The entertainment industry lost a lot of stars in 2017 and Battlestar Galactica star Richard Hatch was among that lot. Hatch had his best years in the film industry between the 1970s and 1980s. However, Hatch remained active upon his death and remained particularly loyal to the Galactica franchise of which he wrote three novels.
Richard Hatch Wiki/Bio
Richard Lawrence Hatch was born on May 21, 1945, in Santa Monica, California. He was one of the 5 children of John Raymond Hatch and Elizabeth Hatch (neé White). As a boy, Hatch began playing the classical piano. In high school, he was an active athlete competing in the pole vault with hopes to go professional.
However, destiny had other plans up her sleeves. With no plans of becoming an actor as he considered himself an extremely shy boy, Hatch developed an affinity for acting following the tragic assassination of President Kennedy. He was a freshman at Harbor College in San Pedro at the time.
Hatch joined the Los Angeles Repertory Theater and traveled to New York frequently, beginning his acting career on stage. He also performed Off-Broadway and in Chicago. Some of the plays he featured included; “Song of Walt Whitman”, and “Young Rebels.”
Subsequently, Hatch made the transition to the small screen, beginning with the daytime soap opera All My Children. He then had roles that came in Nakia, Barnaby Jones, Cannon, and more. Hatch also appeared in TV films such as Addie and the King of Hearts, The Hatfields and the McCoys, Deadman’s Curve, and more.
Rapidly, Hatch built a reputation on the small screen. His first major role in TV came in The Streets of San Francisco where he portrayed Inspector Dan Robbins, a role that lasted for a season and earned him a Bravo Youth Magazine Award.
1978 would be the year that Hatch got his biggest break yet thanks to his starring role in the science fiction TV series Battlestar Galactica which developed a cult following but was sadly canceled as a result of its high production cost. For his role as Captain Apollo, Hatch earned a Golden Globe nomination.
His subsequent noteworthy credits in the small screen would include; Fantasy Island, T.J. Hooker, MacGyver, CHiPs, Dynasty, The Love Boat, Baywatch, and Murder She Wrote.
Beginning in the early 1980s, Hatch began appearing in theatrical films, some of which included; Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen, Prisoners of the Lost Universe, Party Line, Last Platoon, and more.
Hatch led the revival of the Battlestar Galactica series and later wrote and starred in the fan film Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming (1999).
Hatch portrayed a different character as rebel Tom Zarek in the reimagined version of Battlestar Galactica in 2003. Though his activity greatly waned from the start of the new millennium, Hatch continued to take up occasional gigs like in 2014 when he appeared in Prelude to Axanar.
Dead: Cause of Death
Following a period of about with pancreatic cancer, Richard Hatch lost his life to the ailment on the 7th of February 2017. He had been placed in hospice care at his home in Santa Clarita, California, and died with his only son Paul by his side. He was 71 years old.
Celebrities around Hollywood took to social media to pour out their condolences. Among them were his Battlestar Galactica colleagues; Ronald D. Moore, Edward J. Olmos, and the show’s composer Bear McCreary.
Other non-BSG celebrities to follow suit were comedian George Takei, WWE star Mauro Ranallo and a host of others.
Richard Hatch Married, Son
It is unclear if Richard Hatch was ever married during his lifetime, however, he did have a son Paul Hatch (born 1967) whose mother isn’t really known to the media.
In addition to his son, Richard was also survived by his brother John Hatch who we speculate is the last one standing in the Hatch family.
Gay
Actor Richard Hatch was not gay, however, his namesake Richard Hatch from the reality series Survivor with whom he was always confused is gay. Richard Hatch once spoke to the media regarding his name-sharing with the Survivor star saying;
“We forget there are other people with our name, and somehow we feel ownership with our name. Honestly, this is one of the strangest experiences that’s ever happened in my life, and I’m having to deal with it.”
Richard Hatch’s legacy truly lives on. RIP.
