Lee Majors
Encyclopedia
Lee Majors is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his starring role as Colonel Steve Austin
in The Six Million Dollar Man
(1973–1978) and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy
(1981–1986).
He first became a star in his role as Victoria Barkley's husband's illegitimate son, Heath Barkley, in the 1965–1969 TV series The Big Valley
, and as Owen Marshall's law partner/friend, Jess Brandon, in the 1971–1974 series Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
. In the late 1980s and 1990s he reprised the role of Steve Austin in a number of TV movies, and appeared in a number of supporting, recurring and cameo roles in feature films and TV series, and lent his voice to a number of animated TV series and video games.
. Parents Carl & Alice Yeary were both killed in separate car accidents (prior to his birth and when he was one year old respectively) and at age two, Majors was adopted by an uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and moved with them, and their biological son, Bill, to Middlesboro, Kentucky.
Since his adoptive older brother had been a football star in school, Majors tirelessly committed himself to the sport. While a student at Middlesboro High School
, he participated in many sports from track to football. He graduated in 1957, and earned a scholarship to Indiana University, where he again competed in sports. Majors transferred to Eastern Kentucky University
in Richmond, Kentucky
, in 1959. He played in his first game the following year, but suffered a severe back injury which left him paralyzed for two weeks, and ended his college football career. Following his injury, he turned his attention to acting and performed in plays at the Pioneer Playhouse
in Danville, Kentucky
. Majors graduated from Eastern in 1962 with a degree in History
and Physical Education
.
After college, he received an offer to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals
football team. Instead, he moved to Los Angeles and found work at the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Department as the Recreation Director for North Hollywood Park. This was after a brief stint playing for the new football franchise Boston Patriots
as a safety. In LA, Majors met many actors and industry professionals, including Dick Clayton, who had been James Dean
's agent, and Clayton suggested he attend his acting school. After one year of acting school, Clayton felt that Majors was ready to start his career. At this time, he picked up the stage name Lee Majors as a tribute to childhood Johnny Majors
who was a player and future coach for the University of Tennessee
. Majors also studied at Estelle Harmon's acting school at MGM
.
(1964), which starred Joan Crawford
. After appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke
, he starred as Howard White in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, “The Monkey’s Paw - A Retelling,” based on the short story by W. W. Jacobs
later the same year.
Majors got his big break when he beat out over 400 young actors, including Burt Reynolds
, for the co-starring role of Heath Barkley in a new ABC western series, The Big Valley
, which starred Barbara Stanwyck
. Also starring on the show was another newcomer, Linda Evans
, who played Heath's younger sister, Audra. Richard Long
and Peter Breck
played his brothers Jarrod and Nick, respectively. One of Heath's frequently used expressions during the series was "Boy howdy!" Big Valley was an immediate hit. During the series, Majors co-starred in the 1968 Charlton Heston
film Will Penny
, for which he received an "Introducing" credit, and landed the lead role in The Ballad of Andy Crocker
(1969), a made-for-television film which was first broadcast by ABC. The film is notable as being one of the very first films to deal with the subject matter of Vietnam veterans "coming home". That same year, he was offered the chance to star in Midnight Cowboy
(1969), but The Big Valley was renewed for another season and he was forced to decline the role (which later went to Jon Voight
). When The Big Valley was cancelled in 1969, he signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios
. In 1970, Majors joined the cast of The Virginian
for its last season.
In 1971, he landed the role of Arthur Hill's partner, Jess Brandon, on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
, which garnered critical acclaim during its three seasons on ABC
. In one episode, his then girlfriend, Farrah Fawcett
, guest-starred.
, an ex-astronaut
with bionic
implants in The Six Million Dollar Man
, a 1973 television movie
broadcast on ABC.
In 1974, the network decided to turn it into a weekly series. The series became a huge international success, being screened in over 70 countries, and made Majors a leading pop icon
of the 1970s. Co-starring on the show was Richard Anderson
as Austin's boss, Oscar Goldman, and Martin E. Brooks
as the doctor in charge of the bionics lab, Rudy Wells (also played by at various times during the show by Alan Oppenheimer
). Farrah Fawcett
, by now married to Majors, guest-starred in four episodes. By this time, Majors and Fawcett were a high-profile Hollywood couple and were on the cover of magazines everywhere. Majors also made his directorial debut in 1975, on an episode called "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" which co-starred professional football players such as Larry Csonka
and Dick Butkus
.
