Robert Hegyes, who is best known for portraying Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the ’70s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” died on Thursday, January 26.
The actor died at age 60 of an apparent heart attack in his New Jersey home. His brother told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that he had previously suffered a heart attack and has not been in good health in a couple of years.
“Welcome Back, Kotter” aired on ABC between September 1975 and June 1979 and starred comedian Gabe Kaplan as the title character Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his high school alma mater to teach a group of remedial students known as the “Sweathogs.” The series also starred a young John Travolta as ‘Sweathog’ leader Vincent “Vinnie” Barbarino.
Hegyes wrote on his website that he modeled his Juan Epstein role on Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers. He portrayed Chico in a touring production of “A Night With Groucho.”
“They were immigrant Jews, and I was an immigrant Italian,” Hegyes explained. “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.”
Hegyes also appeared on series like “Cagney & Lacey,” “Diagnosis Murder” and “The Drew Carey Show.”
Hegyes was survived by three siblings, his children Cassie and Mack, and two step-children, Sophia and Alex.
Watch a clip from “Welcome Back Kotter” below.
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Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Epstein on ’70s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” died Thursday from an apparent heart attack. He was 60.
The actor, whose health had been steadily declining for the past two years, suffered chest pains at his New Jersey home before going into full cardiac arrest. He died at JFK Medical Center in Edison.
Hegyes is best remembered for his role on “Kotter” as the Jewish/Puerto Rican wisecracking student, Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein, along with a young John Travolta. The show ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979.
Robert also had a recurring role on the detective series “Cagney & Lacey” as Det. Manny Esposito, and guest-starred on various shows such as “NewsRadio” and “Diagnosis Murder.” In addition to acting, Hegyes performed stand-up and wrote screenplays.
He also taught at Brooks College in Long Beach, Calif. and had plans to work on a one-man show in the next year, but it was put on hold due to his failing health.
Of Hungarian and Italian descent, Hegyes was born May 7, 1951 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He graduated from Rowan University (then Glassboro State College) in Glassboro, and worked as a substitute teacher between acting jobs before landing the part in “Welcome Back, Kotter.”
Hegyes and nearly all of the original cast members reunited last year at the TV Land Awards to recognize the show’s 35th anniversary.
Robert leaves behind two children, Cassie and Mack, and two step-children, Sophia and Alex.
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Robert Hegyes has died at the age of 60.
The actor, best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on Welcome Back Kotter, died after suffering a cardiac arrest yesterday morning (January 26), The Star-Ledger reports.
Hegyes was taken to JFK Medical Centre in Edison with chest pains after Metuchen police responded to a call from his home for medical assistance just after 9am.
He suffered a full cardiac arrest by the time he reached the emergency room at 9.40am.
Hegyes, who also appeared in Cagney and Lacey, is survived by his children Cassie and Mack, his stepchildren Sophia and Alex and three siblings.
The funeral will take place this Sunday at Flynn & Son Funeral Home between 7pm and 9pm.
Hegyes reunited with John Travolta and other members of the Welcome Back Kotter cast for a 35th anniversary at last year’s TV Land Awards.
Watch a clip of Welcome Back Kotter below:
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REUTERS / Jessica Rinaldi
Actors John Travolta (L) and Robert Hegyes
(METUCHEN, N.J. ) — Robert Hegyes, the actor best known for playing Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on the 1970s TV show “Welcome Back Kotter” has died. He was 60.The Flynn & Son Funeral Home in Fords, N.J., said it was informed of Hegyes’ death Thursday by the actor’s family.A spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., told the Star-Ledger newspaper that Hegyes, of Metuchen, arrived at the hospital Thursday 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 New York school of his youth to teach a group of irreverent remedial students nicknamed the “Sweathogs.” They included the character Vinnie Barbarino, played by John Travolta.
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The show’s theme song, performed by John Sebastian, became a pop hit.Hegyes also appeared on many other TV series, including “Cagney & Lacey.”He was born in Perth Amboy and grew up in Metuchen, the eldest child of a Hungarian father and Italian mother.He attended Rowan University, formerly Glassboro State College, in southern New Jersey, before heading to New York City after graduation. He returned to Rowan on several occasions to teach master classes in acting, a university spokesman said Thursday.
“He was a good friend to the university,” spokesman Joe Cardona said.Hegyes continued to act after “Kotter” and was a regular on “Cagney & Lacey.” He also guest-starred in shows including “Diagnosis Murder” and “The Drew Carey Show.”
On his website, Hegyes wrote that he was inspired by Chico Marx, whom he had played in a touring production of a show about the Marx Bros. He also recalled how his mother encouraged him to get involved in theater as a teen.
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Robert Hegyes, known for his role as Juan Epstein on the ‘70s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” died on Thursday. He was 60.
Hegyes was transported via ambulance from his home in Metuchen, New Jersey, Thursday morning, and was in full cardiac arrest by the time he reached the hospital, Steven Weiss, a spokesman for the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, confirmed to CNN.
“He was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived there,” Weiss said.
Hegyes’ brother, Mark Hegyes, told The Star-Ledger that the actor had suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago and was not in good health.
The “Welcome Back, Kotter” cast reunited in April 2011 when they attended the 9th Annual TV Land Awards in New York City.
In addition to acting as John Travolta’s fellow Sweathog on “Kotter,” Hegyes starred as Det. Manny Esposito on “Cagney & Lacey” in the late 1980s.
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