  We consider thermal evolution of the spectral function A(Omega, T) in
underdoped cuprates at T >Tc. We find that in the strong coupling limit, the
fermionic Green's function near (0,\pi) behaves as G^{-1} (Omega) ~
\sqrt{Omega} in the whole frequency range relevant to photoemission
experiments.
  The analysis of the pairing problem with this form of G yields a leading edge
gap in A(\Omega) and a broad maximum at larger frequencies. We find that
classical fluctuations predominantly add a frequency independent term to G^{-1}
(Omega). This term destroys the leading edge gap at T =T* (k)$which has a
maximum value of about 200K near (0,\pi).
