Marcia Strassman, who played Gabe Kaplan’s wife, Julie, on the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” died Oct. 24 at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She was 66.
She had battled breast cancer for seven years, her sister, Julie Strassman, said.
Ms. Strassman had numerous roles on television and in films during her five-decade career.
She played nurse Margie Cutler on the first season of “M.A.S.H.” before her breakout role in “Welcome Back, Kotter.” The show was about a teacher returning to the tough high school of his youth to teach a classroom full of misfits, including future movie star John Travolta.
Ms. Strassman also played Rick Moranis’s wife in the hit Disney movie “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” (1989) and its 1992 sequel, “Honey I Blew Up the Kid.”
Marcia Strassman was born April 28, 1948, in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. She began acting as a teen, with early roles on “The Patty Duke Show” and local television. She replaced Liza Minnelli in the 1963 off-Broadway musical “Best Foot Forward.” She moved to Los Angeles at 18 and landed a steady stream of roles.
Share this articleShareMs. Strassman was a member of the national board of the Screen Actors Guild and was an active fundraiser for breast cancer research and other social causes, her sister Julie said.
Her marriage to Robert Collector ended in divorce.
Survivors include a daughter, a sister and a brother.
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