Marcia Strassman: ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ star a memorable movie mom

The actress Marcia Strassman, who died Friday at age 66 after battling breast cancer for seven years, leaves behind a body of work spanning five decades on the big and small screens.

Though best known for her work on television, including her breakout role as Julie Kotter, wife of the eponymous high school teacher in “Welcome Back, Kotter,” Strassman also gave moviedom one of its memorable moms in Diane Szalinski, the long-suffering better half of the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” franchise.

Released in 1989, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” co-starred Rick Moranis as Wayne Szalinski, a wacky inventor as brilliant inside his workshop as he is clueless outside of it. Strassman played his loyal, grounded wife, to whom Wayne delivers the titular line after his latest gadget reduces their children and some neighboring kids to near-microscopic size.

The diminutive youngsters then had to survive such threats as sprinkler-induced deluges, giant (to them) scorpions and a rampaging lawn mower, while their fretful parents searched high and low for them.

With its family-friendly comedy and then-impressive special effects, “Honey” received solid reviews and emerged as a surprise hit, earning $222 million worldwide and becoming Disney’s highest-grossing live-action movie to that point.

Strassman would return for a theatrical sequel, “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” (watch a clip above), and a 4-D theme-park attraction, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” (which ran until 2010).

The franchise also spawned a third movie that went straight to video, “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves,” and a spinoff TV series, neither of which Strassman participated in.

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