Gil Gerard, TV's Buck Rogers, dead after cancer battle

Gil Gerard, the Arkansas-born actor best known for playing the wisecracking hero in NBC’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, has died. 

He was 82.

Gerard passed away Tuesday in Georgia after battling “a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer,” his wife, Janet, shared in a Facebook post.

He rose to fame as Capt. William Anthony “Buck” Rogers in the sci-fi series, which aired from 1979 to 1981 and was inspired by the classic comic strip character. 

The show began as a 1979 TV movie released amid the success of Star Wars and later became a two-season series.

Gerard initially hesitated to take the role. “I saw what it did to Adam West‘s career with Batman, and this was another cartoon character. I didn’t want to do this campy stuff,” he said in a 2018 interview. He later embraced the part, saying in 2017, “He wasn’t a superhero.”

Born Gilbert Cyril Gerard on Jan. 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkansas, he moved to New York in 1969 to study acting. He supported himself by driving a cab and later appeared in more than 400 commercials. His early TV work included NBC’s The Doctors and films such as Airport ’77.

Beyond Buck Rogers, Gerard starred in Sidekicks, produced the film Hooch, and appeared in The Nice Guys (2016). He was also the subject of the documentary Action Hero Makeover.

Married four times, Gerard is survived by Janet, his wife of 18 years, and his son Gib.

Reflecting on his life, Gerard once wrote, “My life has been an amazing journey… Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or bring you love. See you out somewhere in the cosmos.”