Gabe Kaplan

Gabe Kaplan was born on March 31, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York. His early life involved aspirations of becoming a Major League Baseball player. When this did not materialize, he shifted his focus to comedy, beginning his career as a bellman in a Lakewood, New Jersey hotel where he observed touring comedians. This experience inspired him to develop his own stand-up routine, drawing heavily on his childhood experiences. By 1964, Kaplan began honing his act in various venues, including the Cafe Tel Aviv in New York City.

Kaplan’s stand-up comedy gained significant traction, leading to five appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” between May 1973 and December 1974. During this period, he released his comedy album “Holes and Mellow Rolls,” which featured routines about his high school years. This material became the inspiration for the sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” which Kaplan co-created with Eric Cohen and Alan Sacks. In the series, which aired from 1975 to 1979, Kaplan starred as Gabe Kotter, a teacher returning to his old, troubled high school. The show was a success, and its catchphrase, “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”, derived from Kaplan’s original album line, became widely popular, even leading to a comedy record and a board game. Following “Welcome Back, Kotter,” Kaplan continued acting in films like “Fast Break” (1979) and television series like “Lewis & Clark” (1981-1982), and portrayed Groucho Marx in a 1982 play.

Simultaneously with his entertainment career, Kaplan engaged with financial markets and poker, making his World Series of Poker debut in 1978. He established himself as a prominent poker player in 1980 by winning the main event at Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker, a feat he followed up with two more final table appearances in the next five years. His poker career includes a third-place finish in a World Poker Tour no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em event in July 2004, earning over $250,000, and a second-place finish in the 2005 World Series of Poker $5,000 Limit Hold ‘Em event, winning $222,515. Kaplan has also served as a commentator for major poker events, including “High Stakes Poker” and the “National Heads-Up Poker Championship” after being removed from the position in 2011, then returning in 2021 for the relaunch before retiring in January 2023. His total live tournament winnings exceeded $1.9 million as of June 2017.