Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett Were Not the "Brangelina" of the 70's

I've addressed a seventies TV hit known as "The Six Million Dollar Man" here previously, (catch it HERE), but it was more about the show than the actors in the series. 

Farrah Fawcett and then-husband Lee Majors

The lead actor in "The Six Million Dollar Man" series (Lee Majors) was already a TV veteran as an actor on a TV show called "The Big Valley", which was an American Western drama TV series which ran for four seasons on ABC from 1965-1969. That series was set in the mid-late 1800's on the fictional Barkley Ranch set in California's San Joaquin Valley (specifically in Stockton). Despite the series' popularity and the fact that it ran for four seasons, it never made the top 30 in the yearly ratings charts, although it was enough of a hit to outlive various time slot rivals during its run. 

But it was Lee Majors from that series' who went on to a much bigger career in television the next decade as "The Six Million Dollar Man". That show ran from 1974-1978 and was at or near the top of the ratings during its heyday. In fact, the show was so big that it also generated its own spinoff known as "The Bionic Woman" which was also briefly very popular around 1977. Both of those shows today run on NBC Universal's Cozi TV network (which I wrote about when it launched HERE). 

Hollywood Power Couple, Yes. But Nothing Like Brangelina.

The comparison is a bit misplaced, but some news outlets (specifically Britain's tabloid the Daily Mail) have referred to actor Lee Majors as half of a sort of "Brangelina" of the 1970's ("Brangelina" was stupid combo name given to the celebrity supercouple consisting of American actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie). The reason for the comparison is because he was married to an actress named Farrah Fawcett whose sexy image in a bathing suit was on posters in most boys' bedroom walls at the time. 

Farrah Fawcett's iconic 70's poster

 Sorry, but to my knowledge, there was never a mass movement for anyone to hang posters of Angelina Jolie in a swimsuit on their walls — she's just never been much of a fantasy for many teenage boys. Lee Majors was also not equivalent of Angelina's former husband Brad Pitt — in the case of Brangelina, Brad Pitt was the better-looking half of that former couple. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, Lee Majors married Farah Fawcett in 1973 (she was a former beauty queen from University of Texas who went to Hollywood at age 21), the same year Lee won the role of Steve Austin on "The Six Million Dollar Man". Farrah appeared on that show and Lee used his clout to try and help get her other TV roles. He said "All the lessons I had learned the hard way, I tried to use to help Farrah." The couple divorced in 1982. Still, Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett (which she hyphenated even when she was married to Lee Majors as Farrah Fawcett-Majors, which was a pretty daring move at the time since most brides were expected to adopt the surname of their spouse at the time, showing surprising independence) were considered a Hollywood power couple of the mid-1970's.  

She landed various Hollywood guest appearances on somewhat popular broadcast TV shows at the time including "Mayberry R.F.D.", "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Flying Nun", "The Partridge Family" and "Marcus Welby, M.D."  But her her initial claim to fame (aside from her iconic poster) was a starring role on the hit Aaron Spelling TV series named "Charlie's Angels" as Jill Munroe on that show. But the couple still dealt with annoying press hounds throughout their brief marriage. Lee Majors told Closer magazine: "We couldn’t do anything," recalled Lee about the pressure they felt from the press. "The paps [paparazzi] always found out where we were." 

"Jiggle TV"

Farrah Fawcett's "Charlie's Angels" role was during a period which came to be known as "Jiggle TV". Ms. Fawcett's famous poster arguably helped her get cast in the role on "Charlie's Angels", and poster sales went hand-in-hand with ratings for the show. NBC exec Paul Klein is the person who coined the term "Jiggle Television" to criticize ABC's television production and marketing strategy under former chief Fred Silverman. The term was used to describe dramatic TV series (mostly from Aaron Spelling and former Screen Gems' top TV exec Leonard Goldberg) including "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island", and later "Beverly Hills 90210", "Melrose Place" and others. "Jiggle TV" was seen as trashy and escapist entertainment. Programs or female performers were frequently judged by their "jiggle factor". "Jiggle TV" was also called "Tits & Ass Television" or "T&A TV" for short and in the 1970's, the amount of sex on television increased, as did its ratings. Farrah Fawcett certainly fit into that categorization. 

Farrah Fawcett herself went on the record when she told an interviewer "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra." 

