Marcia Strassman

This tall (5'10"), pretty, willowy brunette (but frequently blonde) was born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, as one of four children. Raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Marcia grew into a striking young teen and worked for a time as a model in a local children's department store. A talented singer, she initially attempted a singing career and was picked up as a recording artist for Uni Records in 1967. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top 40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets,Trekking back to New York City equipped only with her modeling and singing credentials, Marcia found herself performing in an off-Broadway show at the ripe old age of 15, replacing 17-year-old 'Liza Minnelli' (qv) in the musical "Best Foot Forward." Inspired, Marcia ventured ahead with a number of stage roles, then broke into television, appearing in several episodes as a teen on the popular _The Patty Duke Show (1963)_ (qv). Following some sporadic work on such shows as "Ironside" and "The Paul Lynde Show," Marcia scored her first semi-regular role as an army nurse on the very first season of _M*A*S*H (1972)_ (qv).Making her film debut in the featured role of a reporter in the obscure, semi-counterculture film _Changes (1969)_ (qv), Marcia focused on TV work into the 1970's with parts in such shows as "Police Story," "Marcus Welby," "City of Angels," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island" and the TV-movies _Journey from Darkness (1975)_ (qv) and _Brenda Starr (1976)_ (qv). Her huge, breakout role, and the one for which she will best be remembered, was as 'Gabe Kaplan' (qv)'s wife on the popular sitcom _Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)_ (qv) for four seasons. Despite the steady work, Marcia remained disillusioned at playing the relatively overlooked role of Julie Kotter. The primary focus landed squarely on Brooklyn schoolteacher Kotter (the show was based on Kaplan's real-life experiences as a teacher) and his interaction with student "Sweathogs" 'Robert Hegyes' (qv), 'Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs' (qv), 'Ron Palillo' (qv) and pre-megastar 'John Travolta' (qv). Stuck with what many deemed a reactive character, she gamely stayed with the show, however, throughout its run.While "Kotter" would remain her only hit series, she immediately went into another, albeit short-lived, series playing an office worker to sexist sportswriter 'Ted Bessell' (qv) in the comedy _Good Time Harry (1980)_ (qv). In a second attempt, she co-starred in the crime series _Booker (1989)_ (qv) as boss to Dennis Booker, the titular insurance investigator played by handsome, young 'Richard Grieco' (qv), a spin-off character from the series _21 Jump Street (1987)_ (qv).In between, she remained a steady focus as a guest on such shows as "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I.," "E/R" and "I Married Dora," she appeared in the occasional film -- the offbeat romantic comedy _Soup for One (1982)_ (qv) co-starring 'Saul Rubinek' (qv) and featured in the 'Christopher Reeve' (qv) adventure _The Aviator (1985)_ (qv). she regained some popularity as the wholesome wife of nerdy 'Rick Moranis' (qv) in the surprise 'Walt Disney' (qv) hit _Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)_ (qv). She reprised that role in the equally popular sequel _Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)_ (qv) and played the same kind of wife in the family fantasy comedy _And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird (1991)_ (qv).Marcia remained true blue to the small screen with single performances on "Civil Wars," "Sweet Justice," "Charlie Grace," "Murder, She Wrote," "Highlander," "L.A. Heat," "Tracy Takes On..." and "Baywatch." Returning to films with the crime comedy _Another Stakeout (1993)_ (qv), the family sci-fi comedy _Earth Minus Zero (1996)_ (qv), in 1998, Marcia returned to her singing talents and performed with "Beauty and the Beast" star 'Susan Egan' (qv) in "Hello Again," which was a revamped version of the 'Max Ophüls' (qv) classic French film _La Ronde (1950)_ (qv). Here she played against type as a prostitute. Marcia attempted two other short-lived series with the comedy _Noah Knows Best (2000)_ (qv) and action adventure _Tremors (2003)_ (qv) and phased away from the camera not long after a recurring role as a sergeant in the police series _Third Watch (1999)_ (qv).Over the years Marcia carved out a niche for herself not only as a fine actress but also as a social and labor activist, and lent her skills and talents to many progressive causes. Diagnosed with breast and bone cancer in 2007, she published Life with a Side Order of Cancer, a memoir in which she detailed her life, career and challenging illness the following year. Marcia died of complications on October 24, 2014, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. She was 66 and survived by her sister 'Julie Strassman-Cohn' (qv), a TV story editor, brother Steven and daughter, Elizabeth, from a brief 1980's marriage to writer/director 'Robert Collector' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]