I'm the leader--the guy on the white horse.Throughout my life, even when I had very little to show for it, I believed myself to possess personal power, the power of love of my parents, the power of having the right kind of teachers and coaches, the power of friends and faith, the power of believing that no matter the situation, this guy, Robert Urich, could deal with it. Never in my mind was there a doubt that someday I would do something significant-not just in the way of professional accomplishment, but in the way that meant something to other people. As an actor, I had always played heroic guys capable of going the distance, tough guys with compassion. At the top of every movie script you ever get-as soon as your character is introduced, there is a brief character description. Of my character in Spencer: For Hire, it said, "He is capable of going the distance whatever the distance might be. He is handsome.” These were my roles-guys who had what it took, and I certainly thought of myself as a guy in control. Lying in that hospital bed, I was stripped of that. A loss of control is terrifying. The anchor line has been severed and you are at the mercy of the raging gales and the angry seas. You can't be talking about me. I've got cameras and dolly tracks and horses and wranglers and stunt men and assistant directors calling me. There are scripts arriving for my notes. You can't be talking about me. I'm Dan Tanna. I'm Spenser. I'm The Lazarus Man. No. I'm Robert Urich. I've got cancer. |
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A Message from Heather Menzies Urich I’m writing to tell you a little about The Robert Urich Foundation. I told someone recently that spearheading The Robert Urich Foundation gives me energy. In that respect, it’s much like every priceless day I spent with Robert. As anyone who knew him will tell you, he lived each of those days to the fullest, putting more into his brief time on this earth than most of us could fit into 100 years. One couldn’t help but be energized in his presence. Robert was not only brave as he battled cancer, but smart, too. For his treatment, he sought out the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was a very involved patient, and thanks to the state-of-the art care he received there, years were added to his life – to our life together – which we might not otherwise have shared. There’s a vital purpose to the work we’re doing with The Urich Fund, which supports research and treatment programs at the Cancer Center. We started the fund during Robert’s treatment, knowing then that research was so important, and that for rare cancers such as sarcoma, much of that work relies on private funding. With each advance made in sarcoma research, I become more hopeful that some day other families won’t have to endure the nightmare ours faced. The Urich Fund is already at work benefiting scientists, patients and their families. That was our goal from the start, and I have no doubt that Robert would be both tremendously proud of the progress we’ve made, and impatient to do more! That’s where the Robert Urich Memorial Golf Classic & Dinner Gala made such a difference. In 2002, over $400,000 was raised in one weekend for The Urich Fund at these combined events. Although I’ll admit it was tough to see the words “Robert Urich” and “Memorial” together, and to see so many of my husband’s cherished golfing buddies on the course without their friend, I was so proud of the effort and the result. We all felt Robert’s presence throughout the weekend, urging us to keep going. That was the motto Robert lived by: never give up, and never stop looking for the cure. The best tribute we can pay him is to make our next event an even greater success. I hope you will help us.
Thank you
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The Robert Urich Foundation for Cancer Research and Patient Care
6900 Canby Ave
Suite 110
Reseda, CA 91335
All donations please make to: The Robert Urich Foundation email: pch@urichfoundation.org Thank you
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To E-mail us about the Robert Urich Cancer Fund, Click ----->
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