'Buck Rogers' star Gil Gerard dies at 82
[December 18, 2025]
Gil Gerard, who played television's hunky sci-fi hero William
“Buck” Rogers soon after the Star Wars franchise took hold in the late
1970s, has died. He was 82.
Gerard died Tuesday in hospice as a result of a rare, aggressive form of
cancer, said 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 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. It was Rogers'
second turn on TV after a show in the 1950s, a radio series and a 1939
film serial.
The story was based on Philip Francis Nowlan's serialized 1928 pulp
novella “Armageddon 2419 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 82 years on the planet deeply
satisfying.”
As the TV story goes, Rogers was a 20th century NASA pilot who was
placed in frozen animation when his ship was hit by a meteor storm. He
pops awake 500 years later in the year 2491. 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 1982 TV movie “Hear No Evil” as Dragon
and the short-lived “Sidekicks” in 1986.
In 1992, he hosted the reality series “Code 3,” following firefighters
responding to emergency calls around the U.S. There were many guest
appearances in the 1990s, including on “Days of Our Lives.”
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Actor Gil Gerard poses in Los Angeles, Ca. on July 16, 1990. (AP
Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
 Gerard and Gray were together again
in 2007 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 2009.
Gerard spoke openly about addictions to drugs, alcohol and
compulsive overeating. He was the subject of a one-hour documentary,
“Action Hero Makeover,” in 2007 after his weight ballooned to 350
pounds.
Done by Adrienne Crow, then a longtime companion, for the Discovery
Health Channel, the film documented his progress after gastric
bypass 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 1981. Sellecca was granted main custody.
“My journey has taken me from Arkansas to New York to Los Angeles,
and finally, to my home in North Georgia with my amazing wife,
Janet, of 18 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.”
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