What Was Robert Urich's Net Worth?
Robert Urich was an American actor and producer who had a net worth of $4 million at the time of his death in 2002. During his 30-year career, Urich starred in 15 TV shows and is probably best known for playing Officer Jim Street on "S.W.A.T." (1975–1976), Dan Tanna on "Vega$" (1978–1981), and Spenser on "Spenser: For Hire" (1985–1988). He also narrated 100+ episodes of "National Geographic Explorer" (1988-1995).
Robert had more than 80 acting credits to his name, including the films "Magnum Force" (1973) and "Endangered Species" (1982) and the television series "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (1973), "Soap" (1977), "Tabitha" (1977–1978), "Gavilan" (1982–1983), "American Dreamer" (1990–1991), "Crossroads" (1992–1993), "The Lazarus Man" (1996), and "Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998–1999). Urich served as a producer on the TV movies "The Defiant Ones" (1986), "Blind Man's Bluff" (1992), "Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes" (1994), and "Miracle on the 17th Green" (1999), and he starred as Billy Flynn in a Broadway production of "Chicago" in 2000. Sadly, Robert died of synovial cell sarcoma in April 2002 at the age of 55.
Early Life
Robert Urich was born Robert Michael Urich on December 19, 1946, in Toronto, Ohio. He grew up in a Catholic household with mother Cecilia, father John, and several siblings. His older brother Tom also became an actor. Robert was an athlete in high school and earned a football scholarship to Florida State University. At FSU, he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and was a second string safety on the football team. Urich graduated with a bachelor's degree in Radio and Television Communications in 1968, then he enrolled at Michigan State University, where he earned his master's degree in Broadcast Research and Management. After graduation, he took a job as a salesman at WGN-TV in Chicago, and later, he briefly worked as a TV weatherman.
Career
Robert decided to pursue an acting career after he appeared in the play "The Rainmaker" with Burt Reynolds, who encouraged him to move to L.A. Urich made his TV debut in a 1972 episode of "The F.B.I.," then he guest-starred on "Kung Fu" (1973) and "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1973). In 1973, he appeared in his first film, "Magnum Force," and starred as Bob Sanders on the ABC sitcom "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice." In the '70s, Robert also appeared in the TV movies "Killdozer!" (1974) "The Specialists" (1975), "Bunco" (1977), and "When She Was Bad…" (1979) and guest-starred on "Gunsmoke" (1975), "The Love Boat" (1977–1978), and "Charlie's Angels" (1978). From 1975 to 1976, he starred as Officer Jim Street on the ABC crime drama "S.W.A.T.," then he played Peter 'The Tennis Player' on ABC's "Soap" (1977) and Paul Thurston on the "Bewitched" spin-off "Tabitha" (1978–1981). From 1978 to 1981, Urich starred as Dan Tanna on the ABC crime drama "Vega$," which aired 69 episodes over three seasons and earned him two Golden Globe nominations.
After the cancellation of "Vega$," Robert signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and soon appeared in the 1982 film "Endangered Species." He followed "Endangered Species" with "The Ice Pirates" (1984), "Turk 182" (1985), and "Dragon Fight" (1989). Around this time, he also starred in several TV movies, such as "Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story" (1980), "Take Your Best Shot" (1982), Wes Craven's "Invitation to Hell" (1984), "The Defiant Ones" (1986), and "Spooner" (1989) and the miniseries "Princess Daisy" (1983), "Mistral's Daughter" (1984), "Amerika" (1987), and "Lonesome Dove" (1989). Robert starred as Robert Gavilan on NBC's "Gavilan" from 1982 to 1983 and Spenser on ABC's "Spenser: For Hire" from 1985 to 1988. Based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels, "Spenser: For Hire" ran for 66 episodes, and Urich reprised his role in the TV movies "Spenser: Ceremony" (1993), "Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes" (1994), "Spenser: The Judas Goat" (1994), and "Spenser: A Savage Place" (1995). In the '90s, he appeared in the film "Jock: A True Tale of Friendship" (1994) and the TV movies "A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder" (1990), "83 Hours 'Til Dawn" (1990), "Stranger at My Door" (1991), "…And Then She Was Gone" (1991), "Blind Man's Bluff" (1992), "Revolver" (1992), "A Perfect Stranger" (1994), "She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal" (1995), "The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue" (1996), and "Miracle on the 17th Green" (1999).
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Robert played Tom Nash on "American Dreamer" (1990–1991), Johnny Hawkins on "Crossroads" (1992–1993), Mitch Quinn on "It Had to Be You" (1993), Lazarus / James Cathcart on "The Lazarus Man" (1996), and Captain Jim Kennedy III on "Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998–1999). In 2000, Urich sued Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind "The Lazarus Man," for breach of contract, alleging that they cancelled the series because of his cancer diagnosis. He said of the production company, "There's really a law against what they did. They found out I had cancer, and they just canceled the show. They didn't ask the doctors if I could work. They didn't ask if I could go back to work." In the last few years of Robert's life, he appeared in the film "Clover Bend" (2002) and the TV movies "Late Boomers" (2001), "For Love of Olivia" (2001), "The President's Man: A Line in the Sand" (2002), and "Night of the Wolf" (2002). He also played Jerry McKenney on the 2001 NBC sitcom "Emeril," and his final TV movie, "A Long Way Home," aired in 2003.
Personal Life
Robert was married to actress Barbara Rucker from 1968 to 1974. After their divorce, he wed actress Heather Menzies on November 25, 1975. Heather was probably best known for playing Louisa von Trapp in 1965's "The Sound of Music, and she and Robert adopted son Ryan and daughters Allison and Emily. Robert and Heather remained together until Robert passed away in 2002, and Heather died of brain cancer in 2017.
Illness and Death
In July 1996, Robert revealed that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called synovial sarcoma, which attacks soft tissue. He subsequently became an advocate for cancer research and received awards from the Gilda Radner Courage Award and John Wayne Cancer Institute for raising cancer awareness. The Urichs founded the Robert and Heather Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at Ann Arbor's University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (now known as the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center), and when Robert won $125,000 on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," he donated his winnings to the center. In 1998, doctors told Urich that he was cancer-free, and the American Cancer Society named him their national spokesperson. In November 2001, Robert stated that his doctors had found lumps in his body and that they were cleared up by a "wonder drug." In April 2002, he was admitted to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center with breathing problems, and he passed away on April 16th at the age of 55. Urich's funeral mass took place a few days later at North Hollywood's St. Charles Borromeo Church. During his life, Robert help raise funds for Park City High School's Eccles Performing Arts Centers, and the school began offering the Robert Urich Scholarship after his death.
Awards and Nominations
Urich earned two Golden Globe nominations for "Vega$," Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama in 1980 and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama in 1981. He received two Bravo Otto nominations for Best Male TV Star, winning in 1980, and he earned a Golden Boot at the 1997 Golden Boot Awards. Robert won a CableACE Award for Magazine Host for "National Geographic Explorer" in 1993, and he was also nominated in that category the following year. In 1995, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Real Estate
In 1986, actor Tony Danza paid $1.56 million for Urich's Sherman Oaks farmhouse. Robert sold the two-acre property not long after he and Heather bought a 120-year-old farmhouse in Massachusetts. The family chose to move there because "Spenser: For Hire" filmed in Boston.
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