'Six Million Dollar Man' Lee Majors tells all
Lee Majors was originally hesitant to take on the role of Col. Steve Austin on 'The Six Million Dollar Man.'
Back in the day Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett were Hollywood’s ultimate power couple.
He was the star of “Six Million Dollar Man” and she was the beloved blonde bombshell in “Charlie’s Angels.” But being married at the height of their fame was far from easy.
'SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN' STAR LEE MAJOR TELLS ALL
“It was hard to get around,” Majors recalled to People magazine on Wednesday. “It was not quite as hard as it is today with everyone [having] a cell phone and the social media is so quick. Back then we only had to deal with the paparazzi at large. A lot of time you could evade them, but not all the time.”
Major was originally introduced to Fawcett by his publicist which led to a fateful coffee date. The couple would tie the knot in 1973.
HOLLYWOOD, CA - CIRCA 1978: Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors circa 1978 in Hollywood, CA. (Photo by Reed Saxon/IMAGES/Getty Images)
“It was very quick, and it lasted about almost 12 years,” said the 80-year-old. “But there was a year or so when I think I saw her two weeks in one year. It’s very difficult with careers like that. This business is tough. Working 14 hours a day, both of you, and the days went by.”
The couple separated in 1979 and ultimately divorced in 1982. Still, Majors insisted they remained “in communication toward the end.”
Fawcett passed away in 2009 at age 62. She shared a son with actor Ryan O’Neal.
FARRAH FAWCETT MAINTAINED CLOSE BONDS WITH FAMILY
Majors remarried in 1988 to Karen Velez and that union lasted until 1994. The actor tied the knot once more with his current wife, Faith Majors, in 2002.
Lee Majors in 2015. (Reuters)
“It is a record in Hollywood,” said Major about his lasting marriage.
And while Major got his big break starting out in Westerns alongside leading ladies like Barbara Stanwick and Linda Evans, he ultimately found fame in action roles.
“I look back now and think I wish I’d used my stuntman a little more,” he admitted. “My knees are a little wobbly and you feel your aches and pains. Doing the stunt work… made the day go faster and when you’re younger you feel invincible anyway. Now I don’t know why I did it!”
Still, Majors insisted he has zero regrets about his career.
“I find enjoyment in every role that I do,” he explained. “An actor’s job is to work and if you sit around waiting for great, great parts you’ll still be sitting around. I just like to keep working and keep moving.”
Lee Majors, a cast member in the Starz series "Ash vs. Evil Dead," poses for a portrait during the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
FARRAH FAWCETT'S PAL TELLS ALL
In fact, Majors is still keeping busy. He’s currently playing Jeff, an action role similar to Steve Austin from “Six Million Dollar Man” in the kids show “Thunderbirds Are Go.” According to the magazine, the UK-based series is a re-working of the classic puppet-made show of the ’80s and ‘90s.
“I’m the father who supposedly was lost in space years before,” said Majors. “They review it and they think there’s still a chance that he may be out there. They see signs of life and they do find me and they bring me back. It is a great homecoming episode and it’s quite fun — rejoining the Tracy family as the patriarch.”
“I felt I was re-doing ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’” he continued “Up in the cockpit, ‘I’m losing it, I’m going to crash!’” he said. "I remember them in the ’60s when they were popular. Now that they’ve rebooted, it seems to be quite popular again.”
Back in 2018, Majors revealed to Closer Weekly why his marriage to Fawcett came to an end.
Farrah Fawcett, circa 1975. (Getty)
“I ended up seeing her two weeks in one year,” he recalled about their marriage. “She was off doing films and stuff, and doing her series, and I was doing mine. That’s mainly the reason we got divorced; we never saw each other. We stayed great friends, but we just had our own careers going and didn’t have time for each other.”
Majors would later take a break from acting and quietly set residence in Florida. He ultimately returned to the screen and has kept himself busy ever since. However, he wouldn't trade his time spent on "Six Million Dollar Man.”
“It was during those 10 years off that I realized how big this show was,” said Majors. “Because I was free to travel around the world to different places, and it was amazing how many people would come up to you — total strangers in totally different countries — just to say hello. It was very touching and just amazing to me.”
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