Lee Majors Then and Now: From Steve Austin to Colt Seavers at 87

Lee Majors built one of television's most durable action-star careers, moving from Westerns to science fiction to stunt-driven adventure without losing his place in prime time. He first became widely known as Heath Barkley on *The Big Valley*, then became a 1970s pop-culture fixture as Steve Austin on *The Six Million Dollar Man*, before leading *The Fall Guy* in the 1980s. Born April 23, 1939, Majors is 87 as of Nov. 7, 2026, and in January 2026 he reunited with Lindsay Wagner at Central Carolina Comic Con.

How did Lee Majors get his start?

Lee Majors was born Harvey Lee Yeary in Wyandotte, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. His father died before he was born, and his mother was killed when he was still a toddler. At age 2, he was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and moved to Middlesboro, Kentucky.

Sports came first. Majors took part in track and football at Middlesboro High School, graduated in 1957 and went on to Indiana University before transferring to Eastern Kentucky University. A severe back injury ended his college athletic career, and that changed his direction. Afterward, he began performing in plays at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky, and graduated from Eastern Kentucky in 1962 with a degree in history and physical education.

He originally planned to become a football coach, but instead moved to Los Angeles. There he worked for the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department as recreation director at North Hollywood Park, met industry contacts and began formal acting training. He adopted the stage name Lee Majors as a tribute to Johnny Majors, a childhood sports hero, and also studied at Estelle Harman's acting school at MGM.

His early screen work came quickly. He had an uncredited role in *Strait-Jacket* in 1964, then appeared in a 1965 episode of *Gunsmoke* and an episode of *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour*. Those parts were small, but they put him in front of the camera at the right moment, just before his first major series role.

What made Heath Barkley his breakthrough?

Majors' first big break came when he was chosen from more than 400 young actors for the role of Heath Barkley on ABC's *The Big Valley*. The Western, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, ran from 1965 to 1969 and gave him a regular place in one of the era's most dependable TV formats. For many viewers, this was the first time he became a familiar weekly presence.

Heath Barkley mattered because the role put Majors inside a strong ensemble while still giving him room to stand out. Linda Evans played Audra Barkley, with Richard Long and Peter Breck as Heath's brothers, Jarrod and Nick. During the run of *The Big Valley*, Majors also appeared in the 1968 Charlton Heston film *Will Penny* and took the lead in the 1969 TV film *The Ballad of Andy Crocker*.

When *The Big Valley* ended in 1969, Majors signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios. He appeared in William Wyler's final film, *The Liberation of L.B. Jones*, and joined the last season of *The Virginian*, retitled *The Men from Shiloh*, as Roy Tate. He also won praise for his work as Jess Brandon on *Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law*, and that role helped lead him to the part that defined his career.

Why did Steve Austin become such a 1970s TV icon?

Majors became Steve Austin through a project that began as a television movie. In 1973, ABC aired *The Six Million Dollar Man*, based on Martin Caidin's novel *Cyborg*, then followed it with two more TV movies that year. In 1974, the network turned the idea into a weekly series. Over time, Austin became one of the most recognizable action heroes of the decade.

The premise was simple and memorable. Steve Austin was a former astronaut and U.S. Air Force colonel who survived a devastating test-flight crash and was rebuilt with bionic implants. His right arm, both legs and left eye gave him extraordinary strength, speed and vision, and he went to work as a secret agent for the OSI, the Office of Scientific Intelligence. The show's famous opening line, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology," became part of TV history.

The series also had a style viewers could identify immediately. Slow-motion running, electronic sound effects and the visual emphasis on Austin's bionic eye helped turn the show into more than a routine action hour. The program was screened in more than 71 countries, and Steve Austin became a pop-culture icon of the 1970s. The character was big enough to support a spin-off, *The Bionic Woman*, starring Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers, with crossover episodes linking the two series.

Majors was not just the face of the show. In 1975, he made his directorial debut on the episode "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing." The original 1973 TV movie was also nominated for a Hugo Award, a sign that the series had reach beyond ordinary network action fare. *The Six Million Dollar Man* ran on ABC through 1978, and its mix of science fiction, espionage and stunt work stayed vivid in reruns and reunion films.

