killed in an industrial accident when Lee's mother was eight months pregnant with Lee. His mother, Alice Yeary, was
killed when struck by a car when Lee was 1 to 2 years of age. He was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred
Yeary, and grew up in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Lee had an older brother and sister that were also adopted by other family
members and one older brother, Bill, by his adopted parents.
When Lee was around twelve years old he found out that he was adopted and was deeply affected. He discovered about his
adoption on a rainy afternoon while alone in the house. Deciding to go up into the attic, he came across a bundle of news-
paper clippings in an old trunk, which mentioned the deaths of Carl and Alice Yeary.
Reading through the old clippings, he learned the truth about his past. "Both my parents were killed. My father in a steel
mill accident just before I was born, and a couple of years later, my mother was hit by a drunk driver as she was standing
on a corner waiting to go to her job as a nurse." The report went on to say that one child had been adopted by relatives,
Harvey and Mildred Yeary of Kentucky. It wasn't until five years later that his parents found out about his discovery after
he confided in a schoolmate.
"I made up my mind right then that my stepparents would never regret having adopted me," he remembered, "I set out to
prove myself." He did this through sports. He became a star athlete in several sports but truly excelled in football. Young
Lee, despite his light build, threw himself into the sport and went on to be featured in the Middlesboro Sports Hall of
Fame. He became a first string member of the Kentucky All-State High School football team. He graduated from
Middlesboro High School in 1957 and won an athletic scholarship to Indiana University. Most people from his hometown
recall Lee as being a very quiet and polite young man who earned average grades in school and was a remarkable athlete.
After attending Indiana University for two years Lee transferred to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. Around this same time Lee severely injured his back while playing football and was paralyzed from the waist down for
about two weeks. "Those two weeks I didn't think I was going to have a life," admits Lee. "I was really frightened. You
realize how wonderful things really are...how grateful you are for all things. I had to wear a back brace for almost a
year." The injury was aggravated by a previously undiagnosed inflammation of his vertebrae known as spondylitis.
Lee finished his college education at EKU in 1962 with degrees in both History and Physical Education and was qualified
as a teacher. While at EKU, Lee met and married his first wife, Kathy Robinson, in 1961. A son, Lee II, was born in 1962.
After graduating from college, Lee received an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals football team for a tryout but decided
against it after seeking advice from several doctors in regards to his earlier back injury.
A mutual friend introduced Lee to movie star, Rock Hudson. The two men became frineds and the friendship peaked
Lee's interest in acting. Lee was also introduced to Pioneer Playhouse's owner/director, Eben Henson, who decided to
coach and tutor Lee in the art of acting. In the summer of 1962, Lee won a role in a play called 7 Husbands with his wife
Kathy at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky.
In 1963, Lee, Kathy and Lee, Jr. moved to Los Angeles where Lee went to work for the Los Angeles Park and Recreation
Department as the Recreation Director for North Hollywood Park. While working at the park, Lee met many people in
the entertainment business, including agent Dick Clayton. Clayton enrolled Lee at MGM's drama school, and he started
studying with Estelle Harmon who was a highly respected drama coach.
In 1964 Lee got his first role in the movie StraitJacket starring Joan Crawford. Although his part was very small and his
character was killed in the first five minutes, it started his career. He next had parts in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
(Monkey's Paw) and Gunsmoke. Unfortunately his marriage to Kathy ended during this time, and she moved back to
Kentucky with their son.
An audition for the role of Heath Barkley in The Big Valley, a new western series starring Barbara Stanwyck, would be
the break Lee needed. Hundreds of experienced actors with long lists of credits were vying for the part. "They asked for
my credits," remembers Lee, "and I didn't have any." He confesses he was "very scared and nervous" because of the ex-
perience of his competition.
Lee won the role of Heath, the illegitimate son of Tom Barkley, a part that drew parallels to Lee's own personal life. Lee,
however, continued working at the park right up to the time that shooting began and even stayed on their inactive list for
another two years just in case the series didn't work out. Barbara Stanwyck took him under her wing and became his
mentor. The series ran from 1965 to 1969 and Lee credits Miss Stanwyck with teaching him how to be a professional.
In 1968 Lee got his first big movie role as Blue in Will Penny starring Charlton Heston. He also met a beautiful blond
from Texas named Farrah Fawcett during that year. She had just arrived in Hollywood two weeks earlier when Lee saw
her picture at his agent's office and decided to ask her out. She was not at home when he called, so he left a message say-
ing, 'Lee Majors will be by to pick Miss Fawcett up for dinner at 7:30'. Farrah was not impressed by this bold approach.
She decided, however, to go out on the date after Lee called back and apologized. "I'm so sorry I left that message," Lee
said. "You know when you work on the set, you can't always get back to a phone, and I just didn't want you to make
plans."
