Lee Majors Recalled Olympian Icon Cathy Rigby's Guest Spot on TV's 'Six Million Dollar Man' Series

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[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all commentary and quotes from Lee Majors are from an interview the author had with the actor.]

A Bionic Introduction

The Six Million Dollar Man TV superhero series, starring Lee Majors as Col. Steve Austin, a former astronaut turned cyborg/bionic spy, originally aired on ABC from 1974 to 1978.

Over its lengthy run, the popular show featured a plethora of guest stars, including Olympian champion Cathy Rigby, in her acting debut.

A Closer Look

In the episode, "Love Song for Tanya," which premiered February 15, 1976 (the day after Valentine's Day, Majors' superhuman Steve Austin plays guardian to Tanya Breski, portrayed by Cathy Rigby, a Russian gymnist on an American tour. While embarrassed that Tanya has a crush on him, Steve tries to convince her not to defect and to prevent her from being killed by a subversive organization. America will be blamed if she dies, and our countries relationship with the Soviets will be no more.

Lee Majors' Steve Austin is amazed by the pinball wizardry of Cathy Rigby's character in the '$6 Million' episode," Love Song for Tanya."Photo byimdb.com

A Majors Memory

As Lee Majors once recalled about working with Cathy Rigby, “The thing I remember about Cathy, and what surprised me the most, was how tiny she is, and how great an athlete she was. When we were at the Bell Gardens Gym on location, in Orange County [California], she walked the beam and did all those things that an Olympic gymnast can do. She was amazing.”