How much fun could a guy have? My friend, Jerry Rannow said, on the night the show was premiering, "Say goodbye to your anonymity." I couldn't even spell the word, let alone know what it meant. He was right. The day after the show aired, I couldn't go anywhere without people saying, "Hey, Epstein, I loved your show." Honestly, I didn't have a grip on who I was as Robert Hegyes yet, let alone this Epstein guy. He was just a character I created, and now carry with me to this very day as my alter ego.

The show was very similar to doing Broadway... two live shows every Friday night with 500 people there. (And we were all Broadway actors). I loved it when the likes of Lucille Ball, Liza Minelli and Groucho Marx would show up to watch us perform. Anything could happen, and it usually did. You had four talented actors, competing against themselves for the spotlight and yet supporting each other like brothers. These guys were the best. If I never did anything after Welcome Back, Kotter, I was blessed. My life exceeded my wildest dreams.

Jimmy Komack was the puppeteer. I always used to tell Gabe Kaplan, "If you behave yourself, someday you'll get your own show." But truly, the inmates were running the asylum and that was John, Larry, Ron and I.

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©2005 Robert Hegyes - All Rights Reserved