The Only Actors Still Alive From The Bionic Woman

To understand "The Bionic Woman" heroine Jaime Sommers, you first have to get on board with "The Six Million Dollar Man." The young tennis star turned partially cyborg superhero was first introduced on "The Six Million Dollar Man" in the show's second season as a female counterpart to the series' male bionic hero. Jaime, the show told viewers, was severely injured in a skydiving accident, but cutting-edge technology allowed her to not only live through it, but also gain new skills. She had extra-strength hearing, superstrength, and the ability to run at top speeds, all of which came in handy for her new life as a schoolteacher-slash-spy.

A high-concept storyline like this one may not thrive on TV today (unless it was made by DC or Marvel), but in the '70s, audiences ate it up. Jaime's eventual death in "The Six Million Dollar Man" was so poorly received that she was not only brought back to life, but also given her own spinoff series. "The Bionic Woman" ran for just 58 episodes on ABC beginning in 1976, yet the show left a strong cultural imprint. So long as the field of biomedical prosthetics and implants still exists, it seems like there will always be plenty of "bionic woman" jokes to go around. The show's surviving cast members have also spent a lifetime getting recognized for their work on the series. Here's what they've been up to in the years since it ended.

As the bionic woman of the show's title, actor Lindsay Wagner broke new ground with the series, winning an Emmy for her role as the ultra-powered Jaime Sommers despite the award body's historical aversion to recognizing sci-fi and fantasy shows. Wagner appeared in all three seasons of the series, but her burgeoning career was almost cut short when, according to an interview she once did with Celebrity Drop, she nearly boarded American Airlines Flight 191, which crashed and killed everyone on board in 1979. At the last minute, Wagner didn't get on the plane.

The actor continued to appear as the Bionic Woman in spinoff films, and worked fairly steadily on film and TV in the decades to follow. In the '80s, she led the short-lived shows "Scruples," "Jessie," and "A Peaceable Kingdom," and she more recently appeared in recurring roles on "Warehouse 13" and "Grey's Anatomy." (She played Alex Karev's mom in the latter.) Her most notable film credits include a major role in the 1981 actioner "Nighthawks" and a part in the Denzel Washington-led flick "Ricochet." More recently, she's appeared in Christmas films like "Christmas at the Ranch" and "Mingle All The Way," and according to her IMDb biography, Wagner acted in several TV movies about tough topics like child abuse and capital punishment. She also did voice acting for the acclaimed video game "Death Stranding."

Wagner has also worked in other industries, authoring books, teaching at San Bernardino Valley College (per The SB Sun), and working as an activist. According to IMDb, she serves as the honorary chair of the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and at one point even co-facilitated a local counseling group for convicted domestic violence offenders. (Wagner once told Smashing Interviews she survived domestic violence earlier in life) The actor has also spoken openly about her interest in alternative medicine, giving statements that have ranged from quirky (she told Celeb Drop she healed her stomach ulcers via visualization and meditation) to, in one case, horrifying. In 2016, she told ABC7 News that a concoction containing elements of bleach –- one the FDA has deemed poisonous –- cured her full-body hives.

Lee Majors may have only appeared in a handful of "Bionic Woman" episodes, but he's the star of the series that first inspired the show. The original "Six Million Dollar Man" became an action hero with the popular '70s series, reprising his role as Colonel Steve Austin in both "The Bionic Woman" and the follow-up films that came after it. Majors took a second action-heavy leading role in the decade that followed, playing stunt man turned bounty hunter Colt Seavers for five seasons of "The Fall Guy."

During a 2015 fan convention, Majors was refreshingly nostalgia-free in his memories of the shows that made him famous while speaking to Den of Geek. "Sometimes I think fondly of it, then a lot of times I think, 'Boy, that was a lot of hard work. They ran my butt off!'" Majors told the outlet. "I did probably 85% of my own stunt work, and so today I think I'm getting close to a knee replacement, it's giving me a little trouble." Majors has had a multi-pronged career which, in addition to acting, has included executive producing titles like "Mission From Outer Space" and "CBS Summer Playhouse" and even singing the theme song to "The Fall Guy." He also became part owner of a Los Angeles football team in the '80s, according to UPI.

Majors has had an eclectic film career, appearing as himself in "Scrooged" and reprising his "Fall Guy" role in the recent Ryan Gosling movie of the same name. He's also appeared in the Frankie Muniz family film "Big Fat Liar," the Bob Odenkirk-directed film "The Brothers Solomon," and '90s teen rom-com "Trojan War," among other movies. On TV, he starred in the high-concept action series "Raven" and appeared in key recurring roles in shows like "The Game," "Weeds," and "Ash vs Evil Dead," playing Ash's father in the latter. Majors had his name added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984.

Mark Russell was a recurring character on "The Bionic Woman" who popped up periodically. An Office of Scientific Intelligence agent, Mark was played by Sam Chew Jr, an actor who had already popped up in two "Planet of the Apes" films by the time the show rolled around (and who played Jack Kennedy in a TV movie during the show's run). Chew continued acting after the series, appearing in "The Incredible Hulk" and "Petticoat Junction" as well as movies like the Charles Bronson-led thriller "10 To Midnight" and John Landis' "Oscar."

Chew mostly took minor roles throughout the '80s and '90s, and he hasn't acted on screen since 1998, when he appeared in the little-known film "Hyacinth." According to his self-written IMDb biography, Chew still works in the commercial acting space, which is home to his most famous (if unrecognizable) role: Chew has voiced shows and promos on Discovery Channel, and his voice ultimately became synonymous with the network's popular Shark Week event. According to the Radnor Historical Society, Chew has also done prolific work narrating documentaries and audiobooks, taught teaching, acting, and public speaking, and worked as a radio DJ and talk show host.

As the secretary to OSI leader Oscar Goldman (the late Richard Anderson, who died in 2017), Peggy Calahan kept things running for the heroes of "The Bionic Woman." Darling played the receptionist in several episodes of the show, and it's still her most famous on-screen role to date. After the series came to a close, Darling continued acting on screen, but she also successfully crossed over into the voice acting world. After appearing in five seasons of live-action sitcom "Eight is Enough," Darling took key roles in animated '80s shows like "Trollkins," "Centurion," "The Smurfs," and "My Little Pony."

Darling has done extensive supporting voice work in multiple animated shows over the years, including 12 shows in the '80s alone. She's also contributed her vocal talents to beloved movies like "Aladdin," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Finding Nemo," "Lilo & Stitch," and "Monsters, Inc." Darling has provided dubbed voiceover work for anime, including the "Tenchi Muyo!" franchise. Plus, she's worked in video games, too, with roles in "Final Fantasy Type-O HD" and the original "Baldur's Gate."

Notably, Darling performed as a stage actor for decades, juggling her voiceover work with appearances in musical productions and appearing on Broadway before her turn on "The Bionic Woman" (per IMDb). As of 2019, Darling seems to have retired from screen and voice acting.