Gil Gerard

Gil Gerard was an American actor who studied drama in New York City while driving a taxicab at night, and a passenger's advice led to extra work on the set of Love Story. He appeared in nearly 400 television commercials before taking small roles in Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971) and Man on a Swing (1974), followed by two years in a prominent part on the soap opera The Doctors. He co-wrote the screenplay Hooch as a starring vehicle and played Lee Grant's youthful lover in Airport '77 (1977). Gerard's best-known role came as Captain William Buck Rogers in the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which aired from 1979 to 1981 after its feature-length pilot played in theaters. Later credits included the TV movies Hear No Evil and Nuclear Hurricane (2007), the series Sidekicks and E.A.R.T.H. Force, and hosting the reality show Code 3.