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Ron Palillo
Ron Palillo 1975.jpg
Ron Palillo in 1975
Born
Ronald Gabriel Paolillo

(1949-04-02)April 2, 1949
Died August 14, 2012(2012-08-14) (aged 63)
Resting place St. Lawrence Cemetery
Other names Ronald G. Paolillo (as illustrator)
Alma mater University of Connecticut
Occupation Actor, illustrator, playwright
Years active 1975–2012
Partner(s) Joseph Gramm (1971–2012; Palillo's death)

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. 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

Welcome Back Kotter Ron Palillo 1976
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.

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 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. 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. The following year Palillo starred in The Fourposter at the Wayside Theatre in Middletown, Virginia.

As a director, Palillo directed successful productions of 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. 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.

In 2006, his first full-length play, The Lost Boy, the true story of Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie, 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.

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

Personal life and death

Palillo and his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm, lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. 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.

Palillo's funeral service was held in Palm Beach Gardens on August 22, 2012. He is buried at St. Lawrence Cemetery in West Haven, Connecticut. 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.

Filmography

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"
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
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
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)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ron Palillo para niños

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