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Gil Gerard, who played television’s hunky science-fiction hero William “Buck” Rogers shortly after the Star Wars franchise became popular in the late 1970s, has died. He was 82 years old.
Gerard died Tuesday in hospice care of a rare, aggressive cancer, said his manager Tina Presley Borek. Posted posthumously by his wife Janet Gerrard Facebook The message he left for fans read in part:
“Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or make you love. See you somewhere in the universe.”
gerard acted nbcCampese in “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, which ran for two seasons from 1979 to 1981. A theatrical film based on the series also delighted youngsters and their parents alike. This was Rogers’ second foray into TV, following a 1950s show, a radio series, and a 1939 film serial.
The story was based on Philip Francis Nowlan’s serialized 1928 pulp novel “Armageddon 2419 AD”, Nowlan’s character was named Anthony Rogers. When this story started running in newspapers as a comic strip, the name was changed.
“My life has been an amazing journey,” Gerrard wrote in his social media post. “The opportunities I have had, the people I have met and the love I have given and received have made my 82 years on this planet extremely fulfilling.”
As the TV story goes, Rogers was a 20th-century NASA pilot who was put into frozen animation when his ship was hit by a meteor storm. He awakens 500 years later in the year 2491. He sees a futuristic, domed object. Earth With all its dangers, which include aliens, space pilots and the evil Draconians.
His assistants were: robot sidekick Twiki and a beautiful space pilot Wilma Deering, played by Erin Grey.
native of little Rock, arkansasGerard continued to appear in TV commercials. He was featured in several other TV shows and movies, including the role of Dragon in the 1982 TV movie “Hear No Evil” and the short-lived “Sidekicks” in 1986.
In 1992, he hosted the reality series “Code 3”, following firefighters responding to emergency calls across America. Several guest appearances followed in the 1990s, including on “Days of Our Lives”.
Gerard and Gray were together again in 2007 for the TV movie “Nuclear Hurricane”. They also returned to the Buck Rogers universe in 2009 as Rogers’ parents in the pilot episode of James Cawley’s “Buck Rogers Begins” Internet video series.
Gerard spoke openly about his addictions to drugs, alcohol and binge eating. In 2007 he was the subject of an hour-long documentary, “Action Hero Makeover”, after his weight increased to 350 pounds.
The film, produced by longtime Discovery Health Channel colleague Adrienne Crow, documented her progress after gastric bypass surgery.
Before Janet, Gerard was married and divorced four times. He had a son, actor Gilbert Vincent Gerard, with model and actor Connie Sellecca. Their divorce included a bitter custody battle for “Gib”, who was born in 1981. Séléka was granted primary custody.
“My journey took me from Arkansas to New York, Los Angeles and finally to my home in North Georgia with my wonderful wife of 18 years, Janet,” Gerard wrote in a Facebook post after his death.
“It’s been a wonderful journey, but inevitably it ends just like my journey.”