Marcia Strassman, born April 28, 1948, in New York City, grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, as one of four children. She was a striking young teen who worked as a model in a local children's department store and pursued a singing career, eventually being picked up by Uni Records in 1967. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top 40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets.
Marcia's early career included performing in an off-Broadway show at the age of 15, replacing Liza Minnelli in the musical "Best Foot Forward". She then ventured into television, appearing in several episodes of "The Patty Duke Show" (1963) and later in shows like "Ironside", "The Paul Lynde Show", and "M*A*S*H" (1972).
In the 1970s, Marcia focused on TV work, appearing in shows such as "Police Story", "Marcus Welby", "City of Angels", "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island", and the TV-movies "Journey from Darkness" (1975) and "Brenda Starr" (1976). Her breakout role was as Gabe Kaplan's wife on the popular sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" (1975) for four seasons.
Marcia remained disillusioned with her relatively overlooked role as Julie Kotter, with the focus landing squarely on Brooklyn schoolteacher Kotter and his interaction with student "Sweathogs". She gamely stayed with the show throughout its run. She then went on to star in the comedy series "Good Time Harry" (1980) and the crime series "Booker" (1989) as boss to Dennis Booker, played by Richard Grieco.
In between, Marcia remained a steady focus as a guest on shows like "The Rockford Files", "Magnum, P.I.", "E/R", and "I Married Dora", and appeared in the occasional film. She regained popularity as the wholesome wife of nerdy Rick Moranis in the Walt Disney hit "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (1989) and reprised that role in the sequel "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" (1992).
Marcia continued to work in television and film, appearing in shows like "Civil Wars", "Sweet Justice", "Charlie Grace", "Murder, She Wrote", "Highlander", "L.A. Heat", "Tracy Takes On...", and "Baywatch". She returned to films with the crime comedy "Another Stakeout" (1993) and the family sci-fi comedy "Earth Minus Zero" (1997).
In 1998, Marcia returned to her singing talents and performed with Susan Egan in the musical "Hello Again", a revamped version of the Max Ophüls classic French film "La Ronde" (1950). She played against type as a prostitute. Marcia attempted two other short-lived series with the comedy "Noah Knows Best" (2000) and the action adventure "Tremors" (2003).
Marcia phased away from the camera not long after a recurring role as a sergeant in the police series "Third Watch" (1999). Over the years, she 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, Marcia published her memoir "Life with a Side Order of Cancer" in 2008, detailing her life, career, and challenging illness. Marcia died of complications on October 24, 2014, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, at the age of 66. She was survived by her sister Julie Strassman-Cohn, a TV story editor, brother Steve Strassman, and daughter Elizabeth Collector, from a brief 1980s marriage to writer/director Robert Collector.
