The Six Million Dollar Man

Background:

“I had no idea how big the show was at the time we were doing it because I was always working.” Lee Majors (on “The Six Million Dollar Man”)

Actor Lee Majors was launched to stardom in the 1970s thanks to his starring role of Steve Austin on the widely successful series “The Six Million Dollar Man” (ABC, 1974-1978), from which he earned a Golden Globe nomination. In 2003, he was handed the TV Land Award for Superest Super Hero. Majors reprised his role in the spin off series “The Bionic Woman” (1976) and the TV films “The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” (1987), “Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” (1989) and “Bionic Ever After” (1994) as well as the TV show “Robot Chicken” (2009). A limo driver for producer Jim Barnett prior to receiving his big break, Majors is also famous for his roles of Heath Barkley in “The Big Valley” (ABC, 1965-1969), Jess Brandon in “Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law” (ABC, 1971- 1974) and as Colt Seavers in “The Fall Guy” (ABC, 1981-1986). His more recent TV gigs include recurring roles in “Tour of Duty” (1990), “Son of the Beach” (2002), “Weeds” (2008) and “The Game” (2007-2009). On the big screen, Majors is probably most popular for playing John Majors in the 2001 comedy “Out Cold.” His subsequent and upcoming film credits include “Big Fat Liar” (2002), “Arizona Summer” (2003), “When I Find the Ocean” (2006), “The Brothers Solomon” (2007), “Spring Break '83” (2010), “Corruption.Gov” (2010), “Jerusalem Countdown” (2010), “Johnny” (2010) and “The Story of Bonnie and Clyde” (2010).

Majors received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 for his contribution to television. Prior to the induction, he was nominated for a Sour Apple at the 1982 Golden Apple Awards and won a Golden Boot in 1983.

“I was never into my looks. What's important to me is my health and family.” Lee Majors

Majors has been married four times and is the father of four. His second wife, actress Farrah Fawcett, passed away on June 25, 2009, after a long battle with cancer. He stated, “She fought a tremendous battle against a terrible disease. She was an angel on earth and now an angel forever.”

Farrah

Childhood and Family:

Lee Majors was born Harvey Lee Yeary on April 23, 1939, in Wyandotte, Michigan, to Carl and Alice Yeary. His father was killed in a work related accident before Lee was born and his mother was killed in a car crash when he was a year old. At age two, Lee was adopted by his biological uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and moved to Middlesboro, Kentucky, where he was raised with his adoptive older brother William, who was a football star in school. Lee trained hard in the sport in order to follow in his brother's footsteps. His hard work paid off when he emerged as a star athlete at Middlesboro High School and later was inducted into the school's hall of fame. In honor of Lee, the school named their football field Lee Majors Field.

After graduating in 1957, Lee was accepted to Indiana University on a football scholarship, but was kicked out after two years after being involved in a fraternity fight. He then transferred to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, and graduated with a degree in history and physical education. During his first game at Eastern, he hurt his back and decided to pursue acting as a career. After college, he declined an offer to play with the St. Louis Cardinals football team in favor of acting. He attended acting school at Metro Goldwyn Mayer School in Los Angeles, California. Lee took the stage surname Majors after his childhood hero Johnny Majors, a former standout tailback at the University of Tennessee and a longtime head football coach.

Lee was married to Kathy Robinson from 1961 to 1964 and they had a son together in 1962 named Lee Majors II. On July 28, 1973, he married actress Farrah Fawcett, but they became alienated in 1979. Their divorce was finalized on February 16, 1982. A famous couple, Lee and Fawcett made TV history in 1976 for being a husband and wife who at the same time starred in separate top rated shows. Lee married his third wife, Playboy Playmate Karen Velez, on November 15, 1988. The pair welcomed a daughter named Nickki Majors in 1988 and twin sons, Dane and Trey Majors, in 1992 before divorcing on September 14, 1994. In 1995, he began dating actress/model Faith Noelle, who is 35 years his junior. The couple eventually married on November 9, 2002.

