LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marcia Strassman, who played Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," has died. She was 66. 
 
 This photo provided by Julie Strassman, shows her sister actress Marcia Strassman. The actress who played Gabe Kaplan’s wife, Julie, on the 1970's sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” has died at age 66. Strassman’s... (Associated Press) 
 
 Strassman died at her Sherman Oaks, California, home on Friday after battling breast cancer for seven years, her sister, Julie Strassman, said Sunday. 
 
 "They gave her 2 ½ years to live but she lasted much longer," she said. "She was very courageous." 
 
 Strassman had numerous roles on television and in film during her five-decade career. 
 
 She played nurse Margie Cutler on the first season of "M.A.S.H." before her breakout role in "Welcome Back, Kotter." The show was about a teacher returning to the tough high-school of his youth to teach a classroom full of misfits, including future movie star John Travolta. 
 
 She also played Rick Moranis' wife in the Disney hit movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and its sequel, "Honey I Blew Up the Kid." 
 
 Born on April 28, 1948, in New York City, Strassman began acting as a teen, replacing Liza Minnelli in the off-Broadway musical "Best Foot Forward." She moved to Los Angeles at 18 and landed a steady stream of roles. 
 
 She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild national board, and was an active fundraiser for breast cancer research and other social causes, her sister Julie said. 
 
 Strassman is also survived by a daughter and a brother. 
 
 Plans for funeral services are pending. ||||| Actress Marcia Strassman has died at the age of 66 after a long battle with breast cancer, her sister Julie Strassman confirmed. Though Marcia Strassman acted in a wide range of TV shows and feature films, she was best known for her lead roles in the TV show Welcome Back Kotter and the comedy feature Honey I Shrunk the Kids and its sequel, Honey I Blew Up the Kids. Strassman also served on the national board of the Screen Actors Guild. 
 
 “She was the funniest, smartest person I ever met,” said Julie Strassman of her sister. “And talented. She knew everything. Now I won’t be able to call her and ask her questions.” 
 
 News of Strassman’s death first emerged in online posts by a long-time friend, Curb Your Enthusiasm director Bob Weide: “So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today.” 
 
 Another friend, singer/actress Cher, also tweeted: “Wanted U2 No,a Funny,Talented Friend Died.Not 4U 2feel sorry 4me,but she died alone, &Energy from U is powerful &Sends (love) ‘Marsha (sic) Strassman'” 
 
 Strassman was born Apri 28, 1948 in New York City, and grew up in New Jersey. She came to Los Angeles when she was just 18, her sister said. She was initially a singer in the late 1960s with some modest local success, most notably with The Groovy World of Jack and Jill and The Flower Children. She also had a few TV roles, including three episodes of The Patty Duke Show. She left show business for a time before returning as an actress in a recurring role as nurse Margie Cutler in M.A.S.H. 
 
 In 1975, Strassman had a breakout role in the TV hit Welcome Back Kotter, opposite comedian Gabe Kaplan, playing his frequently exasperated wife Julie. That show, about a teacher returning to the tough high school and neighborhood where he grew up, ran through 1979. 
 
 Strassman worked steadily thereafter, most notably in major roles on several mostly short-lived TV shows, including Booker, Tremors, Third Watch, Providence, and Noah Knows Best and as a voice-over artist on the children’s animated show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and elsewhere. 
 
 Her biggest film success came playing the wife and mother opposite Rick Moranis in Disney’s hit comedy Honey I Shrunk The Kids and its equally successful sequel, Honey I Blew Up The Kids. She also appeared in 1985’s The Aviator with Christopher Reeve and Roseanna Arquette. 
 
 Strassman was active in fundraising for various progressive and social causes, including breast cancer research and treatment even before she was diagnosed, her sister said. She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild national board, elected to a three-year term in 2010. Julie Strassman said her sister continued to sing, and had many other skills and a wide group of friends throughout Hollywood. 
 
 “She had more friends than anyone in the world,” Julie Strassman said. “She could do anything. She made clothes, made curtains, knitted sweaters for friends. She could dance.” 
 
 Strassman died Oct. 25 in her Sherman Oaks, Calif., home, after a seven-year fight with breast cancer. She is survived by her daughter, New York costume designer Elizabeth “Lizzie” Collector, whom Julie Strassman called her sister’s “great love.” She is also survived by brother Steven Strassman. 
 
 Services are pending, but Julie Strassman asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her sister’s name to organizations fighting cancer. ||||| Actress Marcia Strassman, known for her roles in such hits as “Welcome Back, Kotter” and “MASH,” died Friday after a long fight with breast cancer, her sister Julie Strassman confirmed. She was 66. 
 
 Along with her many TV credits, Strassman co-starred opposite Rick Moranis in the 1989 Disney live-action hit “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and 1992 sequel “Honey I Blew Up the Kid.” She was also a longstanding member of the national board of the Screen Actors Guild. 
 
 The news of her death broke online when her friend, director Bob Weide, sent a tweet about her passing. Strassman died at her home in Sherman Oaks. 
 
