Urich and Menzies adopted three children, Ryan, Emily and Allison. Menzies also battled cancer and an ovarian survivor. Urich was a spokesman for Bayer Aspirin in 1990 and Purina dog food in 2000.
Urich announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, synovial cell sarcoma, which attacks a person joints. He continues to appear in films and TV during treatment. Urich finally died of the disease, 16 April 2002 from 55 years. His final TV series role was in the sitcom Emeril, in 2001.