Iconic Sci-Fi actor Richard Hatch passed away today at the age of 71. Best known for his work as Captain Apollo on the revolutionary series Battlestar Galactica, Hatch started his career in 1971 on All My Children.
Born May 21, 1945, Richard Lawrence Hatch was born in Santa Monica, California. He began his acting career at the Los Angeles repertory Theater and appeared in Off Broadway plays in the 60’s where he received an Obie award for his work in the play PS Your Cat is Dead in Chicago. But he is more well-known for his role as the stalwart hero Captain Apollo on the series Battlestar Galactica.
The series, about a group of refugees from alien colonies searching for a safe haven called Earth, ran for only one season. The series retained a cult following and Hatch himself made several attempts to revive the series in some form throughout the 90’s including writing several BSG novels and producing and directing a show reel to entice the producers of the series to consider a sequel to the original.
Hatch would return to the Battlestar Galactica Universe when the series was rebooted in 2004. In the new series, he would play the role of Tom Zarek. A former terrorist turned politician who uses his cunning and guile to secure a position as the Vice President of the Twelve Colonies.
Recently, he starred in the Star Trek Fan Film Prelude to Axanar, whose subsequent feature Axanar was the subject of legal action by Paramount and CBS. You can read our coverage of the case here.
Richard Hatch died of pancreatic cancer at 71.
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