Ron Palillo . . . a.k.a. Horshack from "Welcome Back Kotter", Has Died
by WAAF 97.7/107.3,posted Aug 15 2012 5:58AM
RON PALILLO, who played high school student Arnold Horshack on the '70s sitcom "Welcome Back Kotter" died yesterday morning of a heart attack. He was 63.
Ron was discovered by his longtime partner Joseph Gramm in their home near Palm Beach, Florida. His death was very unexpected. Although he was a heavy smoker, Ron was said to be in good health in the weeks leading up to his death. "Kotter" ran from 1975 to 1979 and as you probably know, it launched the career of JOHN TRAVOLTA.
But for Ron, crippling depression made it hard to maintain a career after it ended. Although he finally overcame that and forged a career in live theater. His post-"Kotter" film and TV work consisted mostly of bit parts. For instance, he was killed off by Jason Voorhees in the 1986 "classic" "Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives". In 2002, he took part in the farce that was "Celebrity Boxing 2" . . . in which he got his clock cleaned by DUSTIN "SCREECH" DIAMOND.
