By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-24 18:42:14 | Updated at 2024-11-24 20:35:01
1 hour ago
She was one of the first female icons in the sci-fi world, dazzling television audiences with her sparkling spandex jumpsuits in the late 1970s.
Her standout role in the 1979 theatrical film, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, would see her become a screen siren in the hit NBC series that ran until 1981.
The trailblazing former model would later swap her space boots for stilettos to play the sensible and elegant Kate Summers in 80s sitcom Silver Spoons.
But this week, the actress was hardly recognizable as she stepped out to run errands in Los Angeles.
The television star seemed keen to fly under the radar, sporting dark sunglasses and a baseball cap.
Can you guess who it is?
This trailblazer for women in the sci-fi world in the late 1970s and 80s was nearly unrecognizable during a rare sighting in Los Angeles this week
The actress was seen going for a car wash on Tuesday. She sat on a bench using her tablet as she waited for her BMW
Now 74, Erin Gray who made her name as as the confident Colonel Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers goes nearly undetected.
It wasn't always so. During her heyday when she commanded spaceship Ranger 3 alongside actor Gil Gerard she would have been mobbed.
The legendary actress was seen in a rare public sighting, stopping by a local carwash on Tuesday, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show.
Erin appears to be embracing her natural gray hair and stayed low key in a sporty all black ensemble wearing a black puffer coat, pants, sneakers, and a small crossbody purse.
She sat outside on a outdoor bench using her tablet as she waited for her BMW.
Gray was famous for wearing a shiny Lycra onesie in the popular TV series which ran from 1971 to 1981, and is credited for helping start the spandex craze of the 1980s.
She became one of the first females to take a lead role in science fiction films before starring in the 1980s sitcom Silver Spoons with Ricky Schroeder.
Legendary actress Erin Gray's standout role as the confident Colonel Wilma Deering NBC sci-series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, saw her become a screen siren in her iconic spandex suit. She is pictured left in 2015
Now 74, the former sci-fi starlet went nearly undetected as she stopped by a car wash in LA
She appears to be embracing her natural gray hair and stayed low key in a sporty all black ensemble wearing a black puffer coat, pants, sneakers, and a small crossbody purse
Gray, who splits her time between her native California and New York, has kept 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 webseries in 2014, and an episode of comedy film review series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 2017.
She has a son from her first marriage to Ken Schwartz and a daughter with second husband Richard Hissong.
Buck Rogers was created by Philip Francis Nowlan, with the character first appearing in Nowlan's 1928 novel Armageddon 2419 A.D.
Gray starred alongside protagonist Gil Gerard aand Wilfrid Hyde-White in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century during its two-season run
She later went on to star in the 1980s sitcom Silver Spoons with Ricky Schroeder, Joel Higgins, Alfonso Ribeiro and Franklyn Seales
The character was spun off into a comic strip, which debuted in 1929, syndicated by the John F. Dille Co.
The story followed a man who was trapped in a coal mine during a cave-in, only to wake up 500 years in the future, where he's tasked to help in a war between gangs over what used to be the United States of America.
The comic strip ran until 1967, and it also spawned a number of comic book, radio adaptations and two TV shows, one in 1950 and the other in 1979, both of which were rather short-lived.
In 2021 George Clooney was reported to be looking to resurrect the beloved sci-fi series as an executive producer through his Smokehouse Pictures company.
