Robert Urich (December 19, 1946 – April 16, 2002) was an actor, best known for playing private investigators on the television series Spenser: For Hire (1985–1988) and Vega$ (1978–1981). He also starred in numerous other television series over the years including: S.W.A.T. (1975), Soap (1977) and The Lazarus Man (1996).
Robert grew up in Toronto, Ohio, where his athletic ability led to a four year football scholarship at Florida State University. There he earned a B.A. in Communications. He later received an M.A. at Michigan State University and then joined WGN radio in Chicago as a sales account representative. He then briefly appeared as a TV weatherman. His big break came from Burt Reynolds (I) in 1972 when he played Burt's younger brother in a stage production of "The Rainmaker". Burt brought him to California and let him stay in his home there until he got his acting break. He was starring in the TV series "Lazarus Man, The" (1996) when he was diagnosed with cancer, which caused the cancellation of the series. The cancer went into remission after treatment and he resumed acting again with his role as Captain Jim Kennedy III on "Love Boat: The Next Wave, The" (1998).