During the show's second season, the producers gave Austin a love interest on the show, Jaime Sommers (played by actress Lindsay Wagner
). Steve and Jaime rekindle their high-school relationship and get engaged before she is injured in a skydiving accident and is given similar bionic implants to him, but with a bionic right ear instead of a bionic left eye. At the end of the two-part episode, Jaime dies. However, ABC received a flood of letters from upset fans who wanted Wagner's character brought back from the dead. This was done and the character was eventually given her own spin-off show, The Bionic Woman
.
In 1977, with The Six Million Dollar Man still a hit series, Majors tried to renegotiate his contract with Universal Television
. The studio in turn filed a lawsuit to force him to report to work due to stipulations within his existing contract that had not yet expired. When he did not report to work that June, studio executives relented and offered Majors a raise. However, ratings began to decline and The Six Million Dollar Man was canceled in March 1978 (as was The Bionic Woman). In November 2010, Time Life released a 40 DVD set featuring every episode and bonus features from the show.
(who had first worked with Majors on Alias Smith and Jones
, where Majors had a one episode part, and later on The Six Million Dollar Man) asked him to star in the pilot of The Fall Guy
. Majors played Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman and part-time bounty hunter. Majors was also a producer and a director on the show, and even sang its theme song, the self-effacing "Unknown Stuntman." Majors also invited several longtime friends, Linda Evans
, Peter Breck
, Lindsay Wagner
and Richard Anderson
, to guest-star in various episodes. The series ran for five seasons until 1986.
reunited in three The Six Million Dollar Man
/The Bionic Woman
TV movies. Majors also made a cameo appearance in the 1988 holiday comedy Scrooged
.
In 1990, he had a recurring role in Tour of Duty
, and a recurring role in the short-lived 1992 series, Raven. He also made cameo appearances in Out Cold
(2001) Big Fat Liar
(2002) and The Brothers Solomon
(2007) The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (2010)
Majors voiced the character of "Big" Mitch Baker in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
.
Majors played Jaret Reddick
's disconnected father in Bowling For Soup
's 2007 video, "When We Die
." That same year, he played Grandpa Max in Ben 10: Race Against Time
, and voiced a character on the APTN
animated children's program Wapos Bay: The Series
that was named "Steve from Austin". He also played a minor role in Stephen King's The Mist
.
Majors played Coach Ross on the CW Network's television series The Game, which ran from October 1, 2006 to May 20, 2009.
Majors appeared in the role of God in "Jim Almighty" a 2007 episode of According to Jim
. He would later return to the role in that show's 2009 series finale, "Heaven Opposed to Hell". Also in 2008, Majors played a member of the Minutemen (dedicated to preventing illegal border crossings) in Season Four of the Showtime series Weeds
, where he recruits Kevin Nealon
’s character.
Lee Majors appeared on ITVs The British Comedy Awards 2009 on December 12, 2009 alongside Claudia Winkleman.
In March 2010 Majors played the crusty sailing instructor in the Community
episode "Beginner Pottery". The following month, he appeared as the mentor of the series lead in "Christopher Chance", the 12th episode of Human Target. Later that year, he provided the voice of General Abernathy in G.I. Joe: Renegades
. He would later reprise the role in a 2011 episode. In 2011 he also made a brief appearance as Don Reger in the 2011 episode "Well Suitored" of the CBS
series $#*! My Dad Says.
In the middle of 2003, Majors had heart bypass surgery
.
Steve Austin (fictional character)
Steve Austin is a fictional character created by Martin Caidin for his 1972 novel, Cyborg, who later became a 1970s television icon as portrayed by Lee Majors in the 1974-1978 series The Six Million Dollar Man.-Background:...
in The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
(1973–1978) and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
(1981–1986).
He first became a star in his role as Victoria Barkley's husband's illegitimate son, Heath Barkley, in the 1965–1969 TV series The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, and as Owen Marshall's law partner/friend, Jess Brandon, in the 1971–1974 series Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
. In the late 1980s and 1990s he reprised the role of Steve Austin in a number of TV movies, and appeared in a number of supporting, recurring and cameo roles in feature films and TV series, and lent his voice to a number of animated TV series and video games.
Early life
Majors was born Harvey Lee Yeary in the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte, MichiganWyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...
. Parents Carl & Alice Yeary were both killed in separate car accidents (prior to his birth and when he was one year old respectively) and at age two, Majors was adopted by an uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and moved with them, and their biological son, Bill, to Middlesboro, Kentucky.
