Buck Rogers Star Gone At 82
By Jennifer Asencio
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The late 1970s and early 1980s introduced some of the best fantasy and science fiction to air on television, in a time when there were only five channels and no cable. One of the signature shows of the era was the campy sci-fi adventure Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which followed its titular astronaut as he wakes up after 504 years of being frozen in space. Rogers was played by actor Gil Gerard, who passed away last weekend at the age of 82.
Gerard first made his name on the long-running soap opera The Doctors, which aired on NBC during the day for 20 seasons, from 1963 to 1982. It was in this respectable company that Gerard established himself as a TV presence from 1973 to 1976. He also played in the 1977 blockbuster sequel Airport ’77, the ensemble sequel to the 1970 disaster hit Airport. Despite the occasional movie appearance, however, his work mostly stayed on television.
Gil Gerard as Buck Rogers
1977 also saw the major cultural phenomenon of the first Star Wars movie, the success of which made studios and television stations scramble for their own space operas. NBC developed one based on the 1929 comic strip that inspired Flash Gordon, called Buck Rogers, by Philip Francis Nowlan. The comic strip had been serialized before, first in the 1930s and then in the 1950s. It was also spoofed by Merry Melodies of Bugs Bunny fame in a 1953 series starring Daffy Duck called “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century,” which is the cartoon that made Marvin the Martian popular.
Gil Gerard was selected to play the lead, Commander William “Buck” Rogers of NASA, an ace space pilot whose ship (which resembled the newly minted Space Shuttle) encounters a cosmic cloud that freezes him in space. Now in the year 2491, he becomes a part of the Earth Defense Directorate, whose job is to protect the planet from invaders. The show lasted two seasons, which were interrupted by a 1980 actors’ strike. Both seasons told separate stories, one Earth-based and one in outer space.
Erin Gray as Wilma Deering and Gil Gerard as Buck Rogers
Gerard appeared in other shows, as well as videos and short films, including the Disney shows Sidekicks, a few episodes of Days of Our Lives, and an internet-based reboot of the Buck Rogers franchise, in which he and Buck Rogers co-star Erin Gray played the parents of the character.
Off-screen, he had a tempestuous life that included addiction, gluttony, and alcoholism. Four marriages ended in divorce, including a contentious one that included his son Gib. In 2007, at 350 pounds, he had a gastric bypass surgery that was documented by Discovery Health Channel’s “Action Hero Makeover.” Finally settled with wife Janet, he lived in north Georgia for almost two decades after. He was finally taken by a form of cancer that is both rare and aggressive, and died in hospice.
Gil Gerard in Discovery Health’s “Action Hero Makeover”
Even with his long turn on The Doctors, Gil Gerard is best known for playing the science fiction action hero. Buck Rogers was part of a pantheon that included the original Star Wars films, the first iteration of Battlestar Galactica, and the introduction of Star Trek to the big screen. His charm and cocksure confidence personified the character that made him famous
