Lee Majors
Lee Majors is an American actor, best known for his work on television in the 1960s and 1970s. He has had a long and varied career in the entertainment industry, spanning more than five decades. Born in Michigan in 1939, Majors grew up in a working-class family and went on to become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood.
Early Life and Education
Lee Majors was born Harvey Lee Yeary on April 23, 1939, in Wyandotte, Michigan. His parents, Carl Yeary and Alice Majors, divorced when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother and stepfather. Majors attended Middlesboro High School in Kentucky, where he was a standout athlete in football, basketball, and track.
After high school, Majors attended Eastern Kentucky University on a football scholarship. However, his promising football career was cut short by a serious back injury during his sophomore year. This setback led him to switch his focus to drama, and he eventually transferred to Indiana University to study theater.
Early Career
After college, Majors moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He struggled to find work at first, but eventually landed a small role in the film “Strait-Jacket” (1964), starring Joan Crawford. He also made guest appearances on several popular television shows, including “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” “The Big Valley,” and “Gunsmoke.”
In 1965, Majors landed his breakthrough role as Heath Barkley on the Western television series “The Big Valley.” The show ran for four seasons and made Majors a household name. After “The Big Valley” ended in 1969, Majors starred in another Western series, “The Men from Shiloh,” which ran for two seasons.
The Six Million Dollar Man
In 1974, Majors was cast as Steve Austin, the titular character in the science-fiction series “The Six Million Dollar Man.” The show was a huge hit and ran for five seasons. Majors played Austin, a former astronaut who is rebuilt with bionic parts after a near-fatal accident. The character’s superhuman strength and speed made him a pop-culture icon and inspired numerous toys and merchandise.
Majors also reprised the role of Steve Austin in several television movies and a spin-off series, “The Bionic Woman,” which starred Lindsay Wagner as a female bionic agent. The two shows had several crossover episodes and were popular with audiences around the world.
Later Career
After “The Six Million Dollar Man” ended in 1978, Majors continued to work steadily in television and film. He starred in the short-lived series “The Last Chase” in 1981 and “The Fall Guy” from 1981 to 1986. “The Fall Guy” was a lighthearted action series in which Majors played Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. The show was a hit and made Majors a cult favorite among fans of 1980s television.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Majors continued to make guest appearances on popular shows like “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Nash Bridges,” and “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.” He also appeared in films like “Big Fat Liar” (2002) and “Do You Believe?” (2015).
Personal Life
Majors has been married four times. His first marriage was to Kathy Robinson in 1961, but they divorced in 1964. He then married actress Farrah Fawcett in 1973, but they divorced in 1982. Majors has two children from his third marriage to Karen Vele