Robert grew up in Toronto, Ohio, where his athletic ability led to a four year football scholarship at Florida State University. There he earned a B.A. in Communications. He later received an M.A. at Michigan State University and then joined WGN radio in Chicago as a sales account representative. He then briefly appeared as a TV weatherman.

His big break came from Burt Reynolds in 1972 when he played Burt's younger brother in a stage production of "The Rainmaker". Burt brought him to California and let him stay in his home there until he got his acting break.

He was starring in the TV series The Lazarus Man when he was diagnosed with cancer, which caused the cancellation of the series. The cancer went into remission after treatment and he resumed acting again with his role as Captain Jim Kennedy III on The Love Boat: The Next Wave.


He sued Castle Rock Television for $1.47 million (the amount he would have received for the second season of his TV series "The Lazarus Man" (1996)) on April 11, 2000, saying Castle Rock canceled the show because he had cancer. He alleged he did not receive payments from the company. Apparently Urich and his production company entered into an agreement with Castle Rock in 1995 for Urich to act in the "Lazarus Man" pilot. Under the deal he was to be paid $70,000 per episode for the first season and $73,000 an episode the second season. In July 1996 he informed Castle Rock that he had cancer and would have to undergo treatment, but the suit said at no time was Urich unable to perform his duties. Castle Rock terminated the agreement a month later. Urich underwent chemotherapy, radiation treatments and two operations in the mid-1990s to seemingly successfully fight synovial cell sarcoma, a rare cancer that attacks the joints. Bachelor of Arts from Florida State University 1968, Master of Arts from Michigan State University in Communications Brother of Tom Urich Member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Spent latter years devoted to cancer research and education, and he and wife established the Heather and Robert Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan. In 1992, he won a CableACE Award as Informational Host for "National Geographic Explorer" (1985) and a News and Documentary Emmy award as narrator for _"National Geographic Explorer" (1985) U-Boats: Terror on Our Shores_. He was from Toronto, Ohio; his wife was from Toronto, Ontario! Holds the record for having the most series-regular roles on TV: 13. "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (1973), "S.W.A.T." (1975), "Soap" (1977), "Tabitha" (1977), "Vega$" (1978), "Gavilan" (1982), "Spenser: For Hire" (1985), "American Dreamer" (1990) "Crossroads" (1992) "It Had to Be You" (1993), "The Lazarus Man" (1996), "The Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998), and "Emeril" (2001). Attended Florida State University on a four-year football scholarship where he earned his undergraduate degree in Radio and Television Communications in 1968. His final film, Night of the Wolf (2002) (TV) aired on Animal Planet the same day that he died. Has two grandchildren Michelle (born 2004) and Lana (born 2005)