Star of Welcome Back, Kotter and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise is dead at age 66 from breast cancer.
What a shame. I had a serious crush on her back in the Kotter days–I was just hitting puberty, and she was so beautiful. Story.
Damn, I had a crush on her too! 
Sad.
She even looked good in army boots on* MASH.*
Nothing looked good on her.
I’m sure it did. Damned shame she’s gone.
Oh my, yes. I’d completely forgotten that role.
I always felt sorry for her when she had to act like she was amused by Gabe Kaplan’s monologues on Welcome Back Kotter.
Can you imagine her sitting in a celestial comedy club in the heavenly Catskills
catching a Henny Youngman show?
*“Heard it.”
“Heard it.”
“Heard it.”*
RIP to the most long-suffering straight woman ever.
I recall her role expanded the final season of Kotter. She was quite good. I was surprised that she didn’t get another sitcom.
I hadn’t heard anything about her in at least 15 to 20 years. I hope she enjoyed private life. R.I.P.
She was on that short lived ‘Tremors’ series just a few short years ago, and she still looked beautiful.
Well, Gabe Kaplan’s jokes were already ancient in 1975!
At least, in his older days, Henny knew and openly acknowledged how old his jokes were, and made that part of the act! He’d play college campuses, tell all the same prehistoric jokes he’d been telling his entire career, then would cue the audience when to shout out the punchlines they all knew!
I have no inside information about Marcia Strassman, but I remember hearing that she got a bad reputation (probably undeserved) at ABC because she was tired of Julie Kotter being such a nothing part. She wanted her character to do something BESIDES pretend to laugh at stale Borscht Belt gags at the start and finish of the show- and as a result, she got labeled as a pushy bitch.
I had a crush on her too, which largely centered around her regular bralessness and the ensuing nipply greeting she gave me each week as I encountered puberty. Plus she just seemed like a cool chick.
Julie! No!!!
R.I.P., Mrs. Kotter.
My understanding is in the 1990s Strassman sought out people she had worked with and apologized for her past behavior. She had undergone psychological counseling and personal reflection to realize she had caused other people grief. It happens. She was young, Hollywood is a tough industry and she was on a top show but was not the reason people watched. They thought about killing her character off, which she wanted, but decided that was too dark for a sitcom and went the pregnancy route to give her more lines. But that didn’t work- it was always going to be the Kaplan/sweathogs show
But… But she was so young and hot in the '70s! And now she’s dead?
Bummer. 