes1997 Mr Rhodes Arnold Horshack Episode The Welcome Back Show 1997 Duckman Himself Episode Westward No 2003 Dickie Roberts Former Child Star Himself Cameo Feature film2003 Style Court Juror Episode 2 262004 Trees 2 The Root of All Evil Dougie Styles Feature film2008 The Curse of Micah Rood Micah Rood Short film2010 The Guardians Professor Walker Feature film2010 It s a Dog Gone Tale Destiny s Stand Randolph Baines Feature film final film role References Edit Diaz Johnny August 14 2012 Ron Palillo of Welcome Back Kotter fame 63 South Florida Sun Sentinel Fort Lauderdale permanent dead link Kinser Jeremy August 14 2012 Welcome Back Kotter s Ron Palillo Dies The Advocate Ron Palillo Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times 2012 Archived from the original on August 18 2012 via Baseline amp All Movie Guide a b Vitello Paul August 14 2012 Ron Palillo Dies at 63 Played Horshack on TV The New York Times So Soon Another Sweathog Is Gone The New York Times August 14 2012 Hinckley David August 14 2012 Ron Palillo dead at 63 Actor best known to TV audiences as Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter New York Daily News Erstein Hap May 7 1996 Ron Palillo s Welcome Back The Palm Beach Post Cheshire s Kotter connection now a teacher Republican American November 26 2010 Retrieved April 25 2021 7 potential spinoffs that never saw the light of day Me TV Network September 2 2016 Retrieved January 28 2021 Ooh ooh ooh Horshack Talks Up the Kotter DVD TV Guide June 12 2007 Retrieved January 19 2019 The Curse of Micah Rood Short 2008 IMDb Rizzo Frank Connecticut s Ron Palillo Horshack in Kotter Dead at 63 Hartford Courant Retrieved January 10 2022 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 Ron Palillo ronpalillo com a b c Ron Palillo Tribute to be Held at the Triad 10 3 BroadwayWorld September 3 2012 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 Welcome Back Kotter actor teaches drama in Fla USA Today Associated Press October 19 2009 Freeman Marc September 5 2009 Former Sweathog actor Ron Palillo now a teacher in Palm Beach County South Florida Sun Sentinel Streeter Leslie Gray August 14 2012 Obituary Ron Palillo 63 Kotter star G star teacher The Palm Beach Post Retrieved January 28 2021 a b Silverman Stephen August 14 2012 Welcome Back Kotter Actor Ron Palillo Dies People Retrieved August 14 2012 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 Ron Palillo TV s Horshack dies at 63 Variety August 14 2012 Streeter Leslie Gray August 20 2012 Service for actor teacher Ron Palillo Palm Beach Post Retrieved August 21 2012 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 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Palillo External links EditRon Palillo at IMDb Ron Palillo at Find a Grave Corporate Speakers site for Ron Palillo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ron Palillo amp oldid 1152203548, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