Fawcett Redeemed Her Acting Credentials With "The Burning Bed"

Although Farrah Fawcett was not considered a great actress when she began acting (then again, neither is Angelina Jolie), she left "Charlie's Angels" which made her a household name after just one season. And, to her credit, she really did redeem her acting credentials with a dramatic role in a made-for-TV movie which aired on NBC called "The Burning Bed" in 1984 which was very good and gained her needed respect for her ability as an actress. Over her career, she became a four-time Emmy Award nominee (although she never won), but her career came to a sudden halt when she fell sick and passed away from anal cancer in 2009 — she was just age 62 when she died (see her obituary HERE). 

Former husband Lee Majors told the UK tabloid Daily Mail: "People tell me we were the Brad [Pitt] and Angelina [Jolie] of our time. Sadly, that didn't work out too good, either." 

But in spite of their parting ways, Lee Majors (age 81 years old in 2020) looks back at his marriage to Farrah Fawcett fondly. Although their separation was mutual and was never hostile, because they had no children together, there also was not much of an ongoing relationship between the couple following their divorce. 

Majors and Fawcett stayed in touch until Farrah fell in love with Ryan O'Neal, who had been Lee's friend until O'Neil hooked up with Farrah. "They got serious and I couldn't believe it," Lee Majors previously recalled to People. So once they parted, they basically left one another's lives and went their separate ways.  

Silence fell between Lee and Farrah continued until he heard about her battle with anal cancer. However, Lee Majors is very happy that he reconnected with his ex before she died. In 2009, Lee called his ex-wife to wish her a happy 62nd birthday. 

"They had a 40-minute conversation about her life and the cancer," said an insider. "They joked and they got a little bit emotional." They even spoke about working together again — sadly it wasn't meant to be. Farrah died just four months later. She was "one of a kind," Lee said. "I was always 110% behind her and proud of her." 

See also the Closer weekly magazine coverage at: 

https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/lee-majors-gushes-late-ex-wife-farrah-fawcett-was-one-of-a-kind/

TV Tries to Reboot "Dallas", Will It Succeed Where Others Have Failed?

On June 13, 2012, one of the many prime-time soaps that aired from the late 1970's to the early 1980's is set to be re-introduced to TV viewers. In this case, I'm referring to "Dallas", which is scheduled to reboot on cable network TNT. Clearly, as basic cable competes with 200+ stations, more and more cable networks have turned to original programming, like TV Land with it's Betty White/Valerie Bertinelli (yes, I'm leaving the other two actresses out) show "Hot in Cleveland" or Fran Drescher's "Happily Divorced" just to name two. However, the remakes have met with varying degrees of success. None are completely original programming; and at least a few major network remakes of TV shows from the '70s and '80s have already bombed.

The original "Dallas" Theme Song

You can listen below, or by clicking HERE:

Today, I look at why some TV show reboots failed, while others did OK. You may note that I already covered how NBC's former chief believes "Must See TV" is history (see my post HERE), so I think it's pretty obvious that the definitions of success today aren't exactly what they used to be.  Still, a few TV show reboots (as they've come to be known) have done so poorly in terms of ratings they were taken off the air.

I have a few thoughts on why.

For example, back in 2007, NBC tried remaking "The Bionic Woman", which starred Michelle Ryan in the role that Lindsay Wagner effectively created. It failed. In 2008, NBC tried again with "Knight Rider" which also failed, while rival ABC tried a few years later with a remake of "Charlie's Angels" which also failed. Side note: NBC's "Bionic Woman" reboot didn't quite last a full season, although you can find the full season of that on DVD in the bargain bin of many retail stores for like $7.99 these days. However, interestingly, last year, Universal stuck gold by releasing the original "Bionic Woman" from the '70s on DVD, selling at a significantly higher price than the reboot (which was effectively already in digital format). On the other hand, some reboots like "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS) seem to be doing OK, and it's also rumored that CBS might also be thinking they can succeed with a reboot of "Bewitched" (see HERE).

Thoughts on Keys to Successful TV Show Reboots

I think there may be a few keys to a successful TV Show Reboot.

First, don't presume the original audience is going to automatically tune in. They may watch initially to satisfy their curiosity, but if the producer/network wants to keep the ones who watched the original shows coming back, they really shouldn't simply discard the show's entire heritage for the sake of making it better or more modern. For example, the reboot of "The Bionic Woman" did that; I saw almost nothing in that show which even hinted that another show by the same name ran 30 years earlier, no sound effets (modernized or original), no discussion of the "evolution" of bionic technology from the '70s (perhaps with flashbacks to the original), nothing. Instead, try to capitalize on the shows' many years of tevision heritage. Obviously, if the cast is no longer alive or unwilling/unable to participate, that can make things a bit more challenging, but good writers can still pay heritage to a show's long tradition without discarding it completely. Remember: viewers today have access to Google, and chances are, they alredy KNOW the show is a remake, so don't try to pretend that is isn't.