The Fall Guy

Career:

After a football injury in college, Lee Majors made the switch to acting and took part in plays at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky. He moved to Los Angeles after graduation in 1962 and following a brief stint as a safety for the new football franchise Boston Patriots, worked as a recreational director at the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Department. He attended acting school at the suggestion of agent Dick Clayton and at age 25, received an unaccredited part in the William Castle horror film “Strait-Jacket” (1964), which starred Joan Crawford. At the time, he was billed under his real name Lee Yeary.

Majors branched out to television playing Dave Lukens in a February 1965 episode of “Gunsmoke” called “Song for Dying.” The role was followed by another guest spot in “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” in April 1965. Majors received his big break when he won the costarring role of Heath Barkley on the ABC western series “The Big Valley,” opposite Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Long and Peter Breck. Created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman, the show was an instant success and ran from September, 1965 to May, 1969.

After the success of the series, Majors landed a role in “Will Penny” (1968), which was written and directed by Tom Gries and starred Charlton Heston. He next starred as a Vietnam vet in the ABC drama “The Ballad of Andy Crocker” (1969), his TV film debut, played Lee J. Cobb's nephew, Steve Mundine, in the 1970 dramatic film “The Liberation of L.B. Jones,” based on the 1965 novel “The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones” by Jesse Hill Ford, starred as an amateur criminal named Larry in the ABC movie “Weekend of Terror” (1970) and guest starred in the short lived series “Bracken's World” (1970) before joining the cast of the NBC series “The Virginian” during 1970 to 1971.

In 1971, Majors was cast as lawyer Jess Brandon in the ABC movie “Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law,” which starred Arthur Hill. The two hour film would serve as the pilot for the ABC critically acclaimed legal drama “Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law,” where Majors reprised his role of Jess Brandon. The show ran for three seasons from 1971 to 1974. Majors also recreated his part on the “Marcus Welby, M.D.” episode “Men Who Care” in October 1971.

Meanwhile, in 1973, Majors landed the starring role of Steve Austin, a former astronaut with bionic body parts, on the made for TV film “The Six Million Dollar Man” (ABC), which was nominated for a Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation. He went on to reprise the role in two TV films, “The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War” and “The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping” (both 1973) before the network decided to develop “The Six Million Dollar Man” into a successful television series in 1974 with Majors again starring as the title character. Adapted from original books by Martin Caidin, the series premiered on January 18, 1974, and became a massive international hit. It continued to receive good ratings until 1977, several months before the show was canceled in March 1978. Majors became a pop culture icon in the 1970s with “Six Million Dollar Man” and was nominated for a 1977 Golden Globe for Best TV Actor - Drama for his acting job. He also made his directorial debut with the 1975 episode “One of Our Running Backs Is,” in which his then-wife Farrah Fawcett also appeared.

In 1976, Majors' character Steve Austin appeared in several episodes of the spin off series “The Bionic Woman” (1976-1978), starring Lindsay Wagner. The same year, he starred as Francis Gary Powers in the NBC made for TV film “Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident,” adapted from the book “Operation Overflight” by Francis Gary Powers and Curt Gentry. He ventured into producing with the NBC film “Just a Little Inconvenience” (1977), in which he also starred as Frank Logan, and went on to serve as executive producer on the films “The Norseman” (1978) and “Steel” (1979), where he starred as Thorvald and Mike Catton, respectively. He then costarred with Karen Black in the crime film “Killer Fish” (1979).

After work in the films “Circle of Two,” “Agency” (with Robert Mitchum), “High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane” (TV, all 1980) and Martyn Burke's “The Last Chase” (1981, starred as Franklyn Hart), Majors returned to series television as the star of the action series “The Fall Guy,” along side Douglas Barr and Heather Thomas. He played Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter, in the series. The show ran on ABC from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. Meanwhile, Majors could also be seen in the TV films “Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land” (1983) and “The Cowboy and the Ballerina” (1984) and in episodes of “The Love Boat” (2 episodes, 1983) and “Trauma Center” (I episode, 1983).

Following the departure of “The Fall Guy,” Majors reprised his role of Steve Austin in the TV film “The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” (NBC, 1987) and “Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” (1989), which he also co-produced. He also appeared in the Richard Donner film “Scrooged” (1988, starred Bill Murray and Karen Allen), executive produced and starred in “Danger Down Under” (1988, TV) and portrayed an ex-felon in the forgettable crime film “Keaton's Cop” (1988).

Opening the 1990s, Majors, who moved to Florida in the early 1990s, played the recurring role of Pop Scarlet in the CBS series “Tour of Duty” (5 episodes, 1990) and acted in the TV film “Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor” (1991) before returning to series TV as a regular on the short lived series “Raven” (1992-1993), where he portrayed Herman Jablonski. He again played Steve Austin in the 1994 TV movie “Bionic Ever After” (CBS). The remainder of the decade found Majors playing roles in the failed pilot “Daytona Beach” (1996), the TV film “Lost Treasure of Dos Santos” (1997) and the features “Trojan War” (1997), “Musketeers Forever” (1998), “New Jersey Turnpikes” (1999), “The Protector” (1999) and “Chapter Zero” (1999). He also appeared in the TV series “Lonesome Dove: The Series” (1995), “Promised Land” (1996), “Walker, Texas Ranger” (1998) and “Soldier of Fortune, Inc.” (1999).

In 2000, Majors portrayed Scott Reed in the British television series “Too Much Sun,” opposite Mark Addy, Nigel Lindsay and Alex Jennings. The same year, he also costarred in the independent film “Primary Suspect,” opposite William Baldwin, and guest starred in “V.I.P” and “The War Next Door.” The following year, the actor offered a notable portrayal of John Majors in the comedy film “Out Cold.” He then won Santa Monica Film Festival's Moxie Award for Best Actor for his starring turn in the short “Here,” was cast in the TV film “Hotel” and played the costarring role of Darrell Knox in the syndicated show “Hard Knox.” From 2002 to 2004, he could be seen in the films “Waitin' to Live,” “Big Fat Liar” (helmed by Shawn Levy and starred Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti and Amanda Bynes), “Arizona Summer,” “Fate” and “The Trail to Hope Rose” (TV) and appeared in episodes of “Son of the Beach” (3 episodes) and “Jake 2.0.”

Majors next appeared as Burt Wolfe in an episode of “Will & Grace” called “It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World,” had scenes deleted in the drama film “Strike the Tent,” played the supporting role of Marshall Boone in the western “Hell to Pay,” for director/writer Chris McIntyre (all 2005) and appeared in Tonya S. Holly's “When I Find the Ocean” (2006). He then worked in various TV films, including “Guys Choice” (2007, recreated his role of Steve Austin) and “Ben 10: Race Against Time” (2007, as Grandpa Max). He also played Ed Solomon in the Bob Odenkirk directed comedy “The Brothers Solomon” (2007), which starred Will Arnett and Will Forte. Also in 2007, he began his recurring role of Coach Ross on the CW Network TV series “The Game,” a gig he continued until 2009.

In 2008, Majors played a recurring role in three episodes of the Showtime series “Weeds” and guest starred in the series “Wainy Days” and “Cold Case.” He then voiced Steve Austin, King Babar and David Faustino's agent in a 2009 episode of the animated series “Robot Chicken” and played God in two episodes of the comedy series “According to Jim” (2008-2009).

Recently appearing in episodes of “Community” and “Human Target” and playing Carter and Jim Lawrence in the films “Spring Break '83” and “Corruption.Gov,” respectively, Majors will have roles in the upcoming films “The Adventures of Umbweki,” “Jerusalem Countdown” (2010), “Johnny” (2010, as Dr. Mike Miller) and “The Story of Bonnie and Clyde” (2010, as Lee Simmons).

Awards:

• TV Land: Superest Super Hero, “The Six Million Dollar Man,” 2003

• Santa Monica Film Festival: Moxie Award, Best Actor, “Here,” 2001

• Golden Boot: 1983