Sad: Actor Robert Hegyes, Juan Epstein of TV Sitcom ‘Welcome Back Kotter’, Has Died at Age 60, R.I.P. (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on January 27, 2012
April 11, 2011: "Welcome Back, Kotter's" Marcia Strassman, left, Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, John Travolta, Ellen Travolta, & Gabe Kaplan accept 35th Anniversary Award (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
In the ’70s, “Welcome Back Kotter” was one of the silliest, iconic sitcoms of its time on television for four seasons, and it launched the career of young John Travolta. However, my personal favorite character had always been the quirky Juan Epstein, played by actor Robert Hegyes.
Sadly, Hegyes passed away yesterday from a heart attack. He was 60 years old.
Rest in peace, Robert — prayers go to his family and friends during this sad time.
From NJ.com, Robert Hegyes, Juan Epstein of ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ dead at 60:
Robert Hegyes, the Jersey-born actor who played Jewish Puerto Rican wheeler-dealer Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s classic “Welcome Back Kotter,” died from an apparent heart attack after suffering chest pains at his Metuchen home this morning. He was 60.
Hegyes, who also co-starred on “Cagney and Lacey” and taught occasional master classes at his alma mater, Rowan University, was best known for his work on “Kotter,” in which he performed alongside a young John Travolta as one of the tough remedial students known at the Sweathogs. Hegyes and nearly all of the original cast members reunited last year at the TV Land Awards to recognize the show’s 35th anniversary.
On his website, Hegyes wrote that he modeled the swaggering, skirt-chasing Epstein after Chico Marx, whom he played in a national touring production of “A Night With Groucho.” He was a big fan of the Marx Brothers: “They were immigrant Jews, and I was an immigrant Italian. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo were intellectuals … They all played the piano and took music lessons, and they were all juvenile delinquents; I could definitely relate.”
Robert Hegyes, circa 1975... rest in peace
The Cast of “Welcome Back Kotter” Reunion | 2011
From Fox News, ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ actor Robert Hegyes dies from suspected heart attack:
“Welcome Back Kotter” actor Robert Hegyes died Thursday in New Jersey, from a suspected heart attack.
Hegyes was a star of the 1970s comedy — with his character Juan Epstein famous for producing faked absence letters from “Epstein’s Mother” and “Epstein’s Mother’s Doctor” — and was also one of its directors.
In addition, he appeared in “Cagney & Lacey.”
The 60-year-old died at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., after suffering chest pains at his Metuchen home Thursday morning, The Star-Ledger reported.
His brother Mark Hegyes told The Star-Ledger that the actor had suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago and had not been in full health.
Peter Loewy from Metuchen’s Forum Theatre Arts Center paid tribute to Hegyes, saying, “He was a gentle guy. He had, ironically, a big heart.”
Cast of Welcome Back Kotter
From Chicago Tribune, Robert Hegyes, “Epstein” from “Welcome Back Kotter,” dies at 60:
Hegyes had suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago and was not in good health, his brother Mark Hegyes of Montana said. Metuchen police responded to a call for medical assistance from Hegyes’ home at 9:02 a.m. EST, and Hegyes, who was experiencing chest pains, was taken to JFK Medical Center in Edison, police said. By the time he arrived at the emergency room at 9:40 a.m., he was in full cardiac arrest and died, according to hospital spokesman Steven Weiss.
Hegyes, whose father was Hungarian-American and whose mother was Italian-American, grew up in Perth Amboy and Metuchen. He was one of the kids equally at home on the gridiron and in the footlights. His nickname: Chico. He wrote that his mother, a big Broadway musical and Frank Sinatra fan, stoked his theatrical ambitions, making him sing along with Ol’ Blue Eyes and “incessantly” to “Maria” from “West Side Story.”
He graduated from Rowan University (then Glassboro State College) with a bachelor’s degree in speech/theater and secondary education — Rowan spokesman Joe Cardona called him a “great friend” of the school, noting that he sported a Rowan shirt while co-starring as Detective Esposito on “Cagney and Lacey” — and quickly found work in New York, co-starring Off-Broadway in “Naomi Court” and in the Broadway drama “Don’t Call Back,” and then was cast as Epstein, a role he played for the entire four-season run on ABC.
Following “Kotter” and “Cagney & Lacey,” he continued to act on television, mostly in guest-starring roles including “NewsRadio,” “Diagnosis Murder” and “The Drew Carey Show,” and made occasional films, including “Bob Roberts” with Tim Robbins. He also taught at Brooks College of Long Beach, Calif., and wrote screenplays. He was retired but still talked about directing and getting involved in local arts efforts, Mark Hegyes said. “He always had these great schemes,” his brother said, “but last week he said, ‘I’m not going to do that anymore.’”
Clip from Welcome Back Kotter – The Sweathog Debate Team
Clip from Welcome Back Kotter – Gabe’s Dinner Guest
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