That may be one reason why the "Hawaii Five-0" reboot on CBS is surviving.  The show is a police drama in the 50th state, and there's no disconnect among viewers between today and the fact that another version of "Hawaii Five-0" ran from 1968 to 1980.  Police will always be around, even though they haven't brought back cast from the past, the premise of the series seems perfectly logical.

Also, depending on the changes the producers make to the show and it's basic premise, there's a genuine risk of drawing the original viewers in initially only to lose them if they try to be TOO alluring to younger viewers. But today, discarding a group of viewers as irrelevant won't work. The average viewer today has access to more than 4 stations, so every viewer group counts!

Next, it really goes without saying, but having a sexy cast is key to luring new viewers in. Indeed, I think this may be the one and ONLY thing virtually every reboot has gotten right, but remember: having a sexy cast still won't carry a show with lousy writing! The writers can make or break the show, yet too many seem to view this group as afterthoughts to the overpaid cast.

Finally, an important one seems to be competing in a time slot you can realistically compete in. The good news for the "Dallas" reboot is they're stepping in when the seasons for many shows just wrapped up, so audiences are eagerly looking for something new. TV Land launched it's new series "Hot in Cleveland" during a lull after the seasons had just wrapped up elsewhere, and it seemed to help draw in viewers.

NPR: "The Old With The New: Generations Clash In New 'Dallas'"

As I was writing this post last night, I had a few final thoughts and revisions I wanted to make, and as it turns out, NPR covered the "Dallas" reboot this morning. Their coverage seems to fit the theme of my thoughts, so it's worth sharing with my readers below, or you can catch it on NPR's website at http://n.pr/LXypVk:


I was never big Dallas watcher because I was a kid in junior high school who wouldn't be caught dead watching the same thing my parents watched, and campy soaps certainly fit the bill. But successful shows today actually DO lure several generations in.  In fact, parents actually did watch "Glee" with their kids, making it a big ratings success. Whether the "Dallas" reboot can manage the same thing remains to be seen, but they seem to have learned these lessons, so I think the prospects look pretty decent, but I'll have to see before I reach any conclusions.

My impression, if you look at the promo ads for the Dallas reboot, is that they're indeed trying to sex it up, and notice how the ads include the younger guys, shirtless, in front?  Hot women in towels, also in front?  The new guys in the cast are none other than Jesse Metcalfe, the hottie who is best known as the gardener who banged Gabrielle Solis (played by Eva Longoria) on ABC's "Deparate Housewives", and the other young addition is played by Josh Henderson.

But unlike some of the failed reboots, they are also including the original cast in, too, perhaps to try and lure some of the original viewers in as well.  Smart move on that.

What kind of pop culture blogger would I be if I didn't share one last piece with you?

As scary as it is for me to admit (and perhaps some of my readers), AARP magazine actually has some the original cast of "Dallas" on the front cover (see HERE), as they're doing publicity for the show's remake. It's hard to believe, but J. R. Ewing, portrayed by Larry Hagman, is now 80 years old! It seems like just yesterday when he was a young hottie in "I Dream of Jeannie", but I guess that was over 40 years ago! For the record, today, Larry Hagman is 80, Linda Gray is 71 and Patrick Duffy is 63 -- all certified AARP members, but apparently they still want to do TV!

If the reboot doesn't work for you, rest assured, most of the originals can be found on DVD or are available as streaming media so you can watch from your mobile device.  I, for one, will give the reboot a chance.  Who knows, maybe other characters like Lucy Ewing (played by Charlene Tilton) will appear on the reboot!

Author P.S., November 24, 2012: Just months after his appearance on the opening of the Dallas reboot, actor Larry Hagman, who was known for playing J.R. Ewing on the original version of Dallas passed away from cancer (this was his second experience with cancer according to the Los Angeles Times obituary for Mr. Hagman). Although his role on Dallas was the one he became most famous for playing, Larry Hagman arguably became a television star in the 1960's starring in the sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie" and that was a role that television viewers remember him best for.