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Fans raise money for 'Battlestar Galactica' actor Michael Hogan receiving care in North Vancouver

Bowen Island resident sustained a traumatic head injury in February
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A GoFundMe page for a well-known film and television actor and Bowen Island resident has already raised more than $200,000 in less than two days.

Since June, actor Michael Hogan – best known for playing Saul Tigh on the popular sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, as well as starring in other TV shows such as Fargo and The Man in the High Castle – has been receiving care at the Berkley Care Centre in North Vancouver after suffering a traumatic brain injury earlier this year.

According to the GoFundMe page, Hogan sustained a severe head injury in February after participating in a Battlestar Galactica convention in Vancouver.

“At dinner following his day’s work, he fell and hit his head. Hard," writes wife Susan Hogan, also a veteran stage, TV and film actor. "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 [was] performed,” she writes. “The accident left him with complete paralysis on his left side, memory loss, cognitive impairment and an inability to swallow.”

Hogan has been at the Berkley Care Centre, a long-term care facility in North Vancouver, since June 18, according to the GoFundMe page, which states that it's “unlikely” Hogan will be able to work again.

The fundraiser was set up by Bowen resident and folk musician Shari Ulrich, a longtime neighbour of the Hogans who hopes monies raised can help Susan offset some of the costs of Michael’s care and make up for lost income sustained by the acting duo.

“Watching Susan dealing with this incredible tragedy day after day, and knowing having some financial support would just make it so much easier – I just felt like this is one thing I could remove for her,” said Ulrich.

Amazingly, the fundraiser has already raised more than $200,000 of its $300,000 goal in less than two days, noted Ulrich, who added Hogan’s impassioned fans and the generous way that Hogan interacted with them were the likely cause of the cash being raised so quickly.

“Knowing that, particularly the Battlestar Galactica fans, when people are given the opportunity to support someone that has meant a lot to them, it’s a gift to them,” said Ulrich. “It’s a combination of the impact of popular culture and the reach of it – but also, it’s how he carried himself in that world. He would go to the conventions and he always had time for everybody.”

Hogan’s Battlestar Galactica co-stars – including Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer – have rallied fans to support the fundraiser initative as well.

- with files from The Canadian Press