Since his adoptive older brother had been a football star in school, Majors tirelessly committed himself to the sport. While a student at Middlesboro High School
Middlesboro High School
Middlesboro High School is a public high school in Middlesboro, Kentucky, United States. It is the only high school in the Middlesboro Independent School District.-History:Middlesboro High School has been educating students for over 110 years...
, he participated in many sports from track to football. He graduated in 1957, and earned a scholarship to Indiana University, where he again competed in sports. Majors transferred to Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
in Richmond, Kentucky
Richmond, Kentucky
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...
, in 1959. He played in his first game the following year, but suffered a severe back injury which left him paralyzed for two weeks, and ended his college football career. Following his injury, he turned his attention to acting and performed in plays at the Pioneer Playhouse
Pioneer Playhouse
The Pioneer Playhouse, located in Danville, Kentucky, is the oldest outdoor theater in the state of Kentucky.-History:The Pioneer Playhouse was built by Col. Eben C. Henson who established the outdoor theater in 1950. Notable alumni actors include John Travolta, Lee Majors, then known as Harvey...
in Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
. Majors graduated from Eastern in 1962 with a degree in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
.
After college, he received an offer to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football team. Instead, he moved to Los Angeles and found work at the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Department as the Recreation Director for North Hollywood Park. This was after a brief stint playing for the new football franchise Boston Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
as a safety. In LA, Majors met many actors and industry professionals, including Dick Clayton, who had been James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
's agent, and Clayton suggested he attend his acting school. After one year of acting school, Clayton felt that Majors was ready to start his career. At this time, he picked up the stage name Lee Majors as a tribute to childhood Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors is a former American football player and coach. A standout halfback at the University of Tennessee, he was an All-American in 1956 and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award, in 1955 and 1956. He finished second to Paul Hornung in voting for...
who was a player and future coach for the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
. Majors also studied at Estelle Harmon's acting school at MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
Early roles
At age 25, Majors landed his first, although uncredited, role in Strait-JacketStrait-Jacket
Strait-Jacket is a 1964 American thriller film starring Joan Crawford and Diane Baker in a macabre mother and daughter tale about a series of axe-murders. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed and produced by William Castle, and co-produced by Dona Holloway...
(1964), which starred Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. After appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, he starred as Howard White in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, “The Monkey’s Paw - A Retelling,” based on the short story by W. W. Jacobs
W. W. Jacobs
William Wymark Jacobs , was an English author of short stories and novels.-Writings:Jacobs is now remembered for his macabre tale "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Toll House"...
later the same year.
Majors got his big break when he beat out over 400 young actors, including Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, for the co-starring role of Heath Barkley in a new ABC western series, The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, which starred Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
. Also starring on the show was another newcomer, Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
, who played Heath's younger sister, Audra. Richard Long
Richard Long (actor)
Richard Long was an American actor better known for his leading roles in several ABC television series, including The Big Valley, Nanny and the Professor and Bourbon Street Beat.-Early life:...
and Peter Breck
Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck is an American prolific character actor of stage, who has played roles on television and in film...
played his brothers Jarrod and Nick, respectively. One of Heath's frequently used expressions during the series was "Boy howdy!" Big Valley was an immediate hit. During the series, Majors co-starred in the 1968 Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
film Will Penny
Will Penny
Will Penny is a 1968 western film directed by Tom Gries starring Charlton Heston and Donald Pleasence. It was based upon an episode of the 1960 Sam Peckinpah television series The Westerner called "Line Camp," which was also written and directed by Tom Gries...
, for which he received an "Introducing" credit, and landed the lead role in The Ballad of Andy Crocker
The Ballad of Andy Crocker
The Ballad of Andy Crocker is the title of a 1969 American made-for-television film which was first broadcast by ABC.The film tells the story of a young man's struggle to reclaim his life after fighting in the Vietnam War. It approaches a surreal, allegorical tale, similar to The Swimmer, starring...
(1969), a made-for-television film which was first broadcast by ABC. The film is notable as being one of the very first films to deal with the subject matter of Vietnam veterans "coming home". That same year, he was offered the chance to star in Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
(1969), but The Big Valley was renewed for another season and he was forced to decline the role (which later went to Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
). When The Big Valley was cancelled in 1969, he signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. In 1970, Majors joined the cast of The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
for its last season.
In 1971, he landed the role of Arthur Hill's partner, Jess Brandon, on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
, which garnered critical acclaim during its three seasons on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. In one episode, his then girlfriend, Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, guest-starred.
