Sci-Fi Icon Dies at 82, Leaves Final Message for Fans

Gil Gerard, best known for playing the lead role in the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, has died at the age of 82. He passed away earlier today in hospice care after a short battle with cancer. His wife, Janet Gerard, was by his side. The news was shared by Janet Gerard on social media.

According to his wife, the illness moved very quickly. She later posted a longer message on Gil Gerard’s personal Facebook page that he had written before his death and wanted fans to read afterward.

“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,” the message said.

He ended the note with a message to fans about how to live. “Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or bring you love. See you out somewhere in the cosmos.”

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century aired on NBC for two seasons in the early 1980s and was produced by Glen A. Larson. The show mixed science fiction with humor and was created during a time when space stories were popular after Star Wars. Gerard starred as Buck Rogers, a man from the 20th century who wakes up hundreds of years in the future.

The show also featured Erin Gray as Wilma Deering and Thom Christopher as the alien Hawk. One of the most remembered characters was Twiki, a small robot voiced by Mel Blanc.

The series was based on a TV movie with the same name, which was released in theaters and later used as the pilot episode.

After Buck Rogers, Gerard continued acting in television and independent films. He appeared in the CBS series E.A.R.T.H. Force in 1990 and later had a short run on Days of Our Lives in the late 1990s. In recent years, he appeared in the film The Nice Guys alongside Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.

Before his rise to fame in science fiction, Gerard had a long run on the NBC soap opera The Doctors, where he appeared in more than 300 episodes.

Janet Gerard also shared a personal statement about her husband’s passing. “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. 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.”

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