The only main cast of Buck Rogers still alive in the 25th century

Space-faring, pulp-influenced comic book heroes, from Flash Gordon to Star-Lord, can tip their hat to Buck Rogers, who first appeared on the comic pages in 1929 and paved the way for future sci-fi heroes in the field. Although Legendary and Skydance developed them “Buck Rogers” duel projects. In recent years, the popular culture prevalence of the character is no longer what it once was. However, in the past, Rogers has received more than his share of attention. The character soon jumped off the page into a long-running radio series, a 1939 film starring Buster Crabbe — who, funnily enough, was also Flash Gordon’s favorite actor of the era — and a short-lived 1950 TV show.

However, if you wanted to name a specific live-action movie about Buck Rogers, it’s hard to beat “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” from the creator of “Battlestar Galactica.” The show began in 1979 with a frankly subpar theatrical movie that was actually a repurposed pilot episode, and ran for only two seasons that were radically different from each other. However, it did a good job of capturing the comic’s unique charm, earning its place in the hearts of people who loved science fiction of that era. Let’s find out which cast of this classic show is still with us, and what they’ve been up to since Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ended in 1981.

“Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” is one of many films Canceled sci-fi shows that deserve a second chance, And a lot of it has to do with Mister Rogers himself. Gil Gerard plays the time-displaced NASA pilot in 1987 – full name Captain William “Buck” Rogers – to perfection. However, behind the scenes, he intensely disliked the show’s style, and became particularly weary when the show suddenly turned into a very clear version of “Star Trek” after the first season. Starlog Magazine Before the sophomore season, he happily aired his grievances about the series’ writing and directing, and told stories about the way he challenged the production:

“My philosophy has always been: No one’s going to remember who produced this show, who wrote it, who directed it, but they’ll definitely remember that I was there, and you’re not going to leave me out there in the lead.” I told this to the producers and the writers, because that’s the way I felt about it, I felt like it was my responsibility to at least try to see that the audience got a fair shake.

Despite his concerns about the show’s quality and relevancy, Buck Rogers remains Gerard’s most famous role. After the show’s cancellation, she appeared in a series of relatively low-profile television films before scoring a new starring role in the 1986-1987 family crime drama series “Sidekicks.” Since then, he’s been largely content to work in smaller, recurring daytime dramatic roles and, increasingly, in B-movies like “Dinowolf” and “Reptisaurus” (both 2009). You can also see him in Shane Black’s 2016 film The Nice Guys, in which he appears as Detroit Auto Manufacturers representative Bergen Paulsen.

Erin Gray’s Colonel Wilma Dearing shares similarities with the pioneering women of science fiction of the era Lieutenant Nichelle Nichols Nyota Uhura from “Star Trek” and Princess Carrie Fisher Leia Organa from “Star Wars.” Deering is a capable, no-nonsense officer who is such an integral part of the show that she and Rogers are the only human characters carrying over into the radically changed second season. In a 2012 interview with WiredGray explained that her unique chemistry with Jill Gerrard came from an audition she asked her to attend after a stressful day of filming without knowing anything about the role:

“I came in kind of sullen, and all the other actresses came in with bright eyes and bushy tails (…) I was thinking, ‘Please let’s get this over with, I’d like to go home and go to bed.’ Thank you very much.’ Of course Gil was challenged (…) If you met Gil you’d find he was very charming and funny, and he had this sullen woman who he kept trying to make smile, and the more he worked, the more depressed she became and the more she got in his face (…) It ended up being The perfect dynamic for the test and the character.

After the show ended, Gray stayed busy. After some small TV movies and guest star roles on shows like “The Fall Guy” (1982) and two episodes of “Fantasy Island,” she played Kate Summers on the 1982 sitcom “Silver Spoons” throughout its five seasons. After the show ended in 1987, she continued her work as a guest star and supporting actress. In the mid-1990s, she appeared in several recurring roles – most notably Chief Monica Johnson on the popular rescue drama “Baywatch,” Nicole Devlin on the ABC daytime drama “Port Charles,” and Karen Archer on the NBC procedural “Profiler.”

Eric Server voices the computer mind Dr. Theopolis in the first season of the series, succeeding the Howard F. Flynn pilot. The elongated “Theo” is a circular device that is not physically mobile, but uses the robot Twiki (Felix Silla and Patty Maloney, with Mel Blanc and Bob Elia providing the voice) to move around.

