First Mr. Kotter says Ice Cube ‘perfect’ for role

Gabe Kaplan thinks rapper good choice for ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ film

	The cast of television sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" in a scene in 1978 . They are, left to right: Stephen Shortridge as Beau De Labarre, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddy Washington, Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack, Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein, foreground, John Travolta, rear, as Vinnie Barbarino and Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter.
AP

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updated 7:41 p.m. ET March 16, 2006

NEW YORK - Former “Welcome Back, Kotter” creator-star Gabe Kaplan says rapper-actor Ice Cube is a great choice to play his old role in the big-screen remake of the hit 1970s TV series.

In an interview that was to air Thursday, Kaplan tells “Access Hollywood” he thinks Ice Cube “is the perfect guy... He has shown what kind of crossover appeal he has.”

In the TV original, Kaplan portrayed compassionate teacher Gabe Kotter, who returns to his former Brooklyn high school to teach a new generation of troublemakers, including John Travolta’s Vinnie Barbarino.

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That formula will be updated in Ice Cube’s version, which Kaplan feels “will totally be acceptable. I think that the setting is going to be in South Central L.A. He is going to be just like how I was in Brooklyn.”

Besides starring as the young teacher, Ice Cube, 36, will also produce the movie, Bob Weinstein, co-president of The Weinstein Company, said in a statement earlier this week. No other casting or release date has been announced.

When “Access” asks about his ideal cast, Kaplan, 60, jokes, “Well, I think Snoop Dogg will play Horshack, Vanilla Ice would play Barbarino... I don’t know.”