Erin Gray Reflects on Buck Rogers Role and the Limits for Women on TV

Erin Gray became a familiar face to television audiences as Colonel Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. But decades after the sci-fi series ended, Gray says the role also showed her how limited opportunities were for women on television.

In a recent interview with Woman’s World, Gray, now 76, reflected on her career and the challenges female actors faced in the 1980s.

“There were very few roles for women to star in, period,” Gray said. “I was always the objectified, beautiful girl who adoringly looked up at her leading man and whatever, but to be the center and to carry the story was a rare occurrence.”

Gray played Wilma as a skilled and confident military officer who worked closely with Gil Gerard’s Buck Rogers. Although Wilma was an important character, the series was built around Buck, meaning Gray often found her character supporting the male lead rather than driving the story herself.

One episode stood out

For Gray, one episode showed what Wilma could have been given more often.

In “Vampire in Space,” Wilma became central to the storyline, giving Gray the chance to play a character whose actions directly shaped the episode.

“To be in something where I could be pivotal to that storyline was very appealing to me as an actress,” she recalled.

Gray said she enjoyed romantic storylines and had “no problem with that.” What she wanted, however, was a wider range of roles that allowed her to demonstrate her acting ability.

She pointed to her lead performance in the 1982 drama Born Beautiful as an example of the kind of material she wanted.

“I didn’t want it to be all about being goo-goo eyes at the leading man kind of thing,” she said. “But there’s something as an actor, as a talent, that you just want something you can sink your teeth into.”

Why Voyager appealed to her

Gray’s experience also helps explain why the possibility of playing Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager was attractive to her.

The role represented the kind of opportunity she had been looking for: a woman at the center of a major science-fiction series, with the story built around her character. Gray ultimately did not get the part, which went to Kate Mulgrew.

Even so, her time as Wilma Deering had an impact that Gray says she never expected.

Wilma inspired women in the military

Years after Buck Rogers aired, Gray began hearing from women who had been inspired by Wilma.

One encounter particularly surprised her. A highly ranked woman in the U.S. Marine Corps approached Gray at a public event and told her, “You’re the reason.”

Gray was stunned.

“I’m looking at this almost six-foot-tall woman going, ‘Really? I inspired you?’” she recalled.

The woman told her, “Absolutely.”

Gray said she never imagined that taking the role on Buck Rogers would influence someone’s decision to pursue a military career.

“I did not ever think when I got the job on Buck Rogers that that would have that kind of influence,” she said. “To find out 10, 15 years later the impact, it was mind-boggling to me.”

While Gray wished Wilma had been given more opportunities to lead stories, the character ultimately became more than a supporting figure. For some viewers, she was proof that women could be strong, capable and successful in roles traditionally dominated by men.