Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars

by Kliph Nesteroff

The sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, starring Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta, was banned in Boston. “It sounds ridiculous in these days of porno flicks,” reported Variety, “ABC’s Welcome Back, Kotter [was] pulled off the schedule in Bean Town because its cast of non-scholastic high schoolers might have an unhealthy influence on local students.” Executive producer James Komack couldn’t believe it. “To be banned in Boston is funnier than anything we’re doing. This is the first time a tv show has been banned in Boston. We don’t quite know why. The ABC local affiliate is very nervous about putting our show on because it feels possibly that we’re glorifying school roughnecks, that the Dead End Kids can no longer be funny.”