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Sad news for Outposters of a certain age this morning. Actor Gil Gerard has passed away. He died on Tuesday at his home in Georgia from a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer that he had only just discovered he had. His wife Janet confirmed in a statement:
“From the moment when we knew something was wrong to his death this morning was only days.”
Gerard was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1943, and began working in television in the early 1970s, gaining initial fame on the soap opera The Doctors. Then, in the late 1970s, came his most famous break.
He portrayed Captain William “Buck” Rogers in the 1979 NBC sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. It was based on a 1930s comic strip and told the story of a NASA pilot catapulted 500 years into the future.
The show was a television touchstone for an entire generation of late Boomers and early Gen-X. It existed at a wonderful time when family television, like Charlie’s Angels, also contained a little something “for the dads” way before Baywatch was even a thing.
A generation of teenage boys tuned in to watch Buck and Tweeky have adventures, but they stayed for Colonel Wilma Dearing and Princess Ardala.
“Look Tweeky, Ardala’s clothes have fallen off!”
The show was launched as a TV movie that got a theatrical release and managed to get $21 million at the box office. That was then adapted back into the pilot on television. Like Battlestar Galactica, it was riding the post–Star Wars wave.
Gerard’s portrayal blended a sense of humor and humanity, distinguishing the show during its two-season run from 1979 to 1981 before budget issues led to cancellation.
Gerard also appeared in projects ranging from Airport ’77 to Sidekicks, and had a visible presence in numerous television films throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
He also discussed his personal struggles with weight on the reality series Action Hero Makeover. Janet Gerard said:
“Early this morning Gil – my soulmate – lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer. No matter how many years I got to spend with him it would have ever been enough. Hold the ones you have tightly and love them fiercely.”
Gerard is survived by his wife Janet, and his son Gib.
Rest in peace, Buck.
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