Actor Gil Gerard, best known for playing the title character in the popular TV series “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” has died. He was 82.

Gerard died on Tuesday of “a rare and viciously aggressive form of cancer,” according to a Facebook post from his wife, Janet Gerard.

“From the moment when we knew something was wrong to his death this morning was only days,” she wrote. “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.”

Janet Gerard also released a statement on Facebook that the actor penned prior to his death.

“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,” Gil Gerard wrote. “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 first played the space adventurer Buck Rogers, a spin-off of the popular 1930s comic strip, in a 1979 movie.

The box-office success of that film led to the TV show, which ran from 1979-81.

“I thought the character had a sense of reality about him,” he said in a 2017 interview. “The sense of humor I liked very much and his humanity, I liked. I thought it was kind of cool. He wasn’t a stiff kind of a guy. He was a guy who could solve problems on his feet, and he wasn’t a superhero.”

He later starred on the show “Sidekicks,” which ran from 1986-87. He also appeared on the CBS series “E.A.R.T.H. Force,” hosted the reality show “Code 3,” had a reoccurring role on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” and appeared in the 2016 film “The Nice Guys.”

He also appeared in “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Doctors,” “Pacific Blue,” “Drop Dead Diva,” and “Airport ‘77.”

Gerard struggled with drug and alcohol addiction after the cancelation of “Buck Rogers,” and in 2007 appeared on the documentary “Action Hero Makeover,” which documents his battle with overeating and decision to have gastric-bypass surgery.

Gerard was married four times, and has one son, “Gib,” with his second wife, actress Connie Sellecca.

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