‘Battlestar Galactica’ fans come to aid of injured actor
VANCOUVER — Fans and friends of Genie Awardwinning actor Michael Hogan have raised nearly $250,000 to help the former “Battlestar Galactica” actor recover from a devastating injury.
According to a GoFundMe page, launched Monday on behalf of his wife Susan Hogan, the 71-year-old actor’s life was tragically altered after suffering a fall on Feb. 17 in Vancouver following an appearance at the FanExpo science fiction convention.
“He went to bed that night not realizing that the impact had caused a massive brain bleed. He was unable to be woken the next morning and was taken to Vancouver General Hospital and emergency surgery performed. It took 57 staples to close the part of his skull they had to remove in order to reach the damage,” Susan Hogan wrote.
The accident left the actor with complete paralysis on his left side along with memory loss, cognitive impairment and the inability to swallow.
Hogan, a veteran Canadian character actor originally from Kirkland Lake, Ont., is best known for his role as Col. Saul Tigh on the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, which was shot in Vancouver from 2004 to 2009. His long list of film and TV credits also includes recurring roles on multiple others series including “Fargo,” “Teen Wolf,” “The Littlest Hobo,” “The Man in the High Castle” and “When Calls The Heart.”
Hogan won a Genie Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of a Vietnam war veteran who returns home to a love triangle in the 1991 movie “Solitaire.”
Musician Shari Ulrich, the couple’s long-time friend and neighbour, says Hogan has been a patient at a North Vancouver care home since being released from hospital on June 18.
“Susan is allowed limited supervised visits — socially distanced, no contact, no touching — not even a smile can be exchanged given the mandatory face masks. For someone with a brain injury that face, that smile, that contact with a family member is critical grounding for them. To be denied that is torturous,” Ulrich said on the GoFundMe page, which she helped organize. “Michael still cannot stand and needs an overhead lift to be moved from the bed to the wheelchair. He still requires a feeding tube into his stomach. He has regained his speech and is largely coherent and cognizant but there is a long long road ahead.”
Ulrich says the money will help cover costs associated with the long-term care facility, a customized wheelchair, physiotherapy, medication and other medical expenses.