Posted on 04/16/2002 2:12:44 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult
Milton Berle just died last month at 93, while on the same day Dudley Moore went at 66. Greats like George Burns (100), Sir John Gielgud (96) and Alec Guinness (86) live long lives, while those showing possibilities of greatness like James Dean only make it to 24. There's no pattern.
I agree! That movie was sooooooo bad, it was outrageously funny.
The Internet Movie Database states that his widow, actress Heather Menzies ("Logan's Run", "The Sound of Music") is an ovarian cancer survivor.
Archerd: Robert Urich near death
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Life is such a "B" script.
Robert Urich was in the midst of writing "An Extraordinary Life" when life seemed ready to end for him. Monday began for me with a call saying that the life-support system would soon be taken from Urich, who had fought so valiantly to prove, in real life, the strength he portrayed in countless roles on screen.
I had spoken to him many times since he began chemotherapy after the 1996 discovery of very rare sarcoma in his groin. He underwent surgery, battled back, and returned to work. And on Nov. 13, 2001, five years later, he told me, "Last summer they found some lumps, but a wonder drug cleared them up."
The road back was not easy. He told me, "I went through some stuff people wouldn't believe. Like I had chemo at 8 a.m. and at 5 I was doing standup before a live audience. And I underwent major surgery on a Wednesday and was at work a few days after, with blood trickling down my leg."
But he launched a golf tourney a week later to benefit the Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan. Earlier in the year he and Burt Reynolds (who had brought Urich to Hollywood) were to costar in the "Late Boomers" series when Reynolds was fired over differences with the producers.
Urich fought for Reynolds, telling me, "Nobody on this planet could play this role better than Burt." He explained the blowup between Reynolds and the producers with, "We actors live with our emotions on our sleeve. I took this part partly because of Burt. It will be hard for anyone to follow him."
And it will be impossible for anyone to follow the record of Robert Urich. The book being readied for Regan press is by Urich and David Dalton, but it was written mostly by Urich himself, Dalton tells me.
"Would you believe that his favorite book was 'Wind in the Willows'? When I came out to his house (in Calif.) from the east in the middle of the winter, he said, 'Come out on the porch.' As I sat there and looked at his plants and flowers, he said to me, 'I thought you'd like to hear the sound of bees again.'
"He had designed his house. I was constantly amazed by his philosophy -- nothing like any of the characters he played. I was astounded by the depth of his personality. He was such a dreamer. He was lyrical, the most evocative man I'd met in a long time."
In the book Urich talks warmly about those with whom he worked: Reynolds, of course, and Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway. And yes, he does talk abut the disappointment when Ted Turner did not renew "The Lazarus Man."
Urich wanted to do more writing, producer Harry Thomason tells me. "He was so full of plans; he wanted to do a show (with NBC), 'Fine Living."' Urich starred for Thomason in NBC's "Emeril" and Thomason said, "He had a clean bill of health when we did the show. And he was a wonderful person to work with. He and Emeril loved each other."
It was only last week when friends began to hear of Urich's sudden decline. His longtime agent Merritt Blake learned that Urich was having trouble breathing. From that time on, Urich was in/out-of Cedars-Sinai, and this time he was put on life support; Monday, he was surrounded by his wife Heather, their children Ryan, Emily and Allison, and good friend and manager John Wall.
Also Monday, the Animal Planet inaugurated its original movie programming with "The Night of the Wolf," in which Urich stars with Anne Archer. The web boasts the story as "one of triumph and survival." Urich will always survive as an American icon -- not only for having made more TV series than any man, but for having made more friends while making them.
Bummer... I'd trade one Urich for a dozen Baldwins any day.
What a shock. One of the nicer people in show business.
ROBERT URICH - Rusyn-Slavic bio -
foreverfree
Thanks for pictures. . .
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