Robert Hegyes, played Epstein on ‘Kotter,’ dies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS January 27, 2012 11:50AM
FILE - METUCHEN, NJ: Robert Hegyes (L) and John Travolta accept the 35th Anniversary Award for "Welcome Back, Kotter" onstage at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center on April 10, 2011 in New York City. Robert Hegyes, who played Juan Epstein on the 1970's television series 'Welcome Back, Kotter" died on January 26, 2012 from what is being reported as a heart attack. Hegyes was 60 years old. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Updated: February 29, 2012 10:22PM
METUCHEN, N.J. (AP) — Robert Hegyes, 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 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.
Hegyes appeared on many other TV series, including “Cagney & Lacey.”
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