Gil Gerard

Gil Gerard
Gerard at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 17, 2009.
Born	Gilbert C. Gerard January 23, 1943 (1943-01-23) (age 66) Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
Occupation	Film, television actor
Years active	1971-present
Spouse(s)	Connie Sellecca (1979-1987) (divorced) Bobi Leonard (1987-1989) (divorced)
Official website

Gilbert C. "Gil" Gerard (born January 23, 1943) is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

Early life

Gerard was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to a college instructor mother and a salesman father.^[1] He acted in high school (Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys) while working for a Kroger grocery store in his teens. Gerard obtained the rank of Eagle Scout.^[2] He attended the University of Central Arkansas but dropped out before graduation.

Career

He landed a job as an industrial chemist. Within a few years, he became regional manager of a large chemical company headed by governor Winthrop Rockefeller. Gerard's employers said they would name him the firm's vice president if he went for his master's degree, so he quit rather than tell everyone that he didn't have a college degree.

He then went to New York where he studied drama by day and drove a cab 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 of Love Story, which was being filmed on location in New York. When Gerard arrived on the Love Story set, he was hired as an extra. Later that day, he was singled out for a "bit" role, which eventually wound up on the cutting room floor, but he now had his first professional credit.

During the next few years, he did most of his acting in television commercials, some four hundred of them, including a stint as spokesman for the Ford Motor Company, then came a leading role in the daytime TV series, The Doctors. Gerard formed his own production company in partnership with a writer-producer, co-authored a screenplay called Hooch and filmed it as a starring vehicle for himself. With Hooch completed, he was summoned to California to co-star with Yvette Mimieux in Ransom for Alice! and to play Lee Grant's youthful lover in Universal's Airport '77. A guest shot in Little House on the Prairie impressed producer-star Michael Landon, who cast him in the leading role in an ambitious TV movie of the week, Killing Stone. Gerard's best known role was Captain Buck Rogers in the television series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century which ran from 1979 through 1981. After this, he was featured in a number of other TV shows and movies, including starring roles in the series Sidekicks and E.A.R.T.H. Force.

Gerard appeared on the show Action Hero Makeover on the Discovery Health Channel, which documented his year-long progress after undergoing life-saving mini-gastric bypass surgery in October of 2005. According to the show, he had been struggling with his weight for 40 years, losing weight only to gain it back and by the time of the program's production. His weight had risen to over 350 pounds and had many life-threatening health problems including a severe problem with Type II Diabetes. A year after the surgery, he has lost 145 pounds.^[3]

Personal life

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Gerard was married to Connie Sellecca from 1979 to 1987. They have a son, Gilbert "Gib" Vincent Gerard, born in 1981. Gerard also has a daughter.

Gerard is an avid golfer, and has played in several celebrity golf tournaments. He is an active supporter of the Special Olympics, and takes part in other children's causes.

References

External links

• Gil Gerard at the Internet Movie Database
• Gil Gerard at TV.com
• Gil Gerard at the Internet Broadway Database
• Official site