Richard Hatch, who is best known for his starring role in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, died today while under hospice care in Los Angeles after a battle with pancreatic cancer, according to TMZ, who received confirmation from the actor’s family. He was 71.

The California native played Captain Apollo on the original late 1970s television series Battlestar Galactica, created by Glen A. Larson. After Ronald D. Moore developed a revamped series in 2004 for the SciFi Channel (now SyFi), Hatch joined the cast as a new character, Tom Zarek, a convicted terrorist turned politician who eventually becomes Vice-President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

Hatch launched his career in 1970 on the soap opera All My Children and had guest-starring roles on nighttime series like Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-O, and The Waltons. He went on to replace Michael Douglas on the detective series The Streets of San Francisco, before landing BSG, for which he earned a Best Actor Golden Globe Award nomination. In the 1980s, he had guest appearances on popular primetime shows, such as Murder, She Wrote, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island., and Dynasty. In 1990, Hatch returned to daytime soap opera with a new character on Santa Barbara, while continuing to do guest stints.

In 2009, we spoke to Hatch about his involvement with Soul Geek, a dating network for geeks, and his plan for plan for an online network comprised of original web-based series, including the reality series Who the Frak is Richard Hatch?.

RIP Richard Hatch
May 21, 1945 – February 7, 2017

[Source: TMZ]