What came after *The Six Million Dollar Man*?

Majors followed Steve Austin with another long-running ABC series, *The Fall Guy*. Premiering in 1981, it cast him as Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlighted as a bounty hunter. The premise let the series blend action, humor and show-business self-reference, and it gave Majors another signature role for a new decade.

*The Fall Guy* ran for five seasons, ending in 1986. Majors also sang its theme song, "The Unknown Stuntman," which became closely associated with the show. He starred alongside Douglas Barr and Heather Thomas, and as one of the producers he brought in many familiar guest stars, including former co-stars such as Linda Evans, Peter Breck, Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson.

Even after Steve Austin's weekly series ended, Majors did not leave the bionic franchise behind. Between 1987 and 1994, he returned in three reunion TV movies with Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson: *The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman*, *Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman* and *Bionic Ever After?* Those films extended the life of one of 1970s television's best-known concepts well into a later era.

Majors also stayed active in features and TV movies during the 1980s, appearing in titles such as *Agency*, *High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane*, *The Last Chase* and *Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land*. Decades later, he even returned to the *Fall Guy* world in another way: in 2024, he and Heather Thomas made cameo appearances in the movie version of *The Fall Guy*, with Ryan Gosling playing Colt Seavers.

What did Lee Majors do in his later career?

Majors kept working steadily after his peak network years. His later film credits included *Keaton's Cop*, *Trojan War*, *Out Cold*, *Big Fat Liar* and *The Brothers Solomon*. He also moved into voice work, including the role of "Big" Mitch Baker in the 2002 video game *Grand Theft Auto: Vice City*.

On television, he remained a familiar guest and recurring player across a wide mix of shows. He played Coach Ross on *The Game* from 2006 to 2009, appeared as God on *According to Jim*, voiced Steve Austin on *Robot Chicken*, showed up on *Community* and *Human Target*, and voiced General Abernathy on *G.I. Joe: Renegades*. Later credits included *Raising Hope*, *Dallas*, *Do You Believe?*, *Ash vs Evil Dead* and the 2017 TV film *Eat, Play, Love*, which reunited him onscreen with Lindsay Wagner.

He also continued to pop up in projects that nodded to his earlier fame. In 2018, he voiced an animated *Six Million Dollar Man* action figure in a Honda advertisement, and in 2019 he voiced Jeff Tracy in *Thunderbirds Are Go*. Those later appearances showed how closely his name remained tied to television adventure and action.

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Where is Lee Majors now?

As of November 2026, Majors is 87 and still strongly associated with three different chapters of TV history: the Western success of *The Big Valley*, the science-fiction action of *The Six Million Dollar Man* and the stunt-centered fun of *The Fall Guy*. Few actors from his era are so closely linked to more than one long-running network series.

His most recent public milestone came in January 2026, when he reunited with Lindsay Wagner at Central Carolina Comic Con. The appearance reflected how closely his work is still remembered through enduring characters, especially Steve Austin and Colt Seavers. For fans of classic television, Lee Majors remains one of the clearest links between 1960s Westerns, 1970s bionic fantasy and 1980s action adventure.

Timeline

• **1939:** Lee Majors is born Harvey Lee Yeary on April 23 in Wyandotte, Michigan.
• **1962:** He graduates from Eastern Kentucky University after a college football injury changes his career path.
• **1965:** He lands his breakthrough role as Heath Barkley on ABC's *The Big Valley*.
• **1971:** He joins *Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law* as Jess Brandon.
• **1973:** ABC airs the first *The Six Million Dollar Man* TV movie, launching his best-known role.
• **1975:** He makes his directorial debut on a *Six Million Dollar Man* episode.
• **1981:** *The Fall Guy* premieres on ABC with Majors as Colt Seavers.
• **2024:** He and Heather Thomas make cameo appearances in the film version of *The Fall Guy*.
• **2026:** He reunites with Lindsay Wagner at Central Carolina Comic Con in January.

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*ARCHIVE PHOTOS: Lee Majors in an August 1973 ABC press photo (left), and Lee Majors at the 2016 Phoenix Comicon (right). Photos: ABC Television / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain (left); Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 (right). Both cropped.*

*NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*