'Welcome Back Kotter' actor Robert Hegyes dies

Actor Robert Hegyes, known for his role on the sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, died Thursday at age 60.

The actor reportedly died of a heart attack at his home in New Jersey.
Hegyes played Juan Epstein on the show, which ran on ABC from 1975-1979.

Kotter, a series which focused on a remedial school class, also starred John Travolta and Gabe Kaplan.

He once wrote on his website that he modeled Epstein after Chico Marx, whom he played in a national touring production of A Night With Groucho.

"They were immigrant Jews, and I was an immigrant Italian. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo were intellectuals,” Hegyes said of the Marx Brothers. “They all played the piano and took music lessons, and they were all juvenile delinquents; I could definitely relate."

Following Kotter, Hegyes starred as a police detective in the series Cagney and Lacey. Other TV work included appearances on The Love Boat, NewsRadio and CHiPS.

The actor’s last role was the movie Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool(2002).

“He always had these great schemes," Hegyes’s brother Mark said of his plans to be involved in local arts efforts following his retirement from acting. "but last week he said, 'I'm not going to do that anymore.'"