“Juan Epstein” imagery will outlive actor

I’m sure that most people who reminisce about the mid-1970s situation comedy “Welcome Back Kotter” will focus their attention on John Travolta.

He turned his role as an Italian lothario into the role for which his career will be forever associated (Tony Manero of Saturday Night Fever) and has had an acting career that lasts to this day.

COMPARED TO THE other primary players from “Kotter” for whom that sitcom was the highlight of their careers (which I always thought was a shame for Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, but that is a subject for future commentary).

Yet I can’t help but think that one of the most significant parts of that show (depicting semi-obnoxious comedian Gabe Kaplan as a schoolteacher returning to his Brooklyn roots to teach a new generation of high school miscreants) was that of Robert Hegyes – the actor who died last week.

For he was the one who gave us the part of Juan Epstein.

That is, Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein – the kid of Puerto Rican ethnic and Jewish religious backgrounds who perpetually came up with fake excuse notes to try to get him out of just about everything – all bearing the signature “Epstein’s mother.”

NOT THAT THERE was anything about the character of Epstein that should be regarded as a serious study of the Latino ethnic population – then, or now.

Unless we consider that just about all of us are mutts of some sort. Perhaps the Epstein character was a preview of the type of people our society is going to be filled with (and has already worked its way there in significant numbers).

But I doubt that was what went through the minds of the writers of “Welcome Back Kotter” when they created the role. I suspect what really went through their minds was the idea of it sounding incredibly funny, if not downright absurd, to have a Puerto Rican Jew.

A guy eating asopao (a gumbo-style soup made from shellfish) with matzoh balls while wearing a yarmulke? Somebody deserves a special place in limbo for coming up with that sacrilegious image.

BUT IF YOU think I’m about to claim to being offended by a 37-year-old image on television, I’m not about to get that worked up. Besides, the image of the “Puerto Rican Jew” stuck.

I’d be willing to bet that if you asked anyone to name a Jewish Latino, the name “Juan Epstein” would be one of the first (if not THE first) that would be spouted out.

Hegyes (who was neither Puerto Rican nor Jewish) created a concept that will manage to outlive him. We will be using the name of “Epstein” as a punch line for generations – even though I’m sure younger people won’t fully comprehend why they’re laughing.

The Hungarian/Italian-American actor who lived to be 60 had most recently worked as an educator at various colleges – teaching young people about the crafts of script-writing and public speaking.

PERHAPS HE EVEN gave them a few lessons in the way to write an excuse – at least for a quickie gag.

Then again, perhaps it is good that we have the image of “Juan Epstein” to ponder when we consider the people of Latin American ethnic backgrounds who have chosen the Jewish faith to follow.

Because if we didn’t have the Hegyes character to laugh at, we’d have to deal with the fact that the most prominent Puerto Rican Jew would be Geraldo Rivera.

Do we really want to have to think about Geraldo any more than is necessary?

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