Farrah was not accustomed to consuming alcohol and, after having a drink, became ill and spent the rest of their date in
the ladies room. The next morning Lee sent her a dozen yellow roses and they decided to give it another try. Lee began
to help her in getting her acting career started. She soon became a very popular model and commercial spokeswoman and
won parts in various television series. On July 28, 1973, Lee and Farrah Fawcett got married on the 5th anniversary of
their first date.
The Big Valley ended in 1969. Following a second movie, The Liberation of L.B. Jones, co-starring Lee J. Cobb and Roscoe
Lee Browne, Lee won the role of Roy Tate in The Men from Shiloh. The show was a revised version of the Virginian that
had starred James Drury and Doug McClure. It lasted only one year and Lee was again looking for work.
Lee starred in two made-for-TV movies, Weekend of Terror and The Ballad of Andy Crocker, and then in 1971 he won the
role of Jess Brandon in Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law with Arthur Hill. Lee played a young lawyer working for
Arthur Hill's Owen Marshall. This was a different kind of role for Lee who up until now had only been playing cowboy
parts on television. Lee was not comfortable being in a suit and tie, locked up in a courtroom all day. His idea of fun was
being outdoors.
In 1973 Lee received a script for a movie of the week called The Six Million Dollar Man. The story was about an
astronaut/test pilot by the name of Steve Austin who crashes while testing an experimental aircraft, losing both legs, his
right arm and vision in his left eye. These losses are replaced with bionic parts and he becomes an agent for the govern-
ment, taking on missions that the ordinary man can't. The two-hour movie of the week premiered on ABC March 7, 1973
and was a huge ratings success. ABC ordered two more movies of the week, and in January 1974 a weekly spot on the
ABC schedule opened up and The Six Million Dollar Man became a weekly series.
Lee was still appearing in Owen Marshall during this time, but finally left that show when The Six Million Dollar Man
became a regular on the schedule. Lee is quoted as saying, "I started out as fourth or fifth banana in The Big Valley,
third banana in The Men from Shiloh and second banana in Owen Marshall. Now I'm the top banana in my own series,
and I couldn't be happier." The series quickly became a big hit. The last episode aired on March 6, 1978 but eventually
three reunion movies were made, one each in 1987, 1989 and 1994.
After The Six Million Dollar Man ended in 1978, Lee gave movies a try since that was the direction he always had want-
ed his career to take. He made The Norsemen, Steel, Killer Fish, Agency and The Last Chase all in the next three years.
None of these movies did very well at the box office, and Lee's marriage to Farrah soon appeared to be on shaky ground.
In July of 1979, six years after they married, Farrah announced they had separated. During the separation she began
dating Lee's best friend Ryan O'Neal. Although they did not officially divorce until 1982, the marriage was over.
In 1981 he began filming his next series, The Fall Guy. The story was about a Hollywood stuntman and bounty hunter
named Colt Seavers, played by Lee. The show was an immediate success and once again Lee's career was on a roll. He
asked many of his friends and former co-stars from other shows to do guest spots or cameos. This list included Richard
Burton, Peter Breck, Lindsay Wagner, Linda Evans, Roy Rogers, Milton Berle, Doug McClure, Robert Wagner, James
Drury and Richard Anderson.The show had a very successful run and eventually ended in 1986.
In 1984 Lee met Karen Velez, who would become the 1985 Playmate of the Year. They had a daughter Nikki Loren in
February 1988 and married in the fall of that year. In October of 1992, Lee and Karen became the parents of twin boys,
Dane Luke and Trey Kulle. Before the twins were born, Lee and Karen decided to sell their Malibu home and move to
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to raise their children away from Hollywood. Their marriage ended in 1994. Lee's girlfriend
since 1995 has been Faith Noelle. He proposed to her during the 2000 Super Bowl. She accepted but a definite date has
not been set as of yet.
Since The Fall Guy ended he has made three series pilots, Harris Down Under in 1988, Roadshow in 1989 and Daytona
Beach in 1996. In 1991-92 he starred with Jeffrey Meek in Raven as Herman Jablonski "Ski." The show lasted only one
year. He also appeared in episodes of Tour of Duty, Lonesome Dove, Promised Land, The War Next Door and Walker,
Texas Ranger.
Lee has also done quite a few TV and theatrical movies in recent years, including The Lost Treasure of Dos Santos,
Musketeers Forever, New Jersey Turnpikes and Trojan War. There are also rumors of a Big Valley Reunion television
movie and a Six Million Dollar Man theatrical movie. In 2000 Lee will be starring in a British sitcom titled Too Much
Sun and will co-star with stuntman Spanky Spangler in a new U.S. series called Hollywood Stunts.