Welcome Back, Kotter's "Horshack" Dies

RIP ~ so sad to see that generation of actors dying so young!

From NPR

"Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Mr. Kotter!"
If you watched TV in the '70s, you probably recognize that line.

So it's with some sadness that we pass along word that Ron Palillo, the actor who played Arnold Horshack on ABC-TV's Welcome Back, Kotter, has died in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

As TV Guide has written, Horshack was the "lovable schnook" among the students — Sweathogs, as they were known on the show — at a fictional in New York City. He would give that trademark line — the "ooh, ooh, ooh!" — when he thought he knew an answer (which he inevitably would get wrong). In real life, People magazine wrote in 1977, Palillo was a star student who could do Shakespeare.

The ABC show's main character, teacher Gabe Kotter, was played by Gabe Kaplan. The young actor who broke out to become a huge star was John Travolta, who played Vinnie Barbarino. The show's theme song, Welcome Back, became a hit for singer/songwriter John Sebastian.