Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional
poker player.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
He is best known for his role as Gabriel "Gabe" Kotter in the 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back,
Kotter, but he has become more visible in recent years in relation to the popularity
of poker, especially the "No-Limit Texas Hold-'Em" type, particularly as co-host and joint commentator,
with A.J.
Benza, on previous seasons of High Stakes Poker on GSN.
Acting career As a boy, Kaplan had aspirations of being
a Major League Baseball player.
However, he was unable to make the roster of a minor league team and decided to pursue
other interests.
He began working as a bellman at a hotel in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Touring comedians would sometimes perform at the hotel, and Kaplan began to work toward
his own career as a stand-up comedian.
Gabe honed his standup routine in 1964 in places such as the Cafe Tel Aviv at 250 West
72nd Street, New York City.
Kaplan's comedy was successful, and he toured the country with his act based on his childhood
experiences in Brooklyn.
He appeared five times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from May 1973 to December
1974.
During this period he also recorded the comedy album Holes and Mello-Rolls, which included
long routines about his high-school days, among other topics; the sitcom Welcome Back,
Kotter, whose central characters he helped Eric Cohen and Alan Sacks create and whose
core format he helped them to develop, was in part based on his comedy act.
In the sitcom, Kaplan played Gabe Kotter, who returns as a teacher to the dysfunctional
high school where he had himself been a student.
The series ran from 1975 to 1979.
From 1976 to 1978, and again in 1981, Kaplan participated in the ABC celebrity athletic
competition Battle of the Network Stars.
For the first five competitions, Kaplan was the captain of the ABC network team.
In the very first competition, Kaplan defeated Robert Conrad, who was participating in the
event representing the NBC team as its captain, in a race much to Conrad's chagrin.
Kaplan passed Conrad with a strong sprint to the finish line, giving ABC television
network the win with 175 points.
In 1981, Kaplan returned to the competition as the team captain for the NBC side, as he
was appearing in the TV show Lewis & Clark which was airing on NBC at the time.
After Welcome Back, Kotter, Kaplan continued with his stand-up act and was in several movies
including a starring role in Fast Break in 1979, and portrayed comic Groucho Marx in
a one-man show.
Poker Kaplan became involved in financial markets
and poker during his acting career.
He made his first appearance at the World Series of Poker in 1978.
In 1980, Kaplan was considered one of poker's elite as he won the main event at Amarillo
Slim's Super Bowl of Poker and was presented with "a loving cup that was so enormous it
made the gaudy gold bracelets given to the winners at the World Series of Poker look
understated."
Over the next five years his reputation was solidified as he made the final table at the
Super Bowl's main event two more times.
In July 2004, he finished third in a World Poker Tour no-limit Texas hold 'em event,
earning more than $250,000.
He also finished second in the 2005 World Series of Poker $5000 Limit Hold 'Em event,
winning $222,515.
Kaplan was joint TV commentator for the 1997 and 2002 WSOP events.
In 2007, Kaplan won on NBC's Poker After Dark in the episode "Queens and Kings" after defeating
Kristy Gazes heads-up and outlasting Howard Lederer, Ali Nejad, Vanessa Rousso and Annie
Duke.
In the 2007 World Series of Poker Kaplan finished in ninth place in the $50,000 World Championship
H.O.R.S.E event, winning $131,424; Freddy Deeb eventually won the event after defeating
Bruno Fitoussi in heads-up play.
As of 2009, Kaplan's total live tournament winnings exceeded $1,300,000.
His ten cashes at the WSOP account for $507,659 of those winnings.
Kaplan won again on Poker After Dark during "Cowboys" week that first aired in February
2008 against Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Chau Giang, Hoyt Corkins and Doyle Brunson.
Gabe Kaplan's Poker After Dark win in the first week of the 2010 season was the greatest
comeback in the show's history.
Current activities Kaplan has resumed performing stand-up comedy
and is also working on adaptations of Welcome Back, Kotter.
He still plays poker frequently and became a commentator for poker events and televised
poker shows, including the National Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC; High Stakes Poker
on GSN; and the Intercontinental Poker Championship on CBS.
In 2007, he appeared in Zak Penn's improvisational comedy, The Grand, as Seth Schwartzman, father
of brother-and-sister poker players.
In January 2011, GSN announced that Norm MacDonald would replace Kaplan as host of High Stakes
Poker.
References
External links Gabe Kaplan at the Internet Movie Database
World Poker Tour profile Hendon Mob tournament results
Gabe Kaplan Official Web Site