The Unknown Stuntman

What does THE FALL GUY have in common with WALKER, TEXAS RANGER? Answer in a moment, but first... Yeah, I've been slacking with this blog this week. I've been messing around with some stupid projects and installing shelves in my living room and just life stuff, ya know.

After THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN went off the air in 1978, Lee Majors tried to become a movie star. Unfortunately, he chose projects like AGENCY and STEEL and THE LAST CHASE and the horrible THE NORSEMAN, and none of them were box-office hits (STEEL is a pretty good movie though). So he came home to television in 1981 to star in another long-running ABC series. In THE FALL GUY, Majors was Colt Seavers, a movie stuntman who moonlighted as a bounty hunter. It's a brilliant idea and I'm surprised no one has tried to rip it off. By having Seavers be a stuntman, the show could showcase exciting action sequences and there didn't have to be any story reason or context. It could just be part of a show-within-the-show.

THE FALL GUY ran for four or five seasons. Doug Barr had kind of a thankless role as Colt's luggish cousin Howie, who helped catch bad guys. Most people remember Heather Thomas as Colt's assistant, and when you see the bikini she wears in the opening titles, you'll understand why.

So here's the opening credits to THE FALL GUY. Lots of stunts and action and flying pickup trucks. And Heather in that bikini. Oh, and to answer the question I posed at the top of the post: both shows featured theme songs performed by their stars. Which is not unusual, except that both Lee Majors and Chuck Norris are terrible singers.