Robert Michael Urich (December 19, 1946 – April 16, 2002) was an American actor and television producer who worked in film, television, and stage. During his 30-year career, he appeared in a record 15 television shows.
Urich started his television career in the early 1970s. After appearing in guest roles and short-lived series, he earned a co-starring role in the action/crime drama S.W.A.T. in 1975. In 1978, he became the lead actor in Vega$, a crime drama that aired on ABC from 1978 to 1981 and earned him two Golden Globe Award nominations. In addition to television, Urich acted in several films, including Magnum Force (1973), The Ice Pirates (1984), and Turk 182 (1985). From 1985 to 1988, he played the main character in the detective series Spenser: For Hire, based on Robert B. Parker’s mystery novels. In 1988, he began hosting the documentary series National Geographic Explorer and won a CableACE Award for his work. He also received a Golden Boot Award for his roles in Western television and films.
In 1993, he won an Emmy Award for narrating a nature documentary. He later said on The Late Show with David Letterman that he did not know he had been nominated or won the award until it was delivered to his home by FedEx.
In 1996, Urich starred in the television series The Lazarus Man. The show was canceled after he announced he had been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, in July 1996. He continued working while receiving treatment and helped raise money for cancer research. In 1998, he was declared cancer-free and returned to television in the UPN series Love Boat: The Next Wave. In 2000, he made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago. His final role was in the NBC sitcom Emeril in 2001. However, his cancer returned in the fall of 2001, and he passed away in April 2002 at the age of 55.
Early life
Urich was born and raised in Toronto, Ohio, to John Paul and Cecilia Monica (née Halpate) Urich. He had a background of Rusyn (Ukrainian) and Slovak heritage and was raised in the Byzantine Catholic religion. His older brother was actor Tom Urich (1935–2022). Urich was a top athlete in high school and attended Florida State University on a football scholarship. He played backup center during the 1965–66 football season, receiving little playing time, and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. In 1968, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television Communications. He later attended Michigan State University and received a master’s degree in Broadcast Research and Management. He also took voice lessons at the University of Chicago music school.
In a 1997 interview with Tom Snyder, Urich explained that he worked in sales at WGN-TV in Chicago for $150 a week and was fired after the company found out he was working another job. He had also worked briefly as a weatherman.
Career
After appearing in a Chicago production of The Rainmaker with Burt Reynolds, Urich decided to pursue acting full-time after Reynolds encouraged him to move to Los Angeles and do more acting.
Urich made his television debut in a guest starring role in The F.B.I. in 1972. The following year, he won a lead role in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, a television adaptation of the 1969 film of the same title. The show struggled in the ratings and was canceled after six episodes. Later that same year, he made his film debut opposite Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry film Magnum Force, playing a vigilante motorcycle-patrol police officer. In 1975, Urich was cast in the action/crime drama series S.W.A.T.. According to the executive producer Aaron Spelling, Burt Reynolds convinced Spelling to allow Urich to read for the part. Spelling was impressed with his reading and cast him in the role of "Officer Jim Street." A mid-season replacement, it earned high enough ratings to warrant a second season. However, it was canceled in 1976 due to its violent content.
Urich's next role was on the sitcom Soap as Peter the Tennis Player in 1977. That same year, he was cast as Paul Thurston, a handsome, ego-driven talk show host in the Bewitched spin-off series Tabitha, starring Lisa Hartman. Its ratings were initially strong, but schedule changes caused ratings to drop, and the show was canceled in 1978 after 13 episodes. Shortly after, he was cast in another Aaron Spelling produced series, called Vega$. Urich portrayed the series' lead character, Dan Tanna, a private detective who solves various crimes in Las Vegas. Vega$ was a hit for ABC, and he received two Golden Globe Award nominations for his work on it. By the third season, ratings had started to decline, and with little network support, Vega$ was canceled at the end of the third season in June, 1981. Shortly after, Urich signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and focused on film roles. His first film for MGM was Endangered Species (1982), a science fiction film directed by Alan Rudolph.
