Ron Palillo, Horshack from ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’, Dead At 63

Ron Palillo, best known as classroom goofball Arnold Horshack on the 1970s TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, died at his Palm Beach Gardens home early this morning, according to Stacy Sacco, Palillo’s friend.

Sacco told The Palm Beach Post that Palillo passed away suddenly at 4:30 a.m.

He was 63.

Sacco told the Palm Beach Post,

He just couldn’t have been more fun and intelligent or talented. He was an amazing human being.”

Sacco said she met Palillo 20 years ago when he was Ellen Degeneres' sitcom, which Sacco was a script supervisor for.

Palillo had been teaching acting classes at G-Star School of the Arts, a charter school in Palm Springs, for about three years.

The cause of death has not been determined, but it has been reported that Palillo had not be sick or hospitalized.

Born April 2, 1949 in Cheshire, Connecticut, Palillo is survived by his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm, a retired actor.

Palillo taught acting for film and camera.