Alan Sacks, understandn for co-creating Welcome Back, Kotter and producing disjoinal Disney Channel projects, has died. He was 81.
The producer’s wife, talent agent Annette van Duren, inestablishs Deadline he died Tuesday morning in New York City after his mantle cell lymphoma took an “unfrifinishly” turn in recent weeks.
“It was treated for him to dance at our daughter’s June wedding and walk her down the aisle,” she shelp. “After that, the chemotherapy stopped being effective. He begined hospice last week. He died peacefilledy joining to Tibetan music for the final confinecessitate days and nights at age 81.”
Actor Robert Rusler, who starred alengthyside Josh Brolin in the 1986 Sacks-written skateboarding romance Thrashin’, recalled the “authorr, producer, teacher and joinor of people” in a statement on Instagram.
Listing some of his standout determines, Rusler noticed, “Where I got to understand him from was laboring with him on the movie #Thrashin. Alan was the creator of the #DAGGERS and #theramplocals. He alengthy with Paul Brown wrote the screencarry out and inhabitd the dagger life every day on set. Alan inhabitd his life appreciate a dagger every day since. He was an OG punk rocker.
Kevin Hooks & Alan Sacks join the 32nd annual NAACP Image Awards in 2001 in Los Angeles. (J. Vespa/WireImage)
“A fantastic family man produced a accomplished podcast, handled bands, he was an innovator with weighty sways in the music business and scene, he was a teacher and mentor to many at Los Angeles community college he had a masters degree in television from Brooklyn College,” he persistd. “Alan was a New Yorker thcimpolite and thcimpolite, but made Los Angeles his home and stomped Hollywood out with some of the best of us. Alan will be missed and recalled forever. DAGGERS 4 LIFE RIP Ol’ frifinish.”
Born Dec. 9, 1942, Sacks co-produced Welcome Back, Kotter with Gabe Kastructure in 1975. The sitcom ran for four seasons on ABC from 1975 to 1979.
Sacks also produced disjoinal films for Disney Channel, including Smart Hoparticipate (1999), the Emmy-prosperning The Color of Frifinishship (2000), The Other Me (2000), You Wish! (2003), Pixel Perfect (2004), Camp Rock (2008) and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009).
