• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Richard Hatch (BSG, Axanar) Dead at 71

I'll admit, I only know Richard Hatch from BSG, and even then mostly from Nu BSG. Yes, I have watched the original, but I started with the Nu series first, and so for me Richard Hatch is Tom Zarek more so than he is Apollo. And he was really good as Zarek, the kind of villain who you want to succeed, because it makes things far more interesting. Damn shame to lose him.
Nightowl1701 said:
EDIT: OK, TMZ has confirmed it. Pancreatic cancer, went into hospice weeks ago
Click to expand...
Damn, and only a few weeks after we lost John Hurt to pancreatic cancer too. While cancer in general is awful, pancreatic is one of the worse types.
 
It's sad, over the years you hear negative things about some actors. You hear rumors sometimes about how badly they treat fans at cons or their co-stars. Not Hatch. I never heard one bad thing about him. Nor did I ever hear him say anything bad about others. He seemed like a genuinely kind individual who was interested in helping others throughout his life. I think the universe is a little bit darker place today and that 2017 is going to be another shit year for untimely celebrity deaths.

May the Lords of Kobol watch over you Apollo. You will be missed.
 
Damn. I'm mainly familiar with NuBSG, where he was great as Zarek. I've only seen a handful of TOS BSG but he was good there too.
RIP
 
Sad news. Like others, I knew him as Zarek. Also saw him a few times when he came to Australia for some cons. Very nice guy.
 
A real shame. By today's standards 71 really isn't that old. Whilst my childhood was dominated by Star Wars (sorry, Trek came later) it is the original Battlestar Galactica that always makes me nostalgic probably due BSG being on every week whereas SW was on once and that was it. Always reminds me of my family being together before divorce made a mess of everything. RIP Richard.
 
RIP. He was wonderful as Zarek. Not a wonderful character but one that was excellently played.
 
OtherGene said:
A real shame. By today's standards 71 really isn't that old. Whilst my childhood was dominated by Star Wars (sorry, Trek came later) it is the original Battlestar Galactica that always makes me nostalgic probably due BSG being on every week whereas SW was on once and that was it. Always reminds me of my family being together before divorce made a mess of everything. RIP Richard.
Click to expand...
My second grade teacher used to tell us he was rooting for the Cylons (and Darth Vader) to wind us up and that he was sure they were going to win this week. It wasn't til I got a little older that I understood. Good times.
 
Just heard this on Digital Bits. Shocked, surprised and saddened :weep:. RIP Mr Hatch and frak you cancer.
 
What terrible news. He was both an appealing actor and a very nice guy in real life.

RIP, Richard Hatch. :(
 
In the original BSG, they seemed to want to make Dirk Benedict's Starbuck character the real star but Apollo (and Hatch's portrayal) made that show for me. Absolutely loved Mr. Hatch's turn as Zarek. Sad. RIP.
 
Sad news indeed, condolences to his family and friends.:(

And as said above, acted outside the SF genre. Remember him in Streets of San Fransisco. RIP Mr Hatch.
 
Last edited:
Because of Richard Hatch, Captain Apollo was an intense and passionate character. Hatch was really into it, and it shows on screen in all the episodes.

Hatch showed a devotion to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA that you don't see in actors very often. He loved that's show as much as it's biggest fans.

I rooted for him when he produced "BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE SECOND COMING", and bought his GALACTICA novels & comics. One one hand, it might have come off as a struggling actor who couldn't let go of his glory days; but I think he LOVED the show. And I did too. And it was a cool, special show, a great show, with so much potential.

I'm sorry he never got to do Captain Apollo again, because 9/11 shut down that revival production in Vancouver. His death closes the door for good on that cast being brought back.

Richard Hatch was always keeping GALACTICA alive tho, with cruises, convention appearances, and his enthusiastic contributions in the DVD Extras of the Series.

It's funny: I just watched THE SECOND COMING trailer the other day, a YouTube vid of he and Dirk Benedict at a GALACTICA screening, and read his BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RESURRECTION novel last month. Havent given GALACTICA much attention in years. Then he dies. Life is funny like that- it's like it gives a "heads up" of something to come.

Thanks to Richard Hatch for the memories.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top