Updated: August 26, 2024

1970s: The Six Million Dollar Man

Majors's co-starring role on Owen Marshall led him to a starring role as United States Air Force Colonel Steve Austin, an ex-astronaut with bionic implants in The Six Million Dollar Man, a 1973 television film broadcast on ABC. In 1974, the network decided to turn it into a weekly series. The series became an international success, being screened in over 70 countries, turning Majors into a pop icon. Majors also made his directorial debut in 1975, on an episode called "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" which co-starred professional football players such as Larry Csonka and Dick Butkus.

In 1977, with The Six Million Dollar Man still a hit series, Majors tried to renegotiate his contract with Universal Television. The studio in turn filed a lawsuit to force him to report to work due to stipulations within his existing contract that had not yet expired. It was rumored that Majors was holding out for more money, but his manager denied this: according to him, Majors was fighting to have his own production company, Fawcett Majors Productions, brought on as an independent producer in association with Universal in order to make the company viable. After Majors did not report to work that June, studio executives ultimately relented. However, ratings began to decline and The Six Million Dollar Man was cancelled in 1978 ( as was The Bionic Woman ). In November 2010, Time-Life released a 40 DVD set featuring every episode and bonus features from the show.

He also appeared in several films during the 1970s. The television film Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident ( 1976, as Francis Gary Powers ), the Viking film The Norseman ( 1978 ) co-starring Cornel Wilde, the horror thriller Killer Fish ( 1979 ), the drama Steel ( 1979 ), which he produced, co-starring Jennifer O'Neill and Art Carney, and the political thriller Agency ( 1980 ), starring Robert Mitchum.