Getty Actor Lee Majors from the TV series 'The Six Million Dollar Man' attends the 55th Monte Carlo TV Festival.
The television special This Is Farrah Fawcett will air tonight on ABC in honor of the late iconic model and actress. The special will focus on her famous career, personal life, and her battle against the cancer that ultimately took her life in 2009. In her lifetime, she was only married once, to actor Lee Majors from 1973 until 1982.
Here’s what you need to know about Farrah Fawcett’s ex-husband, Lee Majors:
1. Lee Is Best Known for His TV Role on ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’
Majors first made a name for himself playing Heath Barkley on the TV show The Big Valley (which he was on when he and Fawcett first met). He is most famous, however, for his leading role as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man, which had 5 seasons and 99 episodes from 1974 until 1978.
According to IMDb, he recently played Brock Williams on Ash vs Evil Dead from 2016-2018 and will be appearing as Carter in the not yet released film Spring Break ’83.
2. Lee & Farrah Met 2 Weeks After She Moved to Hollywood
According to People Magazine, the ex-couple met in 1968, only two weeks after Farrah left her hometown in Texas and was driven to Hollywood, California by her parents. He was an established actor at the time, and she was new to the industry, so she took the sidelines in the beginning part of their relationship until she found sudden fame on Charlie’s Angels.
At the time of their split, People Magazine reported that Fawcett went public with the news, saying “When Lee married me, he married a very compliant person who just wanted to cook his meals, clean his house and be dependent. I still like to cook his meals and clean his house, but I’m not dependent anymore. I feel so bad for Lee. I care about him so much, and he is trying to be understanding and protecting.”
3. He & Farrah Got to Talk Before She Passed Away
Majors and Fawcett had been divorced for over twenty years when she got sick and passed away. According to Us Weekly, Majors started checking in on her via friends once news spread that she was sick.
A source told the publication that though he was hesitant to reach out directly because so much time had passed since their split, he ended up calling her on her birthday and they spoke for the first time in 23 years: “They had a 40-minute phone conversation about her life, and the cancer and it was such a lovely moment for the two of them. I guess it was a very good conversation. They joked, and they got a little bit emotional… I think it was good given the current situation [for] closure, otherwise they never would’ve spoken again. I think he always wanted to talk to her again, but he was just afraid to speak to her before.”
4. He Picked the Photo for Farrah Fawcett’s Iconic Red Bathing Suit Poster
In addition to her television and film roles, Fawcett’s is remembered today for her beauty, especially her stunning figure and iconic blonde hair. A poster of Fawcett smiling in a red bathing suit, taken in 1976, is perhaps what she is most famous for in pop culture. According to ABC News, the photo was taken by Hollywood photographer Bruce McBroom.
Majors, who was her boyfriend at the time of that now legendary photo shoot, told People Magazine “I picked out the poster… The famous one! I picked out the picture. You probably don’t know why! That’s the biggest selling poster ever.”
5. He Married His Current Wife, Faith, in 2002
Fawcett was Lee’s second wife; he was previously married to Kathy Robinson from 1961-1964. After he and Farrah got divorced in 1982, he married Karen Velez in 1988 and the two remained married until 1994. He was married for a fourth time in 2002 to model and actress Faith Majors, and the two are still married today.