‘Buck Rogers’ actor Gil Gerard dies at 82

Gil Gerard, the actor best known for playing alien-fighting astronaut Buck Rogers in the sci-fi film and TV franchise, died Tuesday. He was 82.

Gerard’s wife, Janet, announced his death in a post to Facebook Dec. 16, alongside several photos of the couple.

“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.”

In a separate message, posted to Gerard’s own Facebook page, his wife shared a parting message written by the actor before his death.

“If you are reading this, then Janet has posted it as I asked her to,” the message reads. “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 post continued: “My journey has taken me from Arkansas to New York to Los Angeles, and finally, to my home in North Georgia with my amazing wife, Janet, of 18 years. It’s been a great ride, but inevitably one that comes to a close as mine has. Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or bring you love. See you out somewhere in the cosmos.”

Gerard rose to fame in the 1979 sci-fi flick “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” which followed an astronaut who had woken up years in the future. The movie, met with widespread commercial success, spawned an NBC series of the same name, which ran for two seasons with Gerard at the helm. It was canceled in 1981.

The Arkansas native’s career didn’t stop there, though; he went on to rack up countless credits in television films and series, playing a cop on ABC’s “Sidekicks” in the mid-1980s and making guest appearances on shows like “Drop Dead Diva” and “Star Trek New Voyages.”