In this video, we will be exploring actress Lindsay Wagner and the secrets behind her
role in the science