American actor who is most noted for the TV series “Battlestar Galactica” in which he played Lorne Greene’s space-pilot son. He quit the show to pursue a broader scope, but instead found a dry period during which he underwent therapy for depression. After a year of retirement, he returned to film in the role of Charlie Chan’s number-one grandson.
Hatch is the younger of two sons of Elizabeth and John, who divorced when he was a year old. A shy kid, he found that acting helped him to rid himself of inhibitions. After college from 1963-65, he became a regular on “All My Children” in 1970. Six years later he leaped to fame in “The Streets of San Francisco,” succeeding Michael Douglas.
It took “Battlestar” to catapult him to star status. But the ratings soon sank along with the show.
He is unmarried, but has one son, Paul, who was born by his girlfriend in 1968. In 1994, an eight-year relationship with casting director Karen Cooper ended.
Since 1987 Hatch has been lecturing as a motivational speaker for institutions such as the UCLA Extension program and the Learning Annex.
Between 2004 and 2009, he had a recurring guest star role on the remake of “Battlestar Galactica”, playing Tom Zarek, a terrorist-turned-politician.
Hatch died on 7 February 2017 from pancreatic cancer under hospice care in Los Angeles, aged 71.
Link to Wikipedia biography