Actor Gil Gerard, best known for playing the title role in the sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century has died, according to a Facebook post by his wife, Janet Gerard. He was 82.
“Early this morning Gil – my soulmate – lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer,” she wrote. “From the moment when we knew something was wrong to his death this morning was only days.”
She added, “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.”
Janet also posted a message from Gil on his Facebook page that read, “My life has been an amazing journey. 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,” adding, “It’s been a great ride, but inevitably one that comes to a close as mine has.”
Finally, he offered, “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 on NBC’s Buck Rogers from 1979 to 1981. The two-hour pilot of the series was originally released in theaters, before the network picked it up as a series. The show centered around an astronaut, William “Buck” Rogers, who gets frozen in space for over 500 years and is woken up in the year 2491.
His early career included a three-year stint on the NBC soap opera The Doctors.
Gerard was married five times; his third marriage was to actress Connie Sellecca. They were married from 1979 to 1987 and had one child together.
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