Robert Urich

He was married to actress Barbara Rucker from 1968 to 1974.

In 1975, he married Canadian–American model and actress Heather Menzies. The couple adopted three children, Ryan Urich (born 1979), Emily (born 1980), and Allison Grady (born 1998).

On December 12, 1995, he received a “star” on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame,’ situated at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Robert was born on December 19, 1946, in Toronto, Ohio, US, to John Paul and Cecilia Monica Urich. He belonged to a family of staunch Catholics.

He graduated from ‘Toronto High School’ in 1964. He earned a football scholarship as a “center” at the ‘Florida State University’ and became a member of the ‘Lambda Chi Alpha’ fraternity. He obtained his bachelors’ degree in Radio and Television Communications in 1968.

After working in Ohio for a while, he attended the ‘Michigan State University,’ from where he obtained his masters’ degree in Broadcast Research and Management in 1971. Thereafter, he had a stint in Chicago, working as a salesman at the independent TV station ‘WGN-TV.’ He also worked as a TV meteorologist for a brief while.

He appeared in the stage production of the play ‘The Rainmaker,’ playing the younger brother of the character essayed by Burt Reynolds. It was Reynolds who motivated him to relocate to Los Angeles, following which he headed for Hollywood and resolved to take up acting as full-time profession.

He made his first TV appearance with the ‘ABC’ series ‘The F.B.I.’ He played the guest role of ‘Davie Stroud’ in the episode ‘The Runner,’ which aired on September 17, 1972.

His first lead role in a TV series came with the American sitcom ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,’ where he played ‘Bob Sanders,’ one of the titular characters. However, low ‘Nielsen’ ratings led to it getting canceled after seven of its 12 episodes were aired on ‘ABC,’ from September 26, 1973 to November 7, 1973.

His first lead role in a TV series came with the American sitcom ‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,’ where he played ‘Bob Sanders,’ one of the titular characters. However, low ‘Nielsen’ ratings led to it getting canceled after seven of its 12 episodes were aired on ‘ABC,’ from September 26, 1973 to November 7, 1973.

His next notable role was that of ‘Officer Jim Street’ in the American action/crime-drama series ‘S.W.A.T.’ He garnered the part after Burt Reynolds persuaded its executive producer, Aaron Spelling, to let him read the part. ‘S.W.A.T.’ aired on ‘ABC’ for 2 seasons, encompassing 37 episodes, from February 24, 1975 to April 3, 1976.