Stuntman role for Lee Majors

Press, 9 March 1982, Page 19

Stuntman role for Lee Majors

Clinging to the end of a rope, dangling 15 metres below a wildly circling helicopter, actor Lee Majors looked as though the title of his new TV series — "The Fall Guy” — was about to come true! Watching from the ground almost 65 metres below, the assembled television production crew, producer, director and a few spectators held their breath. They, need not have worried. As Hollywood’s top stuntman, Vince Deadrick, explained: “If Lee wasn’t already an actor, he could well have become one of the top guys in*my profession. “He’s not only a superb athlete, who keeps himself in excellent shape, he’s also got the guts and ice-cool nerve Chat every stuntman needs.” In “The Fall Guy,” now on British TV screens, Lee does many stunts himself. But he also makes sure that none of his stuntmen friends lose out on work. . “After all, they've given me a place of honour in their hall of fame!” he smiles. "I don’t really take many risks myself,” Lee says. “There are lots of stunts that the other guys can do far better than me. And there are a lot of stunts that I’d never dare attempt. “But I like to do enough of the work to make everything look realistic." Certainly, measuring up just a shade over six feel and weighing a trim 1901 b, Lee is as fit as he was 20 years ago when he played professional football b3ck in Kentucky. However, it is as an actor, rather than a stuntman, that his ambitions remain.

"I think I'm at last growing up — maturing — as an actor,” he says. “And I certainly think that I’ve learned a lot in the past few years. “I how make as many pictures as possible — and hope that one of them works out! . “I suppose one problem is that it’s perhaps too soon to live down ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ image. " '. “There are many things I’d love to do, but producers only seem interested in offering me he-man type leading roles.” His role of top Hollywood stunt man Colt Seavers in “The Fall Guy” fits into that category, too, but, as Lee says:..“There’s an extra and intriguing facet to his character. “He spends time between jobs as a modern-day bounty hunter bringing criminals to justice for the reward money.” , Already his performance in the series has had Hollywood critics finally' admitting that Lee is more than just a handsome face and a husky body. “For years they’ve been saying that I can’t act — and some of my movies could have, helped to give that impression,” he says with a grin. “In fact, I’ve appeared in some pretty lousy pictures. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of. "I take my: work very seriously. I always watch the results of each day’s shooting to see how I .can improve things.

"Acting is very much a craft, and with any craft, you have to work constantly at it, study constantly, and aim to to better.” Certainly, Lee Majors’ early background shows why he either had,to survive —or become one of life’s nonstarters. His hometown was a small, rural community near Middlesboro, Kentucky. His father died in a mill accident just before Lee was born, and shortly afterwards his mother was killed by a runaway car. Behind Lee's tough exterior lurks a shyness which has earned him the rather undeserved reputation as a prima donna — an image that he is working hard to improve. It’s' no secret that his break-up with former “Charlie’s Angels” star Farrah Fawcett was deeply upsetting to Lee. He says: “My marriage had become an essential part of my life, and when it all crumbled, I crumbled, too. "It took a long time for me to learn to rely on myself and trust my own instincts about things. I’d been one of a pair for too long to change easily.” Now, however, he has come to terms with it. He can even joke about it. The other day, for instance, addressing a Hollywood showbusiness lunch, he quipped: “Some of you may not know me. I used to be the Majors end of Farrah Fawcett . ...” And he joined in the laughter that followed. (Features International).