Gil Gerard, star of TV series ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,’ dies at 82

(Gray News) — Actor Gil Gerard, best known as the star of the NBC series “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” died Tuesday at 82.

His wife said in a Facebook post that he “lost his fight with a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer.”

She didn’t specify what kind of cancer, but she added, “From the moment when we knew something was wrong to his death this morning was only days.”

“Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” ran from 1979 to 1981 for two seasons and 32 episodes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show’s premise saw Gerard as Capt. William Anthony “Buck” Rogers, a NASA and U.S. Air Force pilot who was accidentally frozen in his spacecraft in 1987 and discovered in 2491 after a nuclear war.

Gerard also starred in more than 400 commercials and several films, according to his IMDb page.

He was born in Arkansas and most recently lived in Georgia. He had one son.