Marcia Strassman, who played Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on the 1970s sitcom 'Welcome Back, Kotter,' died on Friday at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She was 66.
She had been treated for breast cancer for seven years, said her sister, Julie Strassman, who confirmed the death.
Ms. Strassman played Margie Cutler, a nurse, on the first season of 'M*A*S*H' before landing her breakout role in 'Welcome Back, Kotter.' The show, about a teacher returning to the tough Brooklyn high school of his youth to teach a classroom of misfits, including John Travolta, ran for four years.
Ms. Strassman's biggest movie role was in the hit Disney movie 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' (1989) and its sequel, 'Honey, I Blew Up the Kid' (1992), in which she played the patient wife of an eccentric inventor (Rick Moranis).
Born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, Ms. Strassman began acting as a teenager, replacing Liza Minnelli in the Off Broadway musical 'Best Foot Forward.' She moved to Los Angeles at 18 and landed a stream of roles on television.
In addition to being a cast member on 'Welcome Back, Kotter,' she made regular appearances on the television shows 'Providence,' 'Tremors' and 'Third Watch.'
She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild national board and an active fund-raiser for breast cancer research and other social causes, her sister said.
In addition to her sister, Ms. Strassman's survivors include a daughter, Elizabeth Collector, and a brother, Steven Strassman.
Two other stars of 'Welcome Back, Kotter' - Ron Palillo, who played Arnold Horshack, and Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Epstein - died in 2012. Mr. Palillo was 63 and Mr. Hegyes 60.
Post By http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/arts/television/marcia-strassman-wife-on-televisions-welcome-back-kotter-dies-at-66.html
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