John Travolta almost missed out on his breakout TV role. The actor shot to fame in the 1975 ABC sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, but in an essay for Emmy Magazine, Gabe Kaplan, the show’s co-creator and star, revealed that Travolta nearly skipped the audition because he needed the money from another job.
“[Casting director Lynn] Stalmaster thought a relative unknown named John Travolta would be perfect for Vinnie Barbarino,” Kaplan, 81, wrote in Sept. 2025, per People magazine. “But John had been offered a Broadway show, and rehearsals were starting soon.”
Kaplan revealed that Travolta told him that he was going to make the Broadway job because he “needed the money,” but Stalmaster wanted him so bad he got him a small role in the 1975 horror movie The Devil’s Rain to “tide [him] over until Kotter auditions started.”
Interestingly, in one of Travolta’s audition tapes recorded in March 1975, he calls his character “Eddie Barbarino.” The clapper also says “Kotter test” instead of Welcome Back Kotter.
The move to turn down Broadway to wait for the audition proved to be a smart choice for Travolta, who starred as lead “Sweathog” Vinnie Barbarino for four seasons on Kotter, alongside Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Freddie “Boom Boom Washington), Robert Hegyes (Juan Epstein), and Ron Palillo (Arnold Horshack).
Travolta became an instant teen idol from his Kotter fame. According to The New York Times, by May 1976, he was one of the top stars on TV and was flooded with merchandising deals. He went on to star in the big screen films Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease, and by the late 1970s was known as a major movie star.
Travolta later credited Kaplan for launching his career. According to the Ocala Star Banner, when the Welcome Back Kotter cast members reunited at the TV Land Awards in 2011, Travolta said, “I have been waiting so long to tell Gabe this: Thank you for creating this show and putting us all on the map. You’re a genius. You are a gentleman. And I love you, and I know we all love you.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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