After filming Endangered Species, Urich returned to television and starred in Gavilan. He played the title character, a former CIA agent turned oceanographer. The series, however, was canceled after seven episodes. In 1984, he starred in two more films, The Ice Pirates and Wes Craven's Invitation to Hell. In 1985, Urich co-starred in the film Turk 182, although it was not a commercial success. In 1985, Urich returned to episodic television as the title character in Spenser: For Hire. It was a hit and aired for three seasons. He also reprised the role in several television films after it was canceled: Spenser: Ceremony (1993), Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes (1994), Spenser: The Judas Goat (1994), and Spenser: A Savage Place (1995). In 1988, he hosted the documentary series National Geographic Explorer. He won a CableACE Award for his work on the series. In 1989, he portrayed Jake Spoon in the acclaimed television miniseries Lonesome Dove, a role for which he received many positive reviews.
In the 1990s, Urich mainly appeared in television films and several short-lived television series. From 1990 to 1991, he starred in the sitcom American Dreamer and the TV movie 83 Hours 'Til Dawn. The following year, he starred in Crossroads, a drama series that aired on ABC for ten episodes. In 1993, he and Faye Dunaway starred in the sitcom It Had to Be You. It was critically panned and canceled after four episodes. In 1995, he narrated an extremely rare one-night showing of a Disney television documentary called Alien Encounters: From New Tomorrowland. It has never been shown again. In 1996, he starred in the TNT western series The Lazarus Man. It earned strong enough ratings to be picked up for a second season, but shortly after it was renewed, he announced he had been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. Its production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, opted to cancel it due to that. In 1999, he commented on their choice to do so: "There's really a law against what they did. They found out I had cancer, and they just canceled the show. They didn't ask the doctors if I could work. They didn't ask if I could go back to work." In 2000, he sued them for breach of contract. The lawsuit was later settled with both parties agreeing not to publicly disclose the terms. While undergoing cancer treatments, Urich hosted the medical documentary series Vital Signs in 1997 and the PBS series Boatworks. After a year of treatment, he was declared cancer-free and returned to television in 1998 as Captain Jim Kennedy III in Love Boat: The Next Wave. It aired on UPN for two seasons. In 2000, he made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago and also starred in the North American tour of the musical in 1999 and 2000. The next year, he costarred in Emeril, a sitcom starring celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. While it was critically panned, he received good notices for his work on it. It would be his last role in a television series. Urich's final television film, Night of the Wolf, aired on Animal Planet the night before his death.
Personal life
In 1968, Urich married actress Barbara Rucker. They separated in 1974. In 1975, he married actress Heather Menzies, who was born in 1949 and passed away in 2017. The couple adopted three children. They stayed married until Urich's death in 2002.
Illness and death
In July 1996, Urich shared that he had been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that affects soft tissues. Even though he was sick, he kept working, received treatment, and helped raise money for cancer research. He was given an award by the John Wayne Cancer Institute. He also won the Gilda Radner Courage Award for his efforts to spread awareness about cancer. He and his wife created the Urich Fund at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center to support research. He also gave $125,000, which he had won on an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. In 1998, doctors said he was free of cancer, and he became the national spokesperson for the American Cancer Society that year.
In November 2001, Urich told an interviewer that doctors had found lumps in his body, but a new medicine helped treat them. A week before he died, he was taken to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks because of breathing problems. He passed away there on April 16, 2002. His funeral Mass was held on April 19 at St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. A statement from his publicist, Cindy Guagenti, said that Urich’s wife and three children were with him when he died.
Urich’s body was cremated, and his ashes were placed at the family’s vacation home in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. A memorial was built at the West Lake Church of Christ Cemetery, near their vacation home.
Legacy
Robert Urich and his wife helped raise money for the Eccles Performing Arts Centers at Park City High School in Park City, Utah. After his death, the school created the Robert Urich Scholarship fund in his honor. They also created the Robert and Heather Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Heather had cancer and survived ovarian cancer. She continued to work at the center until she passed away from brain cancer on December 24, 2017, with their three children by her side.
Robert Urich’s hometown of Toronto, Ohio, named the Robert Urich Interchange after him. This interchange connects the town to Ohio State Route 7. For his contributions to the television industry, Robert Urich has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7083 Hollywood Blvd. Until Usher was added, he was the only person whose name started with the letter "U" on the walk.