The Six Million Dollar Man
Majors' co-starring role on Owen Marshall led him to a starring role as Colonel Steve AustinSteve Austin (fictional character)
Steve Austin is a fictional character created by Martin Caidin for his 1972 novel, Cyborg, who later became a 1970s television icon as portrayed by Lee Majors in the 1974-1978 series The Six Million Dollar Man.-Background:...
, an ex-astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
with bionic
Bionics
Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.The word bionic was coined by Jack E...
implants in The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
, a 1973 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
broadcast on ABC.
In 1974, the network decided to turn it into a weekly series. The series became a huge international success, being screened in over 70 countries, and made Majors a leading pop icon
Pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from...
of the 1970s. Co-starring on the show was Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
as Austin's boss, Oscar Goldman, and Martin E. Brooks
Martin E. Brooks
Martin E. Brooks is an American character actor known for playing scientist Dr. Rudy Wells in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man and its spin-off, The Bionic Woman, from 1975 onward .Brooks reprised the role of Wells in three television movies: The Return of the...
as the doctor in charge of the bionics lab, Rudy Wells (also played by at various times during the show by Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer is an American character actor and voice actor. He has performed numerous roles on live-action television since the 1960s, and has had an active career doing voice work in cartoons since the 1970s.-Early life:...
). Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, by now married to Majors, guest-starred in four episodes. By this time, Majors and Fawcett were a high-profile Hollywood couple and were on the cover of magazines everywhere. Majors also made his directorial debut in 1975, on an episode called "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" which co-starred professional football players such as Larry Csonka
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
and Dick Butkus
Dick Butkus
Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time. Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. He...
.
During the show's second season, the producers gave Austin a love interest on the show, Jaime Sommers (played by actress Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
). Steve and Jaime rekindle their high-school relationship and get engaged before she is injured in a skydiving accident and is given similar bionic implants to him, but with a bionic right ear instead of a bionic left eye. At the end of the two-part episode, Jaime dies. However, ABC received a flood of letters from upset fans who wanted Wagner's character brought back from the dead. This was done and the character was eventually given her own spin-off show, The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
.
In 1977, with The Six Million Dollar Man still a hit series, Majors tried to renegotiate his contract with Universal Television
Universal Television
Universal Television is the television production arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group, and by extension, the NBC television network...
. The studio in turn filed a lawsuit to force him to report to work due to stipulations within his existing contract that had not yet expired. When he did not report to work that June, studio executives relented and offered Majors a raise. However, ratings began to decline and The Six Million Dollar Man was canceled in March 1978 (as was The Bionic Woman). In November 2010, Time Life released a 40 DVD set featuring every episode and bonus features from the show.
The Fall Guy
In 1981, Majors returned in another long-running television series. Producer Glen A. LarsonGlen A. Larson
Glen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...
(who had first worked with Majors on Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones
Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...
, where Majors had a one episode part, and later on The Six Million Dollar Man) asked him to star in the pilot of The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
. Majors played Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman and part-time bounty hunter. Majors was also a producer and a director on the show, and even sang its theme song, the self-effacing "Unknown Stuntman." Majors also invited several longtime friends, Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
, Peter Breck
Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck is an American prolific character actor of stage, who has played roles on television and in film...
, Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
and Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
, to guest-star in various episodes. The series ran for five seasons until 1986.
1987 - present
Between 1987 and 1994, Majors and Lindsay WagnerLindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
reunited in three The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
/The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
TV movies. Majors also made a cameo appearance in the 1988 holiday comedy Scrooged
Scrooged
Scrooged is a 1988 American comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue...
.
In 1990, he had a recurring role in Tour of Duty
Tour of Duty (TV series)
Tour of Duty is an American drama television series on CBS. It ran for three seasons from September 1987 to April 1990 as 58 one–hour episodes. The show was created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark, and produced by Zev Braun....
, and a recurring role in the short-lived 1992 series, Raven. He also made cameo appearances in Out Cold
Out Cold (2001 film)
Out Cold is a 2001 American comedy film about a group of snowboarders in Alaska. It is the first feature film by the music video directing team The Malloys. The movie presents itself as something of a parody of 1980's "ski school" movies and makes a number of references to the film Casablanca...
(2001) Big Fat Liar
Big Fat Liar
Big Fat Liar is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, written and produced by Dan Schneider and Brian Robbins, and starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes...