Twiki ended up having outsmarted his master, following Buck Rogers and Wilma Dearing into the exploration-themed second season while Dr. Theopolis was quietly written from the show and the servant went on to other things. In 1981, the actor appeared in the flesh in the trucker-chimpanzee adventure show “BJ and the Bear”, joining the series in the third season as Lieutenant Jim Steiger, a main character, after playing two other roles in previous seasons. . This will be his biggest role in terms of screen time, but that doesn’t mean the server has struggled to work. On the contrary, he is a hard-working journeyman who can be seen in several high-profile shows in the 1980s and 1990s, including “Hill Street Blues,” “Knight Rider,” “The A-Team,” and “Murder, She Wrote “. “, “TJ Hooker” and “Matlock”. His most recent role dates back to 2014 when he played “Frightened Man” in the Erwin Brothers comedy “Moms’ Night”. Out.”

Although her outfit may be revealing, Pamela Hensley’s Princess Ardala is a powerful villainess out to conquer Earth, and while she’s at it, she marries Buck Rogers to secure her claim to the throne of the Draconian Empire. Hensley only appears in the pilot film and four episodes of the first season, but Ardala remains probably the show’s most memorable antagonist.

Like many “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” actors, Hensley was already on the map when she appeared on the series, having appeared in projects ranging from the dystopian sci-fi film “Rollerball” to the legendary action drama “The Six Million Dollar Man.” She also has previous experience on hit shows, having played a lead role as Janet Blake in the Emmy Award-winning medical drama “Marcus Welby, MD.”

Immediately after “Buck Rogers,” Hensley joined another iconic franchise when she played Agent 36 in the “Get Smart” follow-up film “The Nude Bomb” (1980). In 1982, she continued to achieve further success as C.J. Parsons, one of the main characters in the three-season crime drama “Matt Houston.” The show, which ended in 1985, was Hensley’s final acting gig. In 1982, she married Aaron Spelling’s producing partner E. Duke Vincent, and the two remained together until Vincent’s death in February 2024.

Probably the most recognizable name on this list as far as modern audiences are concerned, Dennis Haysbert wasn’t particularly present in “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.” He played several secondary characters over the course of the show’s two seasons, having no less than five different character credits in five separate episodes. However, Haysbert soon moved on to bigger things.

After building a strong resume of guest appearances and strong recurring character roles, the actor began getting more and more prominent roles, such as Pedro Serrano in the 1989 baseball comedy “Major League” and its sequels, and Don Breedan in Michael Mann’s “Heat.” (1995). His real breakthrough came in 2001, when he played the role of David Palmer in Kiefer Sutherland’s drama “24”. Haysbert’s powerful politician, who eventually becomes President of the United States, is one of the most commanding characters in the show’s first four seasons, and the actor has been able to translate his increased visibility into more major roles – such as Jonas Blaine, the series’ main character. CBS Delta Force drama “Unit” (2006-2009).

Haysberd remains in high demand to this day, both as an on-screen and voice actor. As for how much appeal it still holds…well, let’s just say that when the people behind the supernatural drama “Lucifer” had to choose God himself in 2020, they knew exactly who to call.

Like Dennis Haysbert, Alex Hyde-White is an actor whose post-“Buck Rogers” career goes far beyond his time on the show. Also like Haysbert, he specialized in playing various minor ensigns and tech men on the show, appearing in four episodes of the second season. His father, Wilfred Hyde-White, was part of the main cast, playing Dr. Goodfellow.

After the show ended, Hyde-White spent the 1980s pursuing the typical career path of a young screen actor, building a resume for smaller roles while looking for bigger breaks. In 1986, he starred in the time-travel adventure “Biggles” as Jim Ferguson, a modern-day man who can temporarily switch places with accomplished World War I-era fighter James Bigglesworth (Neil Dixon). Another big break came in 1989, when Hyde White played Indiana Jones’ father — a younger version of Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) — in flashback scenes in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

Roles in major success stories like “Pretty Woman” and smaller fare followed. In 1994, Hyde-White became part of a unique superhero film, Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four” is a deliberately disastrous movie that has yet to be releasedwhere he is played by none other than the resilient Reed Richards himself. While the complicated circumstances behind the film understandably prevented it from setting the world on fire, they did no harm to Hyde-White’s career. He has gone on to appear in major projects such as Steven Spielberg’s 2002 con man film “Catch Me If You Can” and Jordan Peele’s 2022 horror film “No.” He’s also accumulated an impressive number of guest roles on shows like “Bones,” “NCIS,” “Mentalist,” “Dexter,” “Shameless,” and “This Is Us.”