Erin Gray

Erin Gray (born January 7, 1950) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Kate Summers in the situation comedy Silver Spoons and as Colonel Wilma Deering in the science fiction television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. --- Gray was born on January 7, 1950, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Diane and Daniel Gray. When Gray was eight, her parents separated. Gray lived with her grandparents in Palm Springs for a few years. Eventually she and her mother moved to Larkspur, California. Gray attended Redwood High School and then attended and graduated from Pacific Palisades High School. She briefly attended college at UCLA, focusing on math, but she left school to pursue her career. In 1965, at age 15, Gray had a chance meeting with Nina Blanchard, head of one of Hollywood's top modelling agencies and became convinced to pursue a career in modelling. Within a few years Gray was considered one of the top models in New York City. During this period, she worked as spokeswoman for several accounts including L'Oréal, Max Factor and Bloomingdale's. "By 1975 Gray was one of the nation's top TV models, earning $100,000 a year." She developed an interest in acting, so she moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue her Hollywood career. Her first appearance on television had been in 1976 as a dancer in the variety series, Malibu U. In 1978, shortly after moving to California, she landed her first starring role, on the miniseries Evening in Byzantium. Following good notices, in 1978, Gray was put on a seven-year contract at Universal Studios, which led directly to her taking the role of Colonel Wilma Deering in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, at first for a theatrically released movie, then for a recurring TV series. Gray's trim, shapely figure, augmented by a tight one piece jumpsuit uniform, was popular with the show's predominantly young male audience. Gray commented that she was aware of the sexiness of her uniform which was so tight that she had to be sewn into it. Her character was also high profile within the show, second only to Gil Gerard in the lead role, thus representing one of the early examples of a strong female character in a science fiction setting. Because of this Gray was seen as an important role model for female viewers. She once told an interviewer: "I was the first female colonel. I enjoyed being that kind of role model for young women watching the show. A woman can be a colonel! A woman can be in charge! Those were new ideas then." --- Erin Gray has been married twice. She met her first husband, Ken Schwartz, while they attended high school together. Although he was a successful real estate executive, he eventually became her manager after her acting career became so significant. The marriage lasted from 1968 to 1990. Gray married Richard Hissong in 1991. Their daughter Samantha plays Buck Rogers' girlfriend, Maddy, in the pilot episode of James Cawley's Buck Rogers Internet video series.