Richard Hatch in 1978 on “Battlestar Galactica”; ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Richard Hatch, the actor best known for starring in TV’s original Battlestar Galactica as the space fighter pilot Apollo, and who later appeared in the 2004 series reboot, died Tuesday at age 71.
Hatch’s manager, Michael Kaliski, confirmed Hatch’s death to ABC News, writing, “Sadly, it is confirmed that Richard Hatch passed today around 1:30PM after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His son Paul was by his side in a home in Santa Clarita. He is also survived by his brother John. I will always remember him fondly for his inspiring sense of youthful wonder, his boundless passion for creative expression, and his huge, kind heart.”
Alec Peters, writer/producer of the Star Trek fan film Prelude to Axanar, of which Hatch was a part, also confirmed Hatch’s death to ABC News. On the Axanar Facebook page, he later wrote of Hatch, “3 weeks ago I found out he had stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. We knew he had little time left, but this is quite more sudden than we thought. Richard was in good spirits when I visited him 2 weeks ago. He knew his time was short, but was comforted by the fact that his son would be taken care of.”
“Richard Hatch was a good man, a gracious man, and a consummate professional,” tweeted Battlestar Galactica reboot co-creator and producer Ronald D. Moore. “His passing is a heavy blow to the entire BSG family.”
Richard Hatch was a good man, a gracious man, and a consummate professional. His passing is a heavy blow to the entire BSG family.
— Ronald D. Moore (@RonDMoore) February 7, 2017
BSG reboot star Edward James Olmos, who played Admiral William Adama, tweeted that Hatch “made our universe a better place. We love you for it. Rest In Peace my friend @SoSayWeAll the Admiral!”
.Richard Hatch you made our universe a better place We love you for it. Rest In Peace my friend @SoSayWeAll the Admiral!
— Edward James Olmos (@edwardjolmos) February 7, 2017
Hatch began his TV acting career on the daytime soap All My Children in 1970 and made guest appearances on TV shows of the day, including a season as Michael Douglas’ replacement on the hit crime drama The Streets of San Francisco, as well as on the comedy Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.
In 1978, Hatch was cast as the dashing Viper pilot Captain Apollo in producer Glen A. Larson’s space adventure Battletstar Galactica. The series — about humanity’s distant ancestors seeking the fabled planet Earth after all humans are nearly annihilated by a race of robots they created — was designed to capitalize on the popularity of Star Wars, released the previous year. Battlestar Galactica boasted state-of-the-art special effects but lasted only one season. Even so, Hatch was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on the series.
Hatch continued to work in television and even attempted to revive Battlestar Galactica on his own before the Syfy channel debuted its critically-acclaimed re-imagining of the series in 2004, following a 2003 miniseries. Hatch joined the cast in mid-run in a recurring role as terrorist-turned-politician Tom Zarek.
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