 So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today. pic.twitter.com/4gQ4MEvEal — Bob Weide (@BobWeide) October 26, 2014 
 
 Strassman’s first major TV role came in 1964, when she appeared in “The Patty Duke Show.” She would go on to play Nurse Margie Culter in several episodes of “MASH.” 
 
 She’s best known, however, as Julie Kotter, wife to the titular school teacher on “Welcome Back, Kotter.” The series ran on ABC from 1975-1979 and featured a young John Travolta in the cast. 
 
 Most recently, Strassman had a stint on “Third Watch” in 2004, appeared in the 2003 TV adaptation of the “Tremors” films and NBC’s “Providence.” Also included in her TV credits are “Booker” and “Noah Knows Best,” and she did voice work for animated series including “Aaaahh!!! Real Monsters.” 
 
 Along with her the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” films, she was also in 1985 film “The Aviator” with Christopher Reeve and Rosanna Arquette. 
 
 Related Marcia Strassman: 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Her Career 
 
 Julie Strassman said her sister performed in an annual event to benefit breast cancer research called Duets for years, and was active in raising money and awareness for the disease, even before she was diagnosed. 
 
 Ron “Horshack” Palillo and Robert “Epstein” Hegyes of the original “Welcome Back, Kotter” cast died in 2012. John Sylvester White, who played Mr. Woodman on the show, died in 1988. 
 
 Strassman is survived by her daughter, costume designer Elizabeth “Lizzie” Collector, along with her sister Julie and brother Steven Strassman. Julie Strassman added that she was a beloved aunt to her son, Jesse, and daughter, Halley. 
 
 Funeral services are pending. Julie Strassman requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to cancer organizations such as the Susan B. Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society, in Marcia Strassman’s name. ||||| She rose to fame as Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms... 
 
 “Happy Days” actress Erin Moran died of throat cancer that was diagnosed just five months ago, it was revealed on Monday. 
 
 The coroner and sheriff of Harrison County, Indiana, said Moran did not have any illegal drugs at home when her body was found on Saturday. 
 
 The 56-year-old Moran, who played Joanie Cunningham on the iconic sitcom, had a history of alcohol abuse. 
 
 “A subsequent autopsy revealed that Mrs. [sic] Moran likely succumbed to complications of stage 4 cancer,” according to a joint statement by Sheriff Rod Seelye and Coroner Gary Gilley. 
 
 “Standard toxicology tests were performed and the results are pending however no illegal narcotics were found at the residence.” 
 
 The statement did not specify what kind of cancer Moran had — but friends told The Post on Monday that the “Joanie Loves Chachi” star had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for throat cancer. 
 
 “She was in treatment and it was not going well,” said Paul Petersen, best known for playing Jeff Stone in “The Donna Reed Show” and founder of the child-actor advocacy group A Minor Consideration. 
 
 Moran had only been diagnosed around Thanksgiving and chemo was taking a brutal toll on her, according to friend and actor Steven Wishnoff, 56. 
 
 “She would go for chemo and would take her days to recover, she was already so weak,” said Wishnoff, best known for playing Tony Masters on 27 episodes on the prison drama “Oz.” 
 
 The actor, who last saw Moran at an autograph show in Windsor, Ontario, in late October, said the actress appeared to be in great health then. 
 
 Wishnoff was particularly impressed how Moran skillfully fielded fan questions about Scott Baio — speaking warmly about her former castmate while making it clear she didn’t agree with his support of Donald Trump. 
 
 Despite reports of alcohol abuse and strange behavior, Wishnoff insisted that Moran was living comfortably and far from spiraling. 
 
 “She was in a good place,” he said. “I know it’s not a tragic sexy story just to say that Erin Moran was looking after her mother-in-law, with a husband who adored her, in a small town in Indiana.” 
 
 Moran was a smoker, but Petersen, 71, and Wishnoff said they didn’t know what impact that habit had on her cancer.
– An actress known to one generation as Gabe Kaplan's wife, Julie, on Welcome Back, Kotter and to another as the mom in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids has died after a seven-year battle with breast cancer. Marcia Strassman died Saturday at home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.; she was 66, the AP reports. "They gave her two and a half years to live but she lasted much longer. She was very courageous," says sister Julie Strassman. "She was the funniest, smartest person I ever met. And talented. She knew everything. Now I won't be able to call her and ask her questions," she tells Deadline. The actress is also survived by a daughter and a brother. Strassman was born in 1948 in New York City and went to Los Angeles at age 18. Her career began in music but turned to acting when she appeared on The Patty Duke Show and landed the role of nurse Margie Cutler on M.A.S.H. This was followed by her role on Kotter, then as the mom opposite Rick Moranis in the Disney hit and its sequel. She also appeared in Third Watch in 2004, adds Variety. Even before her cancer diagnosis, Strassman was involved in cancer research and treatment organizations. "She had more friends than anyone in the world. She could do anything," her sister says. (Click to read about other celebrities who died of breast cancer.)