Ronald Gabriel Palillo was born on 2 April 1949, in New Haven Connecticut USA, of part-Italian descent. Ron was an actor and teacher, best known for his acting career spanning from 1975 to 2012, in such notable roles as in the ABC sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” in which he played Arnold Horshack for the show’s run from 1975 to 1979. All of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 2012.
How rich was Ron Palillo? As of mid-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that was at $1 million, mostly earned through a successful career in acting, having roles in various television series and films. All of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Ron Palillo Net Worth $1 million
Palillo attended the University of Connecticut and after graduating started a teaching career. He continued to teach even during the late 1990s, when he attended Fairfield University to obtain a postgraduate degree.
After the run of “Welcome Back, Kotter” during the 1970s, more opportunities opened up for Ron. His net worth increased significantly thanks to leading and supporting roles in films as well as television series, and he also did voice work, contributing to animated series such as “Rubik, the Amazing Cube”, “Darkwing Duck” and “Laverne & Shirley in the Army” which is based on the sitcom “Laverne & Shirley”. In 1996, he appeared in several episodes of the sitcom “Ellen” playing Audrey’s love interest, and he was also the lead in “The Curse of Micah Rood”, and appeared in “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”, all contributing to his net worth.
He then returned to New York to appear in numerous stage productions. He played Mozart in a production of “Amadeus” which is a fictionalized account of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. He also played George in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, and Arthur in “Camelot”, and then participated in “Guys and Dolls” playing Nathan Detroit – the musical is based on two short stories “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure”. He also did a one person show in 2000, “The Diary of Adolf Eichmann” played the titular Nazi criminal.
Palillo also did directorial work, including successful productions of “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline”, “Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down” and “Phantom of the Opera”.
Aside from entertainment, in 2007 he introduced a new clothing line with limited edition T-shirts produced by Rotter and Friends. He also worked as an artist, helping provide artwork for two children’s books. He wrote his own play entitled “The Lost Boy”, which is based on the story of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie. He also taught drama at the G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting.
For his personal life, it is known that Ron was partnered with Joseph Gramm from 1971, and they lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In 2012, he suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead on arrival when he was taken to a nearby hospital. A memorial tribute directed by Lawrence Leritz was created to celebrate Palillo’s life and career.
