Actor Ron Palillo, a heavy smoker who died of a heart attack in 2012, was devastated by the demise of his father decades before. But that tragic loss ultimately led to Pallilo’s success with his portrayal of Arnold Horshack, on the 1970s classic TV school-com, Welcome Back, Kotter.
A Closer Look
Ron Palillo was born on April 2, 1949, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Gabriel Palillo, a postmaster, and his mother Carmel.…