'70s Sci-Fi TV Icon Lee Majors Had A Role In A Hit Western Series

Before Lee Majors earned his fame as the Six Million Dollar Man, he starred in one of the most popular Western series of its time - The Virginian. This show premiered on NBC on September 19, 1962, and starred Majors in a lead role. Prior to this, Majors had appeared in episodes of Gunsmoke and The Big Valley, where he played the son of a deceased ranch owner.

While The Big Valley had an impressive pilot episode and ran for four seasons, it did not become a ratings sensation. Majors then moved on to The Virginian, but Season 9 of the show was significantly different from the previous eight. The show's name changed to The Men from Shiloh and shifted a decade into the future, with four main characters instead of one.

Majors played Roy Tate, a new ranch hand at the Shiloh Ranch. This retooling of the show was successful, as Season 9 became the 18th-biggest broadcast show on television. However, the Western genre was declining, and The Men from Shiloh was one of only four Westerns airing in primetime. Despite this, Majors' role in The Virginian proved fruitful, leading him to star in Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law before achieving his iconic role as Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man.