Gil Gerard
Gerard at theBig Apple Convention inManhattan, October 17, 2009
Born	(1943-01-23)January 23, 1943 (age 82) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Education	University of Central Arkansas (withdrawn)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–present
Known for	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Spouse(s)	First two wives, (1960s–1970s) Connie Sellecca (m. 1979–87, divorced) Bobi Leonard (m. 1987–89, divorced)
Children	1[1]
Website	gilgerard.com

Gil Gerard (born January 23, 1943) is an American actor, whose roles include CaptainWilliam "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–81television seriesBuck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Gerard was born January 23, 1943, inLittle Rock, Arkansas,^[2] to a college instructor mother and a salesman father.^[3] In 1960, he attendedMaryknoll Seminary inGlen Ellyn, Illinois, and played the title role in an all-male production ofThe Music Man. He graduated fromLittle Rock Catholic High School for Boys,^[4] and later attended theUniversity of Central Arkansas but dropped out before graduation.^[3]

Gerard traveled toNew York City, where he studied drama by day and drove ataxicab at night. Gerard picked up a fare who showed a lively interest in the problems of unknown, unemployed actors. Before he left the cab, he told Gerard to report in a few days to the set ofLove Story, which was being filmed on location in New York. When Gerard arrived on theLove Story set, he was hired as an extra. Later that day, he was singled out for a "bit" part, but he was not included in the finished film.^{[citation needed]}

During the next few years, he did most of his acting intelevision commercials, almost 400, including a stint as spokesman for theFord Motor Company. After small roles in the gay-themed filmSome of My Best Friends Are... (1971), and the thrillerMan on a Swing (1974), Gerard gained a prominent role in the daytime soap operaThe Doctors for two years. Gerard formed his own production company in partnership with a writer-producer, co-authored a screenplay calledHooch (1977) and filmed it as a starring vehicle for himself. WithHooch completed, he traveled toCalifornia to co-star withYvette Mimieux inRansom for Alice! (1977) and to playLee Grant's youthful lover in Universal'sAirport '77 (1977). He appeared in a 1977 episode ofHawaii Five-O ("The Ninth Step") as Marty Cobb, a former cop and recovering alcoholic. A guest appearance inLittle House on the Prairie impressed producer-starMichael Landon, who cast him in the leading role in the 1978TV movieKilling Stone.

Gerard then landed his best-known role, as CaptainWilliam "Buck" Rogers in the TV seriesBuck Rogers in the 25th Century which ran from 1979-81, with the feature-lengthpilot episode being released theatrically some months prior to the first broadcast of the series. After this, he was featured in a number of other TV shows and movies, including starring roles in the 1982 TV movieHear No Evil as Dragon,^[5][6][7] the short-lived seriesSidekicks (1986) andE.A.R.T.H. Force (1990).^[1]

In 1992, Gerard hosted the reality TV seriesCode 3, which followed firefighters from different areas of the US as they responded to emergency calls. The show ran on theFox TV Network until the following year. For the remainder of the 1990s, Gerard made guest appearances on various TV shows, includingFish Police,Brotherly Love,The Big Easy,Days of Our Lives andPacific Blue.

In January 2007, Gerard was the subject of the one-hour documentaryAction Hero Makeover, which was written, produced and directed by his then-longtime companion, Adrienne Crow for theDiscovery Health Channel. The film documented his year-long progress after undergoing life-saving mini-gastric bypass surgery in October 2005. According to the program, he had been struggling with his weight for 40 years, losing weight only to gain it back.^[8] By the time of the program's production, his weight had risen to over 350 pounds (159 kg), and he had many life-threatening health issues including a severe problem withtype 2 diabetes. Within five days of the surgery he had lost 20 lb (9 kg), within three months he had lost 80 lb (36 kg), and within ten months he lost a total of 145 lb (66 kg).^[9]

Gerard and hisBuck Rogers co-starErin Gray reunited in 2007 for the TV filmNuclear Hurricane, and also returned to theBuck Rogers universe by playing the characters' parents in the pilot episode ofJames Cawley'sBuck Rogers Begins Internet video series in 2009.^[10]

Gerard guest-starred as Admiral Jack Sheehan in "Kitumba", the January 1, 2014, episode of the fan web seriesStar Trek: Phase II.^[11][12]

In 2015, Gerard voiced Megatronus inTransformers: Robots in Disguise.

By the end of the 1980s, Gerard had been married and divorced four times. His first marriage, in the 1960s to a secretary in his home state of Arkansas, lasted just eight months. After moving to New York to pursue his acting ambitions, his second marriage to a bank executive was equally troubled though lasted (on and off) for seven years. Following his move to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, he married model/actressConnie Sellecca in 1979. Their son, Gilbert Vincent Gerard, or "Gib", was born in 1981. Their seven-year marriage began to disintegrate following the cancellation of Gerard's showBuck Rogers in the 25th Century and his increasing addictions to drugs, alcohol, and overeating. The marriage was formally dissolved in 1987, following a bitter custody battle which gave Sellecca main custody of their son. Gerard married again the same year, to interior designer Bobi Leonard, though the marriage lasted only a year and was then formally dissolved in 1989.^[1]

Gerard has been frank about his battle with addictions. Although he went through recovery for his addiction to cocaine and alcohol, following his divorce from Sellecca in the mid 1980s, his compulsive eating habits increased and he would find himself devouring unhealthy portions ofjunk food. By 1988, he weighed 300 lb (136 kg) and used a self-help treatment for his addiction, though he estimated that his weight problem had cost him work opportunities in the region of a million dollars. By 1990, he weighed 220 lb (100 kg).^[1]

• Terrace, Vincent (1985).Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Vol. 2 (1st ed.).New York City: Zoetrope Publishing. p. 188.ISBN 978-0918432612.
• Terrace, Vincent (2011).Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.).New York City:McFarland and Company. p. 445.ISBN 978-0786464777.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toGil Gerard.

• Official website
• Gil Gerard atIMDb
• Gil Gerard at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1943 births
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Living people
• Male actors from Little Rock, Arkansas
• University of Central Arkansas alumni
• Toy collectors

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