US actress Marcia Strassman, best known
for her roles in 1970s sitcom Welcome Back
Kotter and 1989 film Honey I Shrunk the
Kids, has died aged 66.
Strassman, who played Julie, the wife of Gabe
Kaplan's character in Welcome Back Kotter, had
been battling breast cancer for seven years.
Her sister Julie said she died at home in
Sherman Oaks, California, on Friday.
Singer and actress Cher paid tribute to
Strassman, her "funny, talented friend".
Strassman began acting as a teen in New York
and in 1966 replaced Liza Minnelli in the off-
Broadway musical Best Foot Forward.
She moved to Hollywood at 18 and her five-
decade career encompassed numerous film and
TV roles including nurse Margie Cutler on the
first series of Mash.
She found fame with Welcome Back Kotter,
which also gave a big break to fellow cast
member John Travolta.
The show, about a teacher returning to his tough
high school, ran from 1975 to 1979.
She also starred alongside Rick Moranis in
Honey I Shrunk The Kids and the sequel Honey I
Blew Up The Kid.