Sci-Fi Babe Spotlight: Erin Gray

Before there was Seven of Nine, there was Colonel Wilma Deering. What would Buck Rogers in the 25th Century be like without Erin Gray and her super tight flight suit? Not much, that’s for sure. You can only stand a certain amount of action scenes of Buck Rogers karate chopping aliens before you get bored. That’s where Wilma Deering and her ace flying came in.

Did You Know? Erin Gray was one of five women up for the role of Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, eventually losing out to Kate Mulgrew.

More about her from Wikipedia:

Gray was one of the first models to successfully crossover into television. Her first appearance on television was in 1967 as a dancer in the variety series Malibu U. After moving to Hollywood, she soon had her first starring role on the mini-series Evening In Byzantium, in 1978. Following good notices, in 1978 Gray was put on a seven year contract at Universal, which led directly to her taking the role of Wilma Deering in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century – at first for a theatrically released movie, then for a recurring TV show.

Gray’s trim, shapely figure, augmented by a tight one piece jumpsuit, was popular with the show’s predominantly young male audience. However, the character was high profile within the show, second only to Gil Gerard in the lead role, and represented one of the early examples of a strong female character in a science fiction setting; because of this she was seen as important role model for female viewers.

Shortly after Buck Rogers, she appeared in the first season Magnum P.I. episode ‘J. Digger Doyle’, in which she played security expert Joy “Digger” Doyle of the episode title. The role was planned to become recurring, even possibly a spin-off series, but it did not come about, and it was the character’s only appearance in the series. She also went on to play Kate Summers in the 1982–1987 television series Silver Spoons. When that show ended, she took regular film and TV work; In 1993, she had a featured role in Jason Goes To Hell, the ninth entry in the Friday the 13th series. Most recently in 2005 she appeared in the film, Siren.