‘Buck Rogers’ star Gil Gerard dies at 82
By The Associated Press Gil Gerard who played television s hunky sci-fi hero William Buck Rogers soon after the Star Wars franchise took hold in the late s has died He was Gerard died Tuesday in hospice as a outcome of a rare aggressive form of cancer reported his manager Tina Presley Borek His wife Janet Gerard posted a posthumous Facebook message he left behind for fans that read in part Don t waste your time on anything that doesn t thrill you or bring you love See you out somewhere in the cosmos Gerard starred in NBC s campy Buck Rogers in the th Century which ran for two seasons from to A theatrical film based on the series also delighted youngsters and their parents alike It was Rogers second turn on TV after a show in the s a radio series and a film serial The story was based on Philip Francis Nowlan s serialized pulp novella Armageddon A D Nowlan s character was named Anthony Rogers The name was changed when the story began running in newspapers as a comic strip My life has been an amazing journey Gerard wrote in his social media post The opportunities I ve had the people I ve met and the love I have given and received have made my years on the planet deeply satisfying As the TV story goes Rogers was a th century NASA pilot who was placed in frozen animation when his ship was hit by a meteor storm He pops awake years later in the year He gazes upon a futuristic domed Earth with all its threats including aliens space pilots and the evil Draconians He had helpers The robot sidekick Twiki and a beautiful space pilot Wilma Deering played by Erin Gray A native of Little Rock Arkansas Gerard worked steadily in TV commercials He was featured in a number of other TV shows and movies including starring roles in the TV movie Hear No Evil as Dragon and the short-lived Sidekicks in In he hosted the reality series Code following firefighters responding to urgency calls around the U S There were countless guest appearances in the s including on Days of Our Lives Related Articles In the modern day in History December Black motorcyclist beaten to death after leading police chase Texas woman arrested for hiding razor blades in loaves of bread at Mississippi Walmart stores Last US cents sold at auction for a sum of million were worth a pretty penny Powerball jackpot climbs to billion th highest in history Judge says he s hopeful hearing on Luigi Mangione trial evidence will end this week Gerard and Gray were together again in for the TV film Nuclear Hurricane They also returned to the Buck Rogers universe as Rogers parents in the pilot episode of James Cawley s Buck Rogers Begins internet video series in Gerard spoke openly about addictions to drugs alcohol and compulsive overeating He was the subject of a one-hour documentary Action Hero Makeover in after his weight ballooned to pounds Done by Adrienne Crow then a longtime companion for the Discovery Medical Channel the film documented his progress after gastric maneuver around surgery Gerard was married and divorced four times before Janet 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 Sellecca was granted main custody My journey has taken me from Arkansas to New York to Los Angeles and certainly to my home in North Georgia with my amazing wife Janet of years Gerard wrote in the post put on Facebook after his death It s been a great ride but inevitably one that comes to a close as mine has
