Robert Urich

Robert Urich
Los Angeles Times

Stars

Robert Urich
TV: North side of the 7100 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Actor
Born Dec. 16, 1946 in Toronto, OH
Died April 16, 2002 of cancer in Los Robles Regional Medical Center, CA

Actor Robert Urich was best known for his tough-guy TV roles as Las Vegas private detective Dan Tana on "Vega$" and as Robert B. Parker's sophisticated Boston private investigator in "Spenser: For Hire."

According to the book "10,000 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia," Urich held the record of starring in 15 TV shows — the most of any actor. Throughout his 30-year career, Urich moved effortlessly between drama and comedy, action-thrillers and period westerns.

After appearing in guest roles on television, he made his sitcom premiere in 1973 in the short-lived series "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice." The same year, Urich made his feature movie premiere in the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" sequel "Magnum Force."

Among his series were "S.W.A.T." (1975-76), "Soap" (1978), "Tabitha" (1977-78), "Vega$" (1978-81), "Gavilan" (1982-83), "Spenser: For Hire" (1985-88), "American Dreamer" (1990-91), "Crossroads" (1992-93), "It Had to Be You" (1993), "The Lazarus Man" (1995-96), "Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998) and "Emeril" (2001).

Producer Aaron Spelling, who cast Urich in a supporting role in the action show "S.W.A.T." and later as the lead in "Vega$," said there was a reason Urich kept turning up in series again and again.
"He was just one of the sweetest men I've ever met," Spelling said. "No matter what you put him in, the audience loved him."

Urich also appeared in numerous TV movies and miniseries, including the Emmy Award-winner "Lonesome Dove," as well as "The Defiant Ones," "Stranger at My Door," "Final Descent," "Captains Courageous" and "Miracle on the 17th Green."

Among his feature credits were "Turk 182!," "Ice Pirates" and "Cloverbend."

Urich died in 2002 after a six-year battle with synovial cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the joints. The cancer was discovered in his groin, and had gone into remission after chemotherapy, radiation treatment and two surgeries.

It was during his first season on the TNT western series "The Lazarus Man" that Urich was diagnosed with cancer. In 2000, he sued Castle Rock Television, the studio producing the show, alleging that the company pulled the plug on the series because of his illness.

Urich had told the company in 1996 that despite his cancer he would be able to perform. In the breach-of-contract suit, which was settled, Urich sought the approximately $73,000 that he would have received for each episode in the second season.

Urich went public with his disease as soon as the cancer was diagnosed, and appeared on such talk shows as "Larry King Live" during his chemotherapy treatment to discuss his condition. His openness and optimism about his battle with cancer made him a popular lecturer.

"I've been flying around the country for the last year talking to groups," he said in an interview with The Times in 1998. "It's part of my deal I made with God to spread the word that it is survivable, that this notion of 'cancer-free' is one that you can achieve."

Of his popularity and steady work in television, Urich once told The Times: "I think my longevity has a lot to do with where I come from — a blue-collar town in Ohio — and how I was raised: to work hard and respect other folks.

"I know it sounds hokey but I think, ultimately, on television you can't hide who you are. It's why people are always coming up to me, not to talk about my shows but about their families, their pets. They obviously feel comfortable with me."

Athletically built and ruggedly handsome, the 6-foot, 2-inch actor was born Dec. 16, 1946, in Toronto, Ohio, a blue-collar steel town west of Pittsburgh. Urich was a football star in the small town and attended Florida State University on a football scholarship.

As a student, he hosted his own weekly television series. He earned a bachelor's degree in radio and television communications in 1968 and received a master's in broadcast research and management from Michigan State University three years later.

He worked briefly as a television weatherman and as an account executive at WGN-AM radio in Chicago. While at WGN, he was hired to play a young soldier and open a Jewish United Bond drive with a patriotic speech. He fell in love with acting, but ended up losing his job because his boss attended the bond drive and enforced the station's policy against moonlighting.

Urich made his stage debut in a community theater production in Chicago of Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna's romantic comedy "Lovers and Other Strangers." For the next 18 months, he performed at Chicago's Ivanhoe Theater and the Arlington Park and Pheasant Run Theaters.

He got his big break when fellow Florida State alum Burt Reynolds cast him as his younger brother in a 1972 stage production of Richard Nash's "The Rainmaker."

Related stars

Points of interest

Click for more information

    Share a thought about Robert Urich

    • Did you ever meet Robert Urich? Share your memory.
    • Which other stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have connections to Robert Urich?
    • Are other places in the world important to Robert Urich?
    • Does Robert Urich deserve this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

      Required
      Optional