Early life

Gray was born on January 7, 1950, in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii (now, the state of 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.

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 1967 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.

Shortly after Buck Rogers, Gray appeared in the first season Magnum, P.I. episode, "J. 'Digger' Doyle", in which she played security expert, Joy 'Digger' Doyle. The role was planned to become recurring, even possibly a spin-off series, but neither occurred, and it was the character's only appearance in the series. In 1982, she played the role of Lilah in the summer movie Six Pack as a love interest opposite Kenny Rogers. Gray's role as Kate Summers in the TV sitcom Silver Spoons lasted for several years in the 1980s. When that show ended, she took regular film and TV work; she appeared in an episode of Superboy and Murder, She Wrote. In 1993, she had a featured role in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the ninth entry in the Friday the 13th series. In 2005, she appeared in the film, Siren.

In 2010, Gray and Gil Gerard returned to Buck Rogers by playing the characters' parents in the pilot episode of Buck Rogers web series. She has also worked in commercials, including a 2010 spot for Pup-Peroni dog treats.

Gray is also a casting agent Her agency, Heroes for Hire, specializes in booking sci-fi and fantasy stars for personal appearances, speaking engagements, and charity events. Gray also teaches T'ai chi.

In 1998, Gray wrote a book Act Right with Mara Purl which contains advice for novice television and movie actors. A revised edition was published in 2002.

Gray starred in the 2011 film Dreams Awake (with "Alien Nation" co-star Gary Graham). She also plays the role of Madeline Twain on the webseries The Guild.

Gray has also guest-starred in the 2014 webisode "Lolani" from the web series Star Trek Continues as Commodore Gray, an episode that also starred Lou Ferrigno.

Filmography

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Col. Wilma Deering
	Winter Kills	Beautiful Woman Three
1982	Six Pack	Lilah
1989	The Princess and the Dwarf
1993	Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday	Diana Kimble
1994	A Dangerous Place	Audrey
	T-Force	Mayor Pendleton
2000	The Last Producer	Dee Freeman
	Woman's Story	Laurel Warner
	Delicate Instruments	Jessica Livingston	Short
2001	Serial Intentions	Virginia Madden
	Touched by a Killer	Liza Collins
	Social Misfits	Sharon Cox (Mitsy's Mom)
2002	Clover Bend	Betty Clayton
	Special Weapons and Tactics	The Mayor	Short
2003	Manfast	Gloria Day
2005	Caught in the Headlights	Mrs. Jones
2006	Siren	Sharon Cox
2007	Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss	Laura Sands
	The Wedding Video	Carol
2008	Loaded	Susan Price
	My True Self	Mrs. Ellen Fields
2009	Hunter Prey	Clea
2011	Dreams Awake	Hope Emrys
2012	Nesting	Mrs. Deegan
2014	Christmas in Palm Springs	Mayor Tomlin
2017	In-World War	Mother

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Maude	Model (Uncredited)	1 Episode: The Game Show
1978	Police Story	Laurie Tice	1 Episode: Day of Terror... Night of Fear
	Evening in Byzantium	Gail McKinnon	TV Movie
1979	The Rockford Files	Margaret 'Alta' Hatch	1 Episode: With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?
	The Ultimate Impostor	Beatrice 'Bucky' Tate	TV Movie
	B. J. and the Bear	Dr. Samantha Evans	1 Episode: Cain's Cruiser
1979-81	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century	Col. Wilma Deering	32 Episodes
1980	Vega$	Jennifer Stallings	1 Episode: Black Cat Killer
	Coach of the Year	Paula DeFalco	TV Movie
1980-82	Fantasy Island	Laura Jensen / Carla Marco	2 Episodes: Face of Love/Image of Celeste, Skater's Edge/Concerto of Death/The Last Great Race
1981	Magnum, P.I.	Joy "Digger" Doyle	1 Episode: J."Digger" Doyle
1982	The Fall Guy	Bonnie Carlson	2 Episodes: License to Kill: Part 1 & 2
	Simon & Simon	Vicki Whittaker	1 Episode: Matchmaker
	Born Beautiful	Betsy Forrest	TV Movie
1982-87	Silver Spoons	Kate Summers Stratton	116 Episodes
1985	Code of Vengeance	Nadine Flowers	1 Episode: Code of Vengeance
1986	Hotel	Vanessa Clark	116 Episode: Facades
1987	Starman	Jenny Hayden	2 Episodes: Starscape: Part 1 & 2
	Breaking Home Ties	Carol	TV Movie
1988	Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace	Captain Terry O'Malley	TV Movie
	Addicted to His Love	Jenny Barrett	TV Movie
	Murder, She Wrote	Andrea Dean	1 Episode: Wearing of the Green
1989	The Hitchhiker	Leslie	1 Episode: Together Forever
	Hunter	Kate Lawson	1 Episode: On Air
1990	L.A. Law	Rochelle Peters	1 Episode: Ex-Wives and Videotape
	Laker Girls	Julie Lawrence	TV Movie
	Jake and the Fatman	Jill Crockett	1 Episode: I Know That You Know
1991	Evening Shade	Madeline Hall	1 Episode: Wood and Ava and Gil and Madeline
	The New Lassie	Maggie Sullivan	1 Episode: Leeds, the Judge
1992	Superboy	Dr. Samantha Meyers	1 Episode: Cat and Mouse
	Dark Justice		1 Episode: The Specialist
	Les danseurs du Mozambique	Kathryn Saint	TV Movie
1993	Almost Home	Jennifer	1 Episode: Sleeping with the Enemy
	Bonkers	Shirley	1 Episode: Quibbling Rivalry
	Official Denial	Annie Corliss	TV Movie
1993-96	Silk Stalkings	Connie Bayliss / Jillian Borson	2 Episodes: Dead Weight, Exit Dying
1994	Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders	Pamela Bozanich	TV Movie
	Burke's Law	Brenda Palmer	1 Episode: Who Killed the Anchorman?
	Heaven Help Us		1 Episode: The Belle's Farewell
1995	Crowfoot	Nora	TV Movie
	Renegade	Donna Mackenzie	1 Episode: Dead Heat
1997-98	Baywatch	Chief Monica Johnson	5 Episodes
1999-2000	Port Charles	Nicole Devlin
2000	Profiler	Congresswoman Karen Archer	3 Episodes: Paradise Lost, The Long Way Home, Mea Culpa
2007	The Wedding Bells	Candy Heller	1 Episode: Wedding from Hell
	Nuclear Hurricane	Jane	TV Movie
2008	Ghouls	Liz	TV Movie
2010	Elf Sparkle and the Special Red Dress	Josette Peacock	TV Movie
2011	The Guild	Madeleine Twain	5 Episodes
2012	I Married Who?	Ethel Swift	TV Movie
2014	Star Trek Continues	Commodore Gray	1 Episode: Lolani

Personal life

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.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]