ENTERTAINMENT
I GOING PLACES I
WEEK OF NOV.11-17
SPECIAL EVENTS
DISNEY'S WORLD ON ICE
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit,
"Mickey's Diamond Jubilee,"
now through Sunday, admission.
567-6000.
BIRMINGHAM TEMPLE
28611 W. 12 Mile, Farmin
Hills, art show and sale, today
through Sunday, admission.
357-7746.
LITTLE CAESAR'S
CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS
Cobo Arena, men's tennis
tournament, Monday through
Nov. 20, players include Aaron
Krickstein, Brad Gilbert and
John McEnroe, admission.
567-6000.
THEATER
Gabe Kaplan is pictured in a scene from his HBO special about Groucho Marx, "Groucho."
Comic
Relieved
RITA CHARLESTON
Special to The Jewish News
1lAr elcome back, Kaplan.
After a successful
four-year stint on the
ABC-TV hit "Welcome
Back Kotter," Gabe
Kaplan seems to have dropped out of
sight.
"Not really," said Kaplan recently
during a telephone interview from his
home in Los Angeles. "It's just that I'm
42 years old now and I've been work-
ing since I was 19. So I think I've
reached a point in my life where I just
want to take it easy. I'm happy work-
ing on a limited basis, like 14 to 16
weeks a year, and spending the rest of
the time doing all the others things I
want to do."
For Kaplan, those "other things"
include watching and/or participating
in all kinds of sport activities, reading,
Comedian Gabe Kaplan
is happy to just take it easy
eight months of the year
traveling, sailing, and mostly mingling
with all sorts of people other than those
in show business.
A long-time amateur poker player,
Kaplan recently joined the ranks of the
professionals, playing in and winning
the World Series of Poker in 1980,
defeating previous champions in head-
to-head competition. He was host of the
Gabe Kaplan "Celebrity Showdown"
poker tournament for Cystic Fibrosis
in 1979, and raised thousands of
dollars for CF during his three years
as its honorary chairman.
He recalls, "When I performed in
Las Vegas I used to play blackjack and
lose most of the time. So since I had
played poker as a kid, I started play-
ing poker and found I was winning in
the small poker games. I entered the
World Series of Poker in 1978 but I
didn't do too well. The next year I did
a little better, and the following year
I won. It's just another form of recrea-
tion for me, so if I can play against
some of the best players in the world
and break even, I'm real happy."
Kaplan was also quite happy as a
kid growing up in Brooklyn and
dreaming about a career in baseball.
Though he hoped he would have a
chance to play in the major leagues
following his graduation from high
school, his all-hit/no-field abilities eras-
ed those plans for his future. So while
working as a bellboy in a Lakewood,
N.J., resort hotel, Kaplan faced a new
challenge. He began studying the com-
edians during their nightly perfor-
mances and thought, "Hey, I can do
that!"
But his parents had other ambi-
tions for their only son. "Both my
mother and father come from fairly
large families;' he explains. "I have lots
of cousins and most of them are profes-
sionals. Doctors. Lawyers. They all
went to college and all have degrees.
BIRMINGHAM THEAT ER
211 S. Woodward, Birmingham,
I'm Not Rappaport, now through
Dec. 18, admission. 644-3533.
HILBERRY AND
BONSTELLE THEATERS
Wayne St. University, Detroit
Georgia Peach, about former
Detroit Tiger star Ty Cobb, now
through Dec. 9, Hilberry; A Life
in the Theater; now through Dec
15, Hilberry; admission.,
577-2972.
GREENFIELD VILLAGE
Museum Theater, Dearborn
Laura, today and Saturday,
admission. 271-1620.
MEADOW BROOK THEATE
Oakland University, Rochester
The Comedy of Errors, now
through Nov. 27, admission.
377-3300.
THE THEATER COMPANY .
Smith Theater, University of
Detroit, Total Abandon, now
through Sunday, Thursday
through Nov. 20, admission.
927-1130.
MICHIGAN OPERA
THEATER
Fisher Theater, Detroit, The
Pirates of Penzance, now through'
Nov. 20, admission. 874-7878.
STAGECRAFTERS
415 S. Lafayette, Royal Oak,
Baby, today through Sunday,
Thursday through Nov. 20,
admission. 541-6430.
MARQUIS THEATRE
135 E. Main St., Northville,
Shenandoah, now through
Sunday, admission. 349-8110.
FARMINGTON PLAYERS
32332 W. 12 Mile, Farmington
Hills, The Foreigner, now
through Sunday, Thursday
Continued on Page 71
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
69