One of the televisions beloved character actors of the 1970's has died.  Actor Ron Palillo - who played Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter - has died at the age of 62.

No immediate cause of death was listed, but friends close to the actor say that it was unexpected.

Palillo rose to fame in the 70's as part of the Welcome Back Kotter TV ensemble.

The show focused on Kaplan’s character Gabe Kotter, who returned to his high school in Brooklyn — the fictional James Buchanan High — to teach a remedial class to which he once belonged, according to tv.com.

The main group of students were known as the Sweathogs, an unruly group who always got in trouble. Palillo played the sheepish Arnold Dingfelder Horshack, who would often yell “Ooh! Ooh, ooh!” when he thought he knew the answer to a question.

In recent years, Palillo made his home in West Palm Beach, Florida - where he taught acting .

 

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