Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Star Gil Gerard Passes Away, Age 82

Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: buck rogers, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Star Gil Gerard Passes Away, Age 82

Actor Gil Gerard, known to many for the cult classic sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82.

Published Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:16:04 -0600
by Ray Flook
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Sadly, we have another loss to the pop culture universe to pass along. Actor Gil Gerard, known to many as the time-displaced space-faring hero in the Early '80s sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 82, following a battle with cancer. "Early this morning Gil – my soulmate – lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer. From the moment when we knew something was wrong to his death this morning was only days. 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," wrote Gil's wife, Janet Gerard, in a social media post announcing her husband's passing.

From the early '70s through 2015, Gerard built up an impressive resume of television work, including roles in series such as Little House on the Prairie, Hawaii Five-O, Sidekicks, and Nightingales. On the television film side, he appeared in projects such as Help Wanted: Male, Not Just Another Affair, Hear No Evil, Stormin' Home, International Airport, Beyond, Nuclear Hurricane, Bone Eater, and many others.  But it would be the two-season sci-fi cult classic Buck Rogers in the 25th Century that would keep Gerard in the hearts and minds of geeks for generations.

The series pilot ("Awakening") would actually be released in 1979 as a feature film from Universal Pictures, directed by Daniel Haller and written by producer Glen A. Larson and Leslie Stevens (based on the character created by Philip Francis Nowlan). The series itself would go on to run for two seasons on NBC (between September 1979 and April 1981). "I received the opportunity and turned it down three times. Finally, my agent told me to read the script. I read it, and it was pretty great. So, I decided to do it," Gerard shared about how he came to take on the role during an interview from 2010. "I turned it down because I didn't want to do a cartoon character. I have seen the old Batman series and didn't want to that type of show. "Buck Rogers" was based on a cartoon. I thought that Buck had a great sense of humanity and a great sense of humor. That is what attracted me to the role."

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