Mariska Hargitay Played A Villain In Robert Urich's Forgotten '90s Western Series

Mariska Hargitay has been busy playing Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for a quarter of a century. However, before she made her debut in that now-iconic role, she played a variety of different parts. Hargitay had a starring role in '80s soap opera "Falcon Crest," but what even fans of the actress may not know is that she also popped up in a forgotten Western series where she played a mail order bride who has killed several husbands and stolen their fortunes.

We're talking about "The Lazarus Man," a TNT series that ran for one season in 1996. Robert Urich, whose crime drama "Spenser: For Hire" partly inspired Jack Reacher, starred as the titular character, an amnesiac who makes his way through Texas in the aftermath of the Civil War after digging himself out of a shallow grave. He was buried in a Confederate uniform, but the end of the season would reveal his true identity as a U.S. Army captain plagued with guilt over his inability to stop Abraham Lincoln's assassination after he was betrayed.

Lazarus encounters Sara, Hargitay's character, in the episode "The Angel Maker." Though initially drawn to her because she stirs memories of his wife, Lazarus discovers Sara's true murderous nature and apprehends her. "My only consolation is that she's finally unmasked and will kill no more," Lazarus states in a monologue as he sadly leaves town. The episode's stinger reveals he spoke too soon — Sara cons a deputy into loosening her cuffs, allowing her access to his gun. As the credits roll a gunshot is heard, suggesting Sara has escaped.

Although the ending of "The Angel Maker" leaves open the possibility that Mariska Hargitay's Sara could return and have another encounter with Lazarus, it never happened. There were plans to make a second season of "The Lazarus Man" – until Robert Urich announced he'd been diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer. Castle Rock, the production company behind the show, canceled the series.

Urich, who underwent chemotherapy and had two operations that made the cancer go into remission, sued Castle Rock for almost $1.5 million, alleging a breach of contract. According to Urich's lawsuit, he'd told Castle Rock that he would be able to continue filming the show while undergoing treatment. The two parties eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.

Urich continued acting after he recovered, appearing in shows like "Love Boat: The Next Wave" as Captain Jim Kennedy and "Emeril" as Jerry McKenney. He was also involved in raising money for cancer treatments, and he donated his winnings from an appearance on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" to the cause. He died after the cancer came back in April 2002. He was 55.