Strassman succeeded
Liza Minnelli in the role of Ethel Hofflinger in the
Off-Broadway musical
Best Foot Forward. In 1967, she became a recording artist for
Uni Records. Her debut single, "The Flower Children", was a top-40 hit in many West Coast U.S. markets, hitting #4 in San Diego and #2 in San Francisco; the track also hit #3 in
Vancouver, British Columbia (both at CKLG 730 AM and CFUN 1410 AM in July 1967). However, the single failed to break out nationally in either country; the record stalled at #105 in the United States, and just sneaked into RPM's Top 100 for Canada, peaking at #95. The song also reached #95 on
Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart '' advertisement for "The Flower Children", 1 April 1967 Her follow-up release, "The Groovy World of Jack and Jill", charted in
Denver, Colorado, but virtually nowhere else. A third single, "Star Gazer" (1968) (produced by
Kim Fowley), failed to chart anywhere and brought Strassman's brief recording career to a close. Returning to acting after a gap of a few years, she landed the recurring role of Nurse Margie Cutler in six early episodes of
M*A*S*H She landed the role of Julie Kotter, the wife of title character high school teacher Gabe Kotter (
Gabe Kaplan) on the ABC comedy series
Welcome Back, Kotter in 1975. The series lasted four years. Strassman was told that Kaplan wanted her off the series, and stated in an interview that working on the series made her "miserable". Kaplan read the interview and realized that series producer
James Komack was separately telling the two actors that they didn't like each other, and Kaplan informed Strassman that he actually wanted more balance between Kotter's work and home environments, which would have afforded her the chance to do more on the series. Kaplan, a guest host on
The Tonight Show that week, had Strassman on to tell the story as an interview guest; she recalled the incident decades later on a
Biography Channel special about the history of
Kotter. In the 1970s, Strassman did guest spots on
Time Express,
The Rockford Files, and
The Love Boat, among other shows. In 1980, she starred as Lenina Crowne in a television production of
Aldous Huxley's
Brave New World. She co-starred in the short-lived sitcom
Good Time Harry that year. She guest-starred on the
Magnum, P.I. episode "Heal Thyself", where she played Dr. Karen Harmon, a former nurse with whom the title character served in Vietnam. In 1982, she played Maria Giannin in the romantic comedy
Soup for One. In 1989–90, she had a co-starring role on the
21 Jump Street spin-off,
Booker, starring
Richard Grieco in the title role. She guest starred on
Murder, She Wrote in 1996. Strassman had movie roles as
Rick Moranis's wife in
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992). In 1994, she reprised her role from those movies in the 3-D film spin-off
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! She later went on to play Nancy Sterngood on the television series
Tremors (2003). ==Death==