Gabriel W. “Gabe” Kaplan (born March 31, 1945) is an American comic, celebrity, poker commentator, and professional poker player. He was born in Brooklyn, NY. He’s famous for his character as Gabriel “Gabe” Kotter in the 1970s sitcom, “Welcome Back, Kotter,” but he’s become more visible recently in terms of the popularity of poker, notably the “No-Limit Texas Hold-‘Em” kind, specially as cohost and combined commentator, with A.J. Benza, on previous seasons of “High Stakes Poker” on GSN.
As a lad, Kaplan had aspirations of being a Major League Baseball player. Nevertheless, he was not able to really make the roll of a minor league team and made a decision to pursue other interests. He started working as a bellman in a hotel in Lakewood, New Jersey. Touring comics would occasionally perform in the resort, and Kaplan started to work toward his own profession as a stand-up comedian. Gabe honed his standup routine in 1964 in areas including the Cafe Tel Aviv at 250 West 72nd Street, New York City. Kaplan’s humor was successful, and he toured the nation along with his performance depending on his childhood experiences in Brooklyn. In this span he also recorded the humor record Holes and Mello Rolls, which contained long routines about his high school days, among other issues; the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, whose principal characters he helped Eric Cohen and Alan Sacks create and whose heart structure he helped them to develop, was in part according to his comedy performance. The collection ran from 1975 to 1979. For the initial five contests, Kaplan was the captain of the ABC network team. In the 1st contest, Kaplan conquered Robert Conrad, who had been participating in the event representing the NBC team as its captain, in a race substantially to Conrad’s chagrin. Kaplan passed Conrad having a powerful sprint to the finish line, giving ABC television network the triumph with 175 points.
Actor, Comedian, Professional Poker Player, Sports commentator, Investor, Screenwriter
Nationality
United States of America
Children
Rachel Kaplan
Parents
Dorothy Kaplan, Charles Kaplan
Nicknames
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan , Gabe , Gabriel W. Kaplan , Gabriel Kaplan
Awards
Amarillo Slim - Super Bowl of Poker (SBOP) (1980), NBC's Poker After Dark (2007, 2008), 2007 World Series of Poker (2007, ninth place)
Nominations
People's Choice Award for Favorite Performer in a New TV Program
Movies
"Fast Break" (1979)
TV Shows
"Welcome Back, Kotter", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "High Stakes Poker", "Queens and Kings"
Star Sign
Aries
#
Fact
1
Finished 3rd in the World Poker Tour Event at The Mirage in Las Vegas [March 2005]
2
Finished 2nd in the 2005 WSOP $5000 Limit Hold 'Em Event. [2005]
3
Release of his book, "Kotter's Back". [2007]
4
Working with the original creator of Welcome Back, Kotter (1975) to create a new movie musical. [1998]
5
Was a broadcaster for the only outdoor World Series of Poker along with Phil Hellmuth in 1997 on ESPN. The event took place outside of Binion's in the middle of the Fremont Street Experience.
6
His experiences as a student in an under-achieving class (like the Sweathogs) in the early 1960s was the basis for Welcome Back, Kotter (1975).
7
Provided commentary for the National Heads-Up Poker Challenge on CNBC in 2005.
8
Worked as a standup comic, a sitcom and film actor, and a disc jockey.
9
Provided coverage on ESPN for the 2002 World Series of Poker.
TV Series created by - 95 episodes, 1975 - 1979 creator - 94 episodes, 1975 - 1979 written by - 2 episodes, 1977 - 1978 story - 1 episode, 1978 teleplay - 1 episode, 1978
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Grand
2007
Seth Schwartzman
Jack the Dog
2001
Richie
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
1984
TV Movie
Anthony DePalma
Murder, She Wrote
1984
TV Series
Freddy York
Groucho
1982
Groucho
Lewis & Clark
1981-1982
TV Series
Stewart Lewis
Tulips
1981
Leland Irving
Nobody's Perfekt
1981
Dibley
Welcome Back, Kotter
1975-1979
TV Series
Gabe Kotter
Fast Break
1979
David Greene (as Gabriel Kaplan)
Police Story
1977
TV Series
Paul Cazenovia
The Love Boat
1976
TV Movie
Stan Nichols
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Mike & Mike
2015
TV Series 1 episode
Welcome Back, Kotter
1976
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Mr. Show with Bob and David
1996
TV Series special thanks - 1 episode
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Gotham Comedy Live
2014
TV Series documentary
Himself - Host
The 9th Annual TV Land Awards
2011
TV Special
Himself
Good Morning America
1979-2011
TV Series
Himself
High Stakes Poker
2006-2010
TV Series
Himself
TV's 50 Funniest Catch Phrases
2009
TV Movie
Himself
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
2008
TV Mini-Series
Himself
Poker After Dark
2007-2008
TV Series
Himself
The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch
2005
TV Series
Himself
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
2005
TV Series
Himself - Host (2005)
World Poker Tour
2004
TV Series
Himself
Hollywood Squares
2004
TV Series
Himself
Just for Laughs
2003
TV Series
Himself
ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration
2003
TV Special documentary
Himself
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
2003
TV Special documentary
Himself
Just for Laughs: Montreal Comedy Festival
2001
TV Special documentary
Himself
E! True Hollywood Story
2000
TV Series documentary
Himself
Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals 5
2000
TV Movie documentary
Himself
50 Years of Television: A Celebration of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Golden Anniversary
1997
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The New Hollywood Squares
1989
TV Series
Himself
War of the Stars
1987
TV Series 1987
The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1985
TV Special
Himself
Dropout
1985
TV Movie
Himself - Host
Catch a Rising Star's 10th Anniversary
1982
TV Special
Himself - Comedian
Battle of the Network Stars XI
1981
TV Special
Himself - NBC Team Captain (as Gabriel Kaplan)
The Hollywood Squares
1975-1979
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Panelist
Battle of the Network Stars V
1978
TV Special
Himself - ABC Team Captain (as Gabriel Kaplan)
Battle of the Network Stars IV
1978
TV Special
Himself - ABC Team Captain
A Tribute to Mr. Television Milton Berle
1978
TV Special
Himself
The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People
1978
TV Series
Himself - Host
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1973-1978
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Guest Host
ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration
1978
TV Special
Himself
Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes 2
1977
TV Movie
Himself
Battle of the Network Stars III
1977
TV Special
Himself - ABC Team Captain
The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
1977
TV Special
Himself - Presenter
US Against the World
1977
TV Movie
Himself
Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes
1977
TV Movie
Himself
Battle of the Network Stars II
1977
TV Special
Himself - ABC Team Captain
Dinah!
1975-1977
TV Series
Himself
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Gabe Kaplan
1977
TV Special
Himself
Battle of the Network Stars
1976
TV Special
Himself - ABC Team Captain
The Sonny and Cher Show
1976
TV Series
Himself / Various Characters
The Captain and Tennille
1976
TV Series
Himself
Van Dyke and Company
1976
TV Series
Himself
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Joe Garagiola
1976
TV Special
Himself
The Mike Douglas Show
1974-1976
TV Series
Himself - Co-Host / Himself - Comedian / Himself - Actor / ...
Donny and Marie
1976
TV Series
Himself
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Dean Martin
1976
TV Special
Himself
The 2nd Annual People's Choice Awards
1976
TV Special
Himself - Accepting Award for Favourite New Television Program and Presenter: Introducing Raymond Burr to Stage