Here’s What Really Happened To Lee Majors, The Six Million Dollar Man’s Steve Austin

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.” Even if you’ve never seen The Six Million Dollar Man, you’ll likely be familiar with that oft-quoted line from its opening sequence. The cult 1970s TV show made an icon of its star, Lee Majors, who played bionic man, Steve Austin. But sadly for Majors, life wasn’t always so sweet.

Cult hero

With his dashing good looks and footballer physique – he nearly went pro in the sport before turning to acting – Majors was a natural fit for the role of Austin. The Six Million Dollar Man’s hero was an astronaut-turned-special-agent who’s “rebuilt” with bionics after his rocket ship explodes. Ironically, it made a multi-millionaire of Majors and catapulted him to super-stardom. But as we all know, that often doesn’t last forever.

Million-dollar brand

Sure, it was hammy; sure, some of the action sequences were laughably poor by today’s standards. But heck, was The Six Million Dollar Man entertaining! Like The A-Team and its ilk, the show spawned a massive cult following that eagerly snapped up a plethora of Million Dollar merchandise. But believe it or not, Majors was a star before the show turned him into its bionic leading man.

Big name

Yes, the actor had already won attention for his role in western television series, The Big Valley, which ran from 1965 to 1969. Claims of being the “new James Dean” and comparisons to Elvis – not too shabby! – came after Majors’ turn as Heath Berkley in the show. And he’d beaten off competition from the likes of Burt Reynolds to get the part. Impressive!

“Keep your mouth shut”

His co-star in The Big Valley was acting legend Barbara Stanwyck, who became a sort of mentor to Majors. In 2013 he told Fox News how the veteran actress “took [him] under her wing,” adding, “She was a disciplinarian and taught me...to be on time, know your lines, hit your mark, and keep your mouth shut.”