'Welcome Back Kotter' star Gabe Kaplan performs stand-up at Flappers Comedy Club in Claremont

Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.新蒲崗迷你倉Aug. 28--Welcome back, Gabe Kaplan.Kaplan, famous for his starring role in the 1970s television show "Welcome Back Kotter," will perform stand-up comedy at Flappers Comedy Club in Claremont tonight and Saturday."I've been doing some corporate dates. I haven't worked in a comedy club or a hotel so I've written a lot of material I want to try," Kaplan said in a recent phone interview.Younger fans probably know Kaplan from his hosting of numerous poker tournaments in recent years but the actor and comedian said he's ready for the stage."I started as a stand-up comedian," Kaplan said. "Most don't remember, but before 'Welcome Back Kotter' I was on talk shows and variety shows doing stand-up -- that's how I started. At that point, I was very creative. I feel in a way I'm like that now. There's so many things about being an ex-television star or not being in the public eye to see how people react to me."Kaplan said he is interested to see how old and young audiences react to his comedy."I'll be in the airport and older people say, 'That's Mr. Kotter from 'Welcome Back Kotter.' Their kids will say 'That's the poker guy.' Those kids watch those shows. They'll say, 'What's that Mr. Kotter? No, he's a poker player.' It's really inmini storageeresting who knows me from what."He said his skills as a poker player have been exaggerated."I got a little lucky. I was, like, the first celebrity who played in any of these tournaments. I did very well at the time. I was not really pursuing acting much so people say 'he's a poker player now.' I was never really a poker player. I got involved with business and investing and I spent most of my time doing that. I never considered myself to be a professional player. I do enjoy commentating. I feel really good at that. I enjoyed commentating, making jokes about players and analyzing situations."Kaplan said he was friends with another famous poker player, former Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss."Oh yeah. Very good friends," Kaplan said. "Every year we would go to Del Mar (racetrack in San Diego). He would stay on the infield, that's the section where the general public goes to. It's not fancy. People sit there with blankets. And people would ask him questions about the Lakers."After the Flappers performance, Kaplan heads to the SunCoast Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 7-8.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) Visit the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Calif.) at .dailybulletin.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage