http://www.nj.com/entertainment/celebrities/index.ssf/2012/01/robert_hegyes_juan_epstein_of.htmlRobert
Hegyes, the Jersey-born actor who played Jewish Puerto-Rican wheeler-dealer Juan
Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s classic "Welcome Back
Kotter," died after an apparent heart attack in his Metuchen home this morning.
He was 60.Hegyes, who also co-starred on "Cagney and Lacey" and taught
occasional master classes at his alma mater, Rowan University, was best known
for his work on "Kotter," in which he performed alongside a young John Travolta
as one of the tough remedial students known at the Sweathogs. Hegyes and nearly
all of the original cast members reunited last year at the TV Land Awards to
recognize the show's 35th anniversary.On his website, Hegyes wrote that
he modeled the swaggering, skirt-chasing Epstein after Chico Marx, whom he
played in a national touring production of "A Night With Groucho." He was a big
fan of the Marx Brothers: "They were immigrant Jews, and I was an immigrant
Italian. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo were intellectuals ... They all
played the piano and took music lessons, and they were all juvenile delinquents;
I could definitely relate."Hegyes had suffered a heart attack a couple
of years ago and was not in good health, his brother Mark Hegyes of Montana
said. Metuchen police responded to a call for medical assistance from Hegyes'
home at 9:02 a.m., and Hegyes, who was experiencing chest pains, was taken to
JFK Medical Center in Edison, police said. By the time he arrived at the
emergency room at 9:40 a.m., he was in full cardiac arrest and died, according
to hospital spokesman Steven
Weiss.robert-hegyes-welcome-back-kotter-juan-epstein-dead-60.JPGGETTY
IMAGESLast year, Hegyes, second from left, and other cast members of "Welcome
Back, Kotter," (from left, Marcia Strassman, Robert Hegyes, Lawrence
Hilton-Jacobs, John Travolta, Ellen Travolta and Gabe Kaplan ) accepted the 35th
Anniversary Award at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards.Hegyes, whose father
was Hungarian-American and whose mother was Italian-American, grew up in Perth
Amboy and Metuchen. He was one of the kids equally at home on the gridiron and
in the footlights. His nickname: Chico. He wrote that his mother, a big Broadway
musical and Frank Sinatra fan, stoked his theatrical ambitions, making him sing
along with Ol' Blue Eyes and "incessantly" to "Maria" from "West Side
Story."He graduated from Rowan University (then Glassboro State College)
with a bachelor's degree in speech/theater and secondary education -- Rowan
spokesman Joe Cardona called him a "great friend" of the school, noting that he
sported a Rowan shirt while co-starring as Det. Esposito on "Cagney and Lacey"
-- and quickly found work in New York, co-starring Off-Broadway in "Naomi Court"
and in the Broadway drama "Don't Call Back." He was then cast as Epstein, a role
he played for "Kotter"'s four-season run on ABC.Following "Kotter" and
"Cagney & Lacey," he continued to act on television, mostly in
guest-starring roles including "NewsRadio," "Diagnosis Murder" and "The Drew
Carey Show," and made occasional films, including "Bob Roberts" with Tim
Robbins. He also taught at Brooks College of Long Beach, Calif., and wrote
screenplays. Peter Loewy, who runs the Forum Theatre Arts Center in Metuchen,
says he planned to work with Hegyes on a one-man show a year or so ago, but
Hegyes' health problems -- he needed a hip replacement, among other things --
put it on hold indefinitely. "He was a gentle guy," Loewy remembers. "He had,
ironically, a big heart."Hegyes was retired but still talked about
directing and getting more involved in local arts efforts, Mark Hegyes said. "He
always had these great schemes," his brother said, "but last week he said I'm
not going to do that anymore."Hegyes leaves behind three siblings, two
children, Cassie and Mack, and two step-children, Sophia and
Alex.Visitation will be at Flynn & Son Funeral Home at 23 Ford Ave.,
Fords, on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The funeral will
take place during the evening visiting hours.

Dick Kniss, a bassist who performed for five decades with the folk trio Peter,
Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," has
died. He was 74.Kniss died Wednesday of pulmonary disease at a hospital
near their home in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, said his wife, Diane
Kniss.Kniss was born in Portland, Ore., and was an original member of
Denver's 1970s band. He also played with jazz greats including Herbie Hancock
and Woody Herman.Active in the 1960s civil rights movement, Kniss
performed at benefits for a range of causes and played during the first
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national
holiday.Peter, Paul and Mary's Peter Yarrow said in a statement that
Kniss was "our intrepid bass player for almost as long as we performed
together."He was a dear and beloved part of our closest family circle
and his bass playing was always a great fourth voice in our music as well as,
conceptually, an original and delightfully surprising new statement added to our
vocal arrangements," Yarrow said.Visiting hours are set for 1 to 3 p.m.
Sunday at the Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home in Saugerties, with a service at 2
p.m.http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2012/01/27/peter_paul_and_mary_bassist_dick_kniss_dies_at_74/