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Joel Katz

New Welcome Back Kotter Release Has Jersey Ties

Author Joel Katz
The Welcome Back Kotter cast

Growing up in the seventies one of the hottest TV shows was Welcome Back, Kotter. I remember as a kid watching each week and thinking it was awesome. As an adult, not so much, but I digress.

Me and my brother and friends would blurt out all the stupid “Sweathog” catchphrases like, “Up your nose with a rubber hose,” Horshack’s ridiculous laugh, Vinnie Barbarino’s clueless, “What, where” Washington’s suave style, and Epstein the “Puerto Rican Jew,” and his absence notes signed by “Epstein’s Mother.”

It also had an extremely popular theme song.

Welcome Back, Kotter was set in Brooklyn, New York, but one of the actors from the show, Robert Hegyes played “Epstein,” was from New Jersey.

Welcome Back Kotter New Jersey Native

Hegyes was born in Perth Amboy and grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey. He also went to Rowan University which was Glassboro State College at the time.

While starting his acting career he was cast as Juan Epstein on Welcome Back, Kotter. He also had roles in other shows in the eighties. According to IMDB he was Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin.

Jersey-born Robert Hegyes was sixty years old when he died of a heart attack at his home in Metuchen, NJ in 2012.

John Travolta, who played Vinnie Barbarino, was the most successful actor featured in the show. Welcome back Kotter led to roles in Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

The series also stars Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter, Marcia Strassman as Julie Kotter, and John Sylvester White as Mr. Woodman.

It’s hard to believe, but for the first time, all the episodes from the classic Welcome Back Kotter TV series are all together and available in one DVD set.

A picture of the Welcome Back Kotter DVD box

Welcome Back Kotter DVD box

It’s the new release of “Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete Series” on DVD on June 11th. The brand-new set is available online and in stores. You’ll be able to binge on all the ninety-five episodes.

Welcome Back, Kotter premiered in 1975 and aired for four seasons. The series was nominated for four Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1976.

Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.

Notable Titles Coming To Streaming In June

The smell of summer and the end of allergy season is so close, we can almost taste it (and breathe again). Whether it is to cool down from the rising temperatures or to escape those dreaded allergies, streaming services are gearing up with some hot titles this summer.

Television Titles Coming To Streaming In June

Streaming giant Netflix is keeping passions hot with two dating reality shows this month. First up is Love Is Blind, this time taking place in Brazil. The popular global show is an experiment where prospective singles are paired up with blind dates and don’t get to see each other until they accept a marriage proposal. Last season’s Love Is Blind was full of drama, and it is to be expected with the South American hotties from the looks of the trailer. The season premieres on June 19th.

Another popular reality dating show is Perfect Match, with the show’s second season airing on Netflix on June 7th. This show is a lot steamier and sleazier than Love Is Blind, so for those looking for that extra spice, you should check it out. Former Love Is Blind contestants are also participating in Perfect Match season two, including Jessica, Trevor, Izzy, and Micah.

Meanwhile, over on Hulu, the highly-anticipated third season of The Bear is set to premiere later in the month. The award-winning chaotic drama returns with the entire season on June 27th with Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as chefs and staff of the Chicago beef sandwich shop. Season three sees the crew trying to elevate The Bear to the highest level of fine dining.

Another highly-anticipated series lands on Max this month with the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. The show is set nearly 200 years before the events of GoT, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys I Targaryen’s children battling for control of the Iron Throne. The cast includes Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen, Bethany Antonia as Baela Targaryen, and Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen. The season premiere is on June 16th, with subsequent episodes dropping every Sunday.

Over on Amazon Prime Video, The Boys returns for the show’s fourth season. On June 13th, our favorite band of misfits will reunite for the first three episodes of the new season. In season four, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the super-powered thumb of Homelander (Antony Starr), who is consolidating his power. Butcher (Karl Urban), with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son (Cameron Crovetti) and his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team is fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late. The rest of the cast includes Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, and Colby Minifie. Season four will welcome newcomers to the series Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

For Star Wars fans, Disney+ has a new series called The Acolyte, premiering with the first two episodes on June 4th. In the series, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….The series also stars Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Here Are Some New Films Are Streaming In June:

  • Hit Man

    Inspired by the unbelievable true story, a straight-laced professor (Glen Powell) uncovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man in undercover police stings. He meets his match in a client (Adria Arjona) who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities. The film was inspired by a Texas Monthly story by Skip Hollandsworth. Powell’s character, the now-deceased Gary Johnson, was a real guy who worked as a fake contract killer for the police, but the film makes sure to clarify that its bigger plot twists are completely fictional. The noir comedy premieres on Netflix on June 7th.

  • Problemista

    In this A24 comedy film, the story follows Alejandro (Julio Torres), an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador who’s struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast named Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream. The rest of Problemista‘s cast include RZA, Greta Lee, Catalina Saavedra, James Scully, and Laith Kakli. The film drops on Max on June 7th.

  • Trigger Warning

    Jessica Alba makes her return to television in a new action thriller film called Trigger Warning. The Honey star plays a skilled Special Forces commando named Parker, who takes ownership of her father’s bar after he suddenly dies and soon finds herself at odds with a violent gang running rampant in her hometown. Trigger Warning also stars Mark Webber, Tone Bell, Jake Weary, Gabriel Basso, and Anthony Michael Hall and premieres on June 21 on Netflix.

  • Marmalade

    In this romanc/thriller, Stranger Things star Joe Keery plays the role of recently-incarcerated Baron. He strikes up a friendship with his new cellmate, Otis (Aldis Hodge), a man with a history of prison breaks. As they hatch a plan to escape, Baron recalls how he met the love of his life, Marmalade (Camila Morrone), and how they came up with a scheme to rob a bank. Marmalade is available to stream on Hulu on June 21st.

  • Red Right Hand

    In another action-thriller, Orlando Bloom stars as Cash, a man trying to live an honest and quiet life taking care of his recently orphaned niece Savannah (Chapel Oaks) in the Appalachian town of Odim County. When the sadistic kingpin Big Cat, (Andie MacDowell) who runs the town, forces him back into her services, Cash learns he’s capable of anything – even killing – to protect the town and the only family he has left. As the journey gets harder, Cash is drawn into a nightmare that blurs the lines between good and evil. The film streams on Hulu on June 28th.

  • A Family Affair

    A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman named Zara (Joey King), her mother Brooke Harwood (Nicole Kidman) and her former movie star boss Chris Cole (Zac Efron) as they face the complications of love, sex, and identity. Zara finds herself in a horribly awkward position when Chris Cole falls in love with her mother, and she does everything she can to protect her from him. Kathy Bates is also part of the cast, playing Leila, Brooke’s wisecracking mother-in-law and a voice of wisdom in Brooke and Zara’s lives. A Family Affair debuts June 28 on Netflix.

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