Gerard was born in Arkansas in 1943 and began his career as an actor in New York City after landing a role as an extra on the set of 1970 film Love Story.
He went on to appear in 1971’s Some of My Best Friends Are … and Man on a Swing in 1974 before landing a regular role in soap opera The Doctors.
He played Dr Alan Stewart in 162 episodes of the daytime show between 1973 and 1976 as well as shooting parts in TV series Little House on the Prairie and Hawaii Five-O and films Hooch (1977) and Airport ’77 (1977) before landing his break-out role in the sci-fi show.
Gerard signed up for the part of Captain William ‘Buck’ Rogers and filmed a feature-length pilot episode which was given a theatrical release in 1979.
The TV show ran for two series from 1979 until it was cancelled in 1981 but the 32 episodes cemented Gerard’s place in sci-fi history.
However, the actor previously admitted he wasn’t keen on the part at first.
Speaking on YouTube show GenXGrownUp in 2018, Gerard explained: “I saw what it did to Adam West‘s career with Batman, and this was another cartoon character. I didn’t want to do this campy stuff.”
After Buck Rogers, Gerard appeared in a number of TV movies including Not Just Another Affair, Hear No Evil and Johnny Blue, as well as a starring role in TV show Sidekicks, which ran for just one season from 1986 until 1987.
He also landed roles in Nightingales, E.A.R.T.H. Force and soap opera Days of Our Lives before later making an appearance in 2016 comedy movie The Nice Guys.
Gerard was married four times, including to actress Connie Sellecca – the mother of his son, Gib Gerard – between 1979 and 1987. Janet was his fourth wife. They were married for 18 years.
