Gil Gerard (1943-2025)

I built a model of the two-pronged Starfighter (a really sleek and elegant vehicle that deserved a better name) and the one-engined Draconian fighter. I recall being impressed by the two-hour pilot I knew the series that followed was silly fluff. I was 11, so perhaps at the time I didn’t quite appreciate Erin Grey or Pamela Hensley as much as I might have a little later in life.

Mel Blanc’s voice doing Twiki’s “biddi‑biddi‑biddi” is part of the background chatter in my brain. When my daughter was 8, I taught her to waltz in the kitchen while the closing credits of a Buck Rogers DVD was playing.

Gil Gerard’s “aw, shucks” portrayal of Buck Rogers as the snarky voice of sanity in a bland, white, weird vaccuformed future was a great premise that the series sadly diverged from very quickly. On a rewatch years ago I enjoyed spotting guest stars like Peter Graves, Buster Crabbe, Jamie Lee Curtis, Frank Gorshin, Jack Palance, and Mark Lenard. 1979-1981 were good years for camp.

RIP Gil Gerard.