Actor. He gained fame as a thirty-year career American actor, mainly recognized from his roles in dozens of television series. Born into a household of Eastern European heritage, he was an athlete in high school before receiving a four-year football scholarship to Florida State University where he earned a BA in communications. He was an offensive lineman and a member of Florida State's "Seven Magnificents.'" He then transferred to Michigan State University, where he earned an MA in broadcast research. In 1972, he debuted as a television actor with a guest starring role on the series, "The F.B.I." Other bit roles followed until he broke out with the continuing character of Jim Street in the 1975 to 1976 season of "S.W.A.T.," which followed by the role of the ill-fated Peter Campbell in the quirky "Soap" in 1977. One of his most recognized roles, Dan Tanna, was introduced in a 1978-episode of "Charlie's Angels" before being spun off into his own series, "Vega$," which proved successful and ran from 1978 to 1981. His work in feature films included a cult favorite, "The Ice Pirates" in 1984 and "Turk 182" in 1985, but another television series, "Spenser: For Hire," which ran from 1985 to 1988, brought him broad recognition. He reprised the role of Spenser for several television movies in 1993, 1994, and 1995. He was awarded a Cable Ace Award in 1992 as host for his work with National Geographic's "Explorer" series, and a 1992 Emmy Award for narrating the "Explorer" film, "U-Boats: Terror on Our Shores." In 1996, he began production of a new series, "Lazarus Man." That same year, he was diagnosed with Synovial Cell Sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, and "Lazarus Man" was cancelled after 22 episodes with two never being aired. He underwent surgery and treatment during which he spoke very publicly about his illness, and was named national spokesman for the American Cancer Society in 1998. He was awarded the Gilda Radner Courage Award from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He also accepted roles in numerous television series and made-for-television movies such as "The Nanny" in 1997; "Love Boat: The Next Wave" in 1998; "Miracle on the 17th Green" in 1999; "For Love of Olivia" in 2001; and his final performance, "Night of the Wolf" in 2002. He succumbed to the illness following the premier of this performance on the Animal Planet Network. His hometown of Toronto, Ohio named an interchange connecting the city to Ohio State Route 7, the Robert Urich Interchange in his honor. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.