"Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Mr. Kotter!"
If you watched TV in the '70s, you probably recognize that line.
So it's with some sadness that we pass along word that Ron Palillo, the actor who played Arnold Horshack on ABC-TV's Welcome Back, Kotter, has died in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
that a friend of Palillo's, Stacy Sacco, says he passed away this morning. Palillo's agent, Scott Stander, that the cause of death may have been a heart attack. Palillo was 63.
As , Horshack was the "lovable schnook" among the students — Sweathogs, as they were known on the show — at a fictional in New York City. He would give that trademark line — the "ooh, ooh, ooh!" — when he thought he knew an answer (which he inevitably would get wrong). In real life, , Palillo was a star student who could do Shakespeare.
, teacher Gabe Kotter, was played by Gabe Kaplan. The young actor who broke out to become a huge star was John Travolta, who played Vinnie Barbarino. The show's theme song, Welcome Back, became a hit for singer/songwriter .
TMZ.com has helpfully tracked down of Palillo as Horshack doing the "ooh, ooh, ooh!"
, who played Juan Epstein on Kotter, died last January.
Update at 2 p.m. ET. "Not A Mean Bone In Him":
Stander, Palillo's agent, tells us the actor was "just a good guy. ... Not a mean bone in him." After Kotter, Palillo did a lot of regional theater work, taught acting and was a frequent guest on TV ( Murder, She Wrote; Trapper John, M.D.; The Love Boat; and others).
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