By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-17 00:53:13 | Updated at 2025-03-17 08:10:20
7 hours ago
This actress was one of the iconic sci-fi heroines, as she starred in both the film and television versions of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.
Starting with her work in 1979, her costumes helped ignite the 1980s craze for spandex.
She later moved on to play the matriarch of the family on the sitcom Silver Spoons.
She also had a successful career as a model that predated her time as a screen siren.
This week, the actress was unrecognizable as she stepped out to run errands in Los Angeles while covered up in dark sunglasses and a baseball cap.
Can you guess who she is?
This actress was one of the iconic sci-fi heroines for starring in film and TV versions of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, and she also had an earlier modeling career. Can you guess who she is?
She's Erin Gray, who made her name as as the confident Colonel Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers. The 75-year-old actress went nearly undetected as she walked down a Los Angeles street earlier this month.
It wasn't always so. During her heyday when she commanded spaceship Ranger 3 alongside actor Gil Gerard she would have been mobbed.
Erin played the character of Colonel Wilma Deering, who was the love interest of Captain William Buck Rogers, played by Gerard.
The popular TV series ran for 37 episodes over two seasons between 1979 and 1981.
The legendary actress was seen in a rare public sighting, taking a stroll in her neighborhood.
Erin was dressed casually in a blue T-shirt, black cotton pants and a long gray knit coat.
Gray, who splits her time between her native California and New York, has stayed largely out of the limelight in recent years.
She remained active in the sci-fi universe in the years following her big break, guest starring in the Star Trek Continues web series in 2014.
She's Erin Gray, who made her name as as the confident Colonel Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers. Her costumes helped ignite the 1980s craze for spandex
The 75-year-old actress went nearly undetected as she walked down a Los Angeles street earlier this month
She later moved on to play the matriarch of the family on the sitcom Silver Spoons
Can you guess who it is? Seen here in 1982
She also starred in an episode of comedy film review series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 2017.
She has a son, Kevan, 49, from her first marriage to Ken Schwartz and a daughter, Samantha, 34, with second husband Richard Hissong.
Samantha plays Buck Rogers' girlfriend, Maddy, in the pilot episode of James Cawley's Buck Rogers Internet video series.
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Erin spoke about her role on Buck Rogers.
'I was scared to death on the one hand. Oh, this is science fiction, which means that everything I'm dealing with isn't real.
'There's no normal telephone, I'm saying words that are a little Greek and a little Latin put together to make something new.
'The only way I could get through it was just trying to make it as real as I possibly could.
'So it's like, OK, just make it real. Just commit to the realness of this. Use my memory training to create the reality and sort of commit to it.
Gray's daughter Samantha plays Buck Rogers' girlfriend, Maddy, in the pilot episode of James Cawley's Buck Rogers Internet video series; Gray pictured in 1979 in Buck Rogers
In an interview with Closer Weekly, Erin spoke about her role on Buck Rogers. 'I was scared to death on the one hand. Oh, this is science fiction, which means that everything I'm dealing with isn't real; seen on set in 1979
'Again, I throw myself into things that are scary and hope for the best,' she continued.
'The other thing is that there's a part of my personality that is fearless, but there's also a part of my personality that has dealt with a certain amount of abuse in my life. So there's a very fragile part.'
In 2010, Gray and Gerard returned to Buck Rogers's universe by playing the characters' parents in the pilot episode of the Buck Rogers web series.
Erin has also worked as a casting agent for Heroes for Hire, which specializes in booking sci-fi and fantasy stars for personal appearances, speaking engagements and charity events.
