Richard Hatch, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Actor, Dies at 71

Richard Hatch, who was featured in the original “Battlestar Galactica” on ABC from 1978-79, died on Tuesday at the age of 71. Hatch was reportedly battling stage four pancreatic cancer, according to Alec Peters, the writer and producer of “Axanar,” a series of “Star Trek” fan films that starred Hatch. “Richard was in good spirits when I visited him two weeks ago,” Peters wrote on Facebook. “He knew his time was short, but was comforted by the fact that his son would be taken care of.”

Born on May 21, 1945 in Santa Monica, California, Hatch began working in television in 1970 with a co-starring role on ABC daytime drama “All My Children.” His roster of guest roles on TV series early in his career included “Cannon,” “Nakia,” “Barnaby Jones,” the original “Hawaii Five-O” and “The Waltons,” and he appeared in several made-for-TV movies such as “The Hatfields and the McCoys,” “Addie and the King of Hearts,” and “Deadman’s Curve.” In 1976, he joined the cast of ABC’s “The Streets of San Francisco” in place of Michael Douglas for the final season.

After “Battlestar Galactica,” Hatch appeared in series like “Hotel,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “The Love Boat,” “Dynasty” and “T.J. Hooker;” and he returned to the daytime soap genre in NBC’s “Santa Barbara” in 1990. He also made semi-regular appearances in the revival of “Battlestar Galactica” from 2004 to 2009.

His film roles included “Best Friends” in 1975, “Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen” in 1981, and “Prisoners of the Lost Universe” in 1983.