Spenser for Hire
by Robert Yoho, Associate Editor
"Eye on Conservatism"
For
much of his career, Robert Urich (right) was one of Hollywood's best-known and
most loved television actors. I do not know this to be a fact, but I have been
told that Urich was a regular in more television series than any actor in history.
But no matter what you say about the man, his life was a testimony to the fact that nice guys do not always finish last.
For three years, actor Robert Urich played a detective in "Spenser for Hire." It was the role he was born to play.
Spenser, the protagonist of the Robert B. Parker detective series, was courageous, unselfish, committed to one woman, loyal to his friends, and determined to help others in their personal battles.
After watching the television series, I could never read the books without seeing Urich in the title role or Avery Brooks as Spenser's friend, Hawk. I loved the brief three-year run of the television series as I also love the books.
Although some people might consider the series to be too violent, I have gladly introduced Urich’s character to my children. Children aren’t the only ones who need heroes. And the qualities that Spenser embodied should be emulated by everyone.
You could always count on Spenser in a pinch. He faced life with a smile and a sense of humor. He was equally at home in the kitchen or in the boxing ring. Spenser never left his friends alone to face an outlaw or a crisis. He was always there for them. He was always noble, always the white knight. And no matter what the circumstances, you could always count on Spenser to ultimately do the right thing.
Although he made his living as a private detective, Spenser often he performed these chores at his own expense. He was an honorable man, a person to be admired, and a hero. You never had to wonder about the man. Spenser was always the good guy.
These types of individuals are around us every day, but we often failed to see or appreciate them before September 11th. Yet we have learned that greatness is often defined in how we face our own mortality.
In what many may call his finest roll, Urich’s character, Jake Spoon, fell in with a bad crowd in "Lonesome Dove." However, even when his character fell from grace, he still managed to die with a measure of dignity.
"Well, hell, boys," he said to Augustus McCrae. "I ‘d rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch of damn strangers."
Robert Urich may very well be the last of his breed. Hollywood is full of bleeding hearts. But it is rare to find a tough guy with a sensitive heart. His characters knew how to die, but we remember Urich for how he lived.
He didn’t withdrawal from the spotlight. He didn’t hide his illness from the public. Urich diligently tried to continue with his profession, while using his celebrity to help others in their personal confrontations with cancer.
"Charge
forward with hope and get the best medical advice you can," Urich urged an audience
during a public speaking engagement last year in Wisconsin. "Talk to your friends,
neighbors, family, and together you attack it. We can't always control what
happens to us, but we can always control how we react to it."
Up until the end, Robert Urich (left, with Kim Delaney at the 1997 SAG awards) showed himself to be courageous, unselfish, committed to his wife, loyal to his friends, and determined to help others in their personal battles with cancer.
I think Mr. Spenser would certainly be proud. ***
COPYRIGHT © 2002 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.
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