Hegyes touched lives of many in the hometown he loved

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Robert Hegyes and John Travolta, who acted together “Welcome Back, Kotter,” reunited for the show’s 35th anniversary at the TV Land Awards. Even as he became a star of the TV screen, Robert Hegyes never forgot where he grew up.

“He kept friendships alive, that is the kind of person he was,” said friend Lynda Wonski, who went to Metuchen High School with the actor. “He graduated in 1969 and I graduated in 1970. After his time in Hollywood, he came back to his roots. He just loved Metuchen.”

Hegyes, who is best known for playing one of the Sweathogs, Jewish Puerto-Rican student Juan Epstein, on the 1975-79 comedy television show “Welcome Back, Kotter,” passed away Jan. 26 after suffering a heart attack at his borough home. He was 60 years old.

Hegyes had moved back to his hometown in 2009, living in a house on WoodbridgeAvenue, the street where he grew up.

Robert Hegyes in 1975, in a photo from his website, www.roberthegyes.com. Metuchen police had responded to his home around 9 a.m. on a call for medical assistance. Steven Weiss, director of public relations and marketing at JFK Medical Center in Edison, said Hegyes was brought to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead a few minutes later. Hegyes was born May 7, 1951, in Perth Amboy to his Hungarian father, Stephen, and his Italian mother, Marie Dominica Cocozza. He was the oldest of four children. His cousin is rock star Jon Bon Jovi, also a native of Middlesex County.

The Hegyes family lived in the Fords section of Woodbridge before moving to Metuchen, where Robert played linebacker on the high school football team and performed in theater shows under the direction of high school theater director Barton Shepard. He went on to study at Rowan University, then called Glassboro State College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in theater and secondary education.

After college, he headed to New York City, appearing in the Manhattan Theater Club Ensemble’s highly acclaimed drama “Naomi Court,” and he was later tapped for the Broadway drama “Don’t Call Back.”

During this time, he auditioned for “Welcome Back, Kotter,” a television series about teacher Gabe Kotter, who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High School in NewYork City, to teach a group of remedial students nicknamed the Sweathogs. They included the character Vinnie Barbarino, played by actor John Travolta. The show featured the popular theme song, “Welcome Back,” by John Sebastian. Last April, Hegyes and the other cast members came together to mark the show’s 35th anniversary during the ninth-annual “TV Land Awards.”

Hegyes appeared in many other films and television shows, including “Cagney and Lacey,” where he played Detective Manny Esposito, as well as “Underground Aces” with actress Melanie Griffith. He played Chico Marx in the national touring production of “A Night With Groucho.” Hegyes said that the Juan Epstein character in “Welcome Back, Kotter” was modeled after Chico.

Peter Loewy, producer and artistic director at Metuchen’s Forum Theatre, said he enjoyed a friendship with Hegyes that dates back to his “Kotter” days.

“Bobby had a great spirit and was such a sweet, sweet guy,” he said. “He had a gentle soul and he was very conscious of who he was… he was very smart and was a terrific teacher.”

Loewy said Hegyes was very studious in regard to his career.

“In this business, when you make it big when you are young, you see work less and less as you get older. Bobby was always working on his craft,” he said.

At the time of his death, Hegyes was working on bringing a one-man show to the Forum Theatre, Loewy said. However, he said the actor had been suffering from several health concerns that stalled the project.

“He was having problems with his hips,” he said. “He was working on straightening all that out before continuing production on the show.”

Alex Dawson, owner of The Raconteur bookstore on Main Street, said he always marveled at the murmurs about the three celebrities with erstwhile Metuchen addresses — John Ciardi, a poet/translator who twice appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson; David Copperfield, the famous magician; and Bobby Hegyes.

“Ciardi’s long gone, Copperfield lives on secluded Musha Cay island [in the Caribbean], but Hegyes, after a 35-year absence, has come home,” he said. “That is what I wrote to advertise Bobby’s first appearance at The Raconteur [in March 2010].”

After Hegyes’ appearance at the book store, he and Dawson collaborated on a staged radio play, “Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel,” where Hegyes played his old character Chico Marx for three sold-out shows.

“I remember my first visit to his house,” Dawson said. “You could smell his Nag Champa incense from the sidewalk because he always kept his front door cracked to welcome visitors. Even though it was ajar, he would always go up, despite the bad hip, to open it wider and properly receive you.”

Dawson said Hegyes’ front room was filled with comfortable chairs, movie scripts, a dry erase board crowded with scribbled ideas, and of course, an impressive collection of Juan Epstein merchandise.

“And there, sleeved in dry-cleaning plastic, his denim vest, hanging off the front of a closet door, the famous [Puerto Rican] flag patch facing out,” he said.

The Epstein character usually wore denim vests.

“Bobby was such a kind, generous, gentle person, and he ended each conversation, whether phone, email or in person, with an emphatic and earnest, ‘Love you, man’,” Dawson said.

Gary Peacock, who knew Hegyes for 41 years, said he has so many memories of his friend.

“We met at Glassboro State and roomed together our senior year,” he said. “He had a great sense of humor … the last time we spoke was on Saturday [Jan. 21]. I was thinking of joining him to watch the New York Giants game that Sunday, but figured we would just come together for the Super Bowl game. Bobby was a big Giants fan.”

Peacock recalled visiting Hegyes when he was on “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

“They [the cast] were all up-andcoming stars,” he said.

Peacock said his friend was not only great at what he did, but he was a great family man and father to his two children, Cassondra and Mac, from his marriage to Lynn O’Hare, and to his two stepchildren, Alex and Sophia, with his girlfriend Cynthia Wylie.

Metuchen Mayor Thomas Vahalla said Hegyes will be missed.

“Robert, after graduating from Metuchen High School, traveled all around the country, spent some time in California, and finally decided to settle down and live in Metuchen about a year and a half ago,” he said. “He was working on bringing a theater school to Metuchen, which would have fitted not only Metuchen but also Middlesex County.”

Vahalla said he attended Hegyes’ 60th birthday party at Hailey’s Harp & Pub on Main Street.

“He was doing quite well and he had such enthusiasm … it’s such a shame. He really had Metuchen at heart. He will be missed,” he said.

Wonski, who said she became close to Hegyes after he came back to town, said she and her granddaughter, Ally, took acting lessons from Hegyes.