The actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show "Welcome Back Kotter" has died.
The Flynn & Son Funeral Home in Fords, N.J., says it was informed of Robert Hegyes' death Thursday by the actor's family. He was 60.
A spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., told the Star-Ledger newspaper that Hegyes, of Metuchen, arrived at the hospital in the morning in full cardiac arrest and died.
Hegyes was appearing on Broadway in 1975 when he auditioned for "Kotter," a TV series about a teacher who returns to the inner-city school of his youth to teach a group of remedial students. They included the character Vinnie Barbarino, played by John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan as Kotter.
According to the Huffington Post, his brother Mark revealed in the Star-Ledger that though Robert had retired, he still had a foot in the artistic community. "He always had these great schemes but last week he said, 'I'm not going to do that anymore.'"
Hegyes appeared on many other TV series, including "Cagney & Lacey" and his last film credit was in 2002's Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool.
He's survived by two children and two step-children.
-With files from The Associated Press
| Subscribe to our RSS feed | |
| Follow us on Twitter | |
| Friend us on Facebook | |
| Find us on your Mobile Device | |
| Download the Cineplex App |

© Cineplex Entertainment LP 2012