(2002) and The Brothers Solomon
The Brothers Solomon
The Brothers Solomon is a comedy film released on September 7, 2007, starring Will Arnett and Will Forte.-Plot:John and Dean are two sheltered happy-go-lucky brothers who want nothing more than to please their ailing father . Deciding a grandson will do the trick, the clueless boys set out to...
(2007) The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (2010)
Majors voiced the character of "Big" Mitch Baker in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
.
Majors played Jaret Reddick
Jaret Reddick
Jaret Ray Reddick is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and lead songwriter for the Grammy Award-nominated pop punk band Bowling for Soup. He plays a Music Man Axis that has a flag of Texas design on...
's disconnected father in Bowling For Soup
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...
's 2007 video, "When We Die
When We Die
"When We Die" is the second single from The Great Burrito Extortion Case, by Bowling for Soup. It was first released in the U.S. officially, during this time "I'm Gay" was released in the U.K only. In October 2007 When We Die was released in the U.K. but on download sales only...
." That same year, he played Grandpa Max in Ben 10: Race Against Time
Ben 10: Race Against Time
Ben 10: Race Against Time is a live-action adaptation of the animated television series Ben 10 created by Man of Action. The working title was previously Ben 10 in the Hands of Armageddon...
, and voiced a character on the APTN
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples...
animated children's program Wapos Bay: The Series
Wapos Bay: The Series
Wapos Bay: The Series is a stop motion animated family television series that follows the adventures of three children, T-Bear, Talon and Raven, as they explore their remote community in northern Saskatchewan...
that was named "Steve from Austin". He also played a minor role in Stephen King's The Mist
The Mist
The Mist is a horror novella by the American author Stephen King, in which the small town of Bridgton, Maine is suddenly enveloped in an unnatural mist that conceals otherworldly monsters. It was first published as the first and longest story of the 1980 horror anthology Dark Forces. A slightly...
.
Majors played Coach Ross on the CW Network's television series The Game, which ran from October 1, 2006 to May 20, 2009.
Majors appeared in the role of God in "Jim Almighty" a 2007 episode of According to Jim
According to Jim
According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
. He would later return to the role in that show's 2009 series finale, "Heaven Opposed to Hell". Also in 2008, Majors played a member of the Minutemen (dedicated to preventing illegal border crossings) in Season Four of the Showtime series Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
, where he recruits Kevin Nealon
Kevin Nealon
Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin,...
’s character.
Lee Majors appeared on ITVs The British Comedy Awards 2009 on December 12, 2009 alongside Claudia Winkleman.
In March 2010 Majors played the crusty sailing instructor in the Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
episode "Beginner Pottery". The following month, he appeared as the mentor of the series lead in "Christopher Chance", the 12th episode of Human Target. Later that year, he provided the voice of General Abernathy in G.I. Joe: Renegades
G.I. Joe: Renegades
G.I. Joe: Renegades is an American animated television series based on the G.I. Joe toy franchise. The series premiered on November 26, 2010 on The Hub. The series aired on Teletoon in Canada....
. He would later reprise the role in a 2011 episode. In 2011 he also made a brief appearance as Don Reger in the 2011 episode "Well Suitored" of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series $#*! My Dad Says.
Personal life
Majors has been married four times:- Kathy Robinson (married 1961, divorced 1964). The couple had one child, Lee Majors II (born circa 1962) who would later appear in an episode of The Fall Guy and the three Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman reunion movies with his father.
- Farrah FawcettFarrah FawcettFarrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, actress, (married July 28, 1973, separated 1979, divorced February 16, 1982). During the first six years of their marriage, she was billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. In 1976, the couple simultaneously starred in separate top-rated shows (The Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
and Charlie's AngelsCharlie's AngelsCharlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
). After they split, Fawcett famously said, "If he's the six-million-dollar man, I'm the ten-billion-dollar woman." When Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, after her three-year-long battle with anal cancerAnal cancerAnal cancer is a type of cancer which arises from the anus, the distal orifice of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a distinct entity from the more common colorectal cancer. The etiology, risk factors, clinical progression, staging, and treatment are all different. Anal cancer is typically a...
, Majors issued a statement which read, "She fought a tremendous battle against a terrible disease. She was an angel on earth and now an angel forever." Besides attending her funeral, several reports indicated that Majors reconnected with Fawcett before her death. - Karen Velez, PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
Playmate, (married 1988, divorced 1994); one daughter, Nikki Loren, and twin sons, Dane Luke and Trey Kulley. - Faith Majors, actress and model, (married on November 1, 2002).
In the middle of 2003, Majors had heart bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
.