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Jan Smithers vs. Marica "Mrs. Kotter" Strassman


Has anyone else ever noticed how eerily similar these two are?

Welcome Back Kotter started in '75 and WKRP in '78, but they overlapped for two years. While Strassman's role in Kotter was lower profile than Smithers' in WKRP, both women appeared to present a very similar kind of nerdy image.

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They were often confused at the time.

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Were they actually? I tried to find images of them side by side, but couldn't. I kind of expected to find at least one photo of them together considering their parallel and similar careers in TV situation comedies. It seems more likely than not they would have crossed paths at some point.

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I remember people thinking Kotter's wife was Jan Smitters.

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Comparing the two, they don't really look all that alike, but for sure, they seem very similar and both very attractive.

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I mean it's weird, narrowly examining their facial features they do look different. But most full-body images of them those differences seem to evaporate and result in extremely similar appearance.

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I think they are the same type more than they look alike https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=IweGuWuZ&id=6B926E00477C33EEEEA08A5C54AFA9C667D6E4C1&thid=OIP.IweGuWuZNuU7We0jSduRnAHaGG&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fP8kuHGP.jpg&exph=504&expw=612&q=marcia+strassman+jan+smithers&simid=608024652206114271&ck=3A3336E672A0DADA11DBE9D58983EF4A&selectedIndex=0&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0

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I think you're right. Pam Dawber fits that same type.

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yes

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Yeah for sure. They all have the girl next door look. Hot without ever trying to be hot.

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Late 70s, early 80s beauty standards for the girl-next-door roles. She was the Maryann to Loni Anderson’s Ginger.

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I think Strassman has the edge but not by much.

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As a young man then, all I remember is how utterly adorable both of them were ...

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