As “Buck” Rogers, Gerard played a NASA/USAF pilot who commands Ranger 3, a spacecraft that is launched in May 1987. Due to a life-support malfunction, Buck is accidentally frozen for 504 years before his spacecraft is discovered adrift in the year 2491. The combination of gases that froze his body coincidentally comes close to the formula commonly used in the 25th century for cryopreservation, and his rescuers are able to revive him. He learns that civilization on Earth was rebuilt following a devastating nuclear war that occurred on November 22, 1987, and is now under the protection of the Earth Defense Directorate.
“We were thrilled to welcome ‘THE’ Buck Rogers, Gil Gerard to that year’s show!” says Cartoon Kingdom, Co-Owner, Arlen Mifflin. “The show was a complete hit for the 70s-80s generation, and we were really excited for fans to celebrate and support his appearance during the Buck Rogers 40th Anniversary that Fall.”
Gerard appeared at the show all weekend long with cast co-stars Felix Silla and Erin Gray, who portrayed Twiki and Wilma Deering in the *Buck Rogers* series. The trio participated in a once-in-a-lifetime 'Buck Rogers Experience' to commemorate the Buck Rogers 40th Anniversary, which took place at Windsor ComiCon presented by Cartoon Kingdom.
Buck Rogers is a fictional space opera character created by Philip Francis Nowlan in the novella *Armageddon 2419 A.D.*, which was published in the August 1928 issue of pulp magazine *Amazing Stories*. Subsequently, the character went on to appear in multiple media. The adventures of Buck Rogers in comic strips, movies, radio and television became an important part of American popular culture.
