Richard Hatch of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ dead at 71
Tragedy has struck the “Battlestar Galactica” family.
Today, the news was officially revealed that Richard Hatch, an actor who played characters both in the original version of the franchise and the heralded remake of the series on the network now know as Syfy, has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71 years old. The two versions of the series are both iconic in their own way, so his participation in both of them is remarkable in itself.
The original version of the show first aired on ABC, and it was here where Hatch received a Golden Globe nomination for his role of playing Captain Apollo. Even after the show was canceled, he continued to work as a writer around the universe and did his part to keep fans active and engaged until the new version of the series eventually came around. In the remake version of the series, Hatch took on the part of Tom Zarek, a complicated man believed by many to be a terrorist. (The show did leave a little bit up for interpretation on that subject.)
Below, you can see some tributes to the man, starting of course with the revival’s showrunner in Ronald D. Moore, as well as actors Edward James Olmos and Tricia Helfer. Katee Sackhoff also commented, saying “this hurts” and “See you on the other side.” The sheer number of tributes from this show’s community should give you a further sense of just how close the entire cast was — which does make a great deal of sense when you consider the sheer amount of work that they all did together. They went to various conventions and kept in touch for the most part, and of course you had the sheer fact that they all filmed together for many years.
The work of Hatch will of course live on, and we know that a franchise like this provided a great deal of inspiration for many people out there.
Are thoughts are with Hatch and his family during what almost certainly has to be a difficult time for them. As soon as we do have some further news to report on this subject, we will have it for you here.