R.I.P. Battlestar Galactica Star Richard Hatch

Released after the success of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica brought big-budget sci-fi to television on a weekly basis when it premiered in 1978. One of the series’ leads was Richard Hatch, who played the heroic Captain Apollo. A California native, Hatch worked steadily on TV shows like The Waltons and Hawaii Five-O before being cast in his most famous role. Although the show was cancelled prematurely, Hatch remained determined to revive Battlestar Galactica, working tirelessly to bring his proposed sequel series Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming to fruition. And while that project eventually fell to the wayside in favor of writer Ronald D. Moore’s gritty reboot of the series, Hatch did appear on the new Battlestar Galactica in a recurring role as Tom Zarek. His love for the franchise spread to the printed page, with Hatch writing a bunch of tie-in novels concerning the characters that he loved. Richard Hatch died yesterday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71, but his cosmic adventures will continue to keep us all looking to the stars.