The man who rose to fame by playing the iconic "Horshack" character on "Welcome Back, Kotter," Ron Palillo, died Tuesday in Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports.

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He was 63 years old.

A friend of Palillo, who played Arnold Horshack for four seasons on the popular 1970's sitcom, say the actor passed away suddenly early Tuesday morning, the Post reports.

According to TMZ, the actor suffered a heart attack.

“He was the kind of guy that you met and immediately made you feel really good," Greg Hauptner, the co-founder of an acting school where Palillo taught classes, told the Post.

After "Welcome Back, Kotter" went off the air in 1979, Palillo went on to appear in cameos or supporting roles in several other hit shows, including Alice, The A-Team and Murder, She Wrote.

He also appeared in several episodes of "Ellen" during the 1990's and provided voice roles for several animated series.

The Post says that Palillo had been living in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and teaching at a charter school for about three years.

READ MORE at PalmBeachPost.com.