Richard Hatch, star in 'Battlestar Gallactica' . New York Times . NEW
YORK -Richard Hatch, a veteran actor known for his portrayal of a
hotshot pilot on the 1970s science-fiction television series
"Battlestar Galactica" and a political leader in a reboot of the series
two decades later, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 71. His son,
Paul, said Mr. Hatch had pancreatic cancer. Mr. Hatch played Captain
Apollo, a fighter pilot who was regularly featured with his best
friend, Lieutenant Starbuck, played by Dirk Benedict. The original
series, which ran on ABC in 1978-79, told the story of humans fighting
for survival against robots called Cylons. In a reboot of the series,
shown on the SyFy network for five seasons starting in 2004, he played
the charismatic political leader Tom Zarek. Mr. Hatch - not to be
confused with the winner of the first season of the "Survivor" reality
television series, also named Richard Hatch - was nominated in 1979 for
a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a television drama series. He
appeared on several other television series in the 1970s, including
"All My Children" and "The Streets of San Francisco. A native of Santa
Monica, Calif., Mr. Hatch said he initially had no aspiration to become
an actor. In a peculiar twist, it was the assassination of President
Kennedy that led Mr. Hatch into acting. He said he was going "nowhere"
in college and enrolled in an oral interpretation class when a required
English course was booked. "It turned out to be my worst nightmare
because I had to get up in front of people and read," he said,
according to his website. "I found myself flunking the course because I
would choke up. Halfway through the course, Kennedy was assassinated,
an event that profoundly affected Mr. Hatch. He found an article about
the president and took it to class for an assignment. Standing in front
of his classmates, he found his voice. "It was a major turning point in
my life," he said. "As I began to read this article, I got so affected
by what I was saying that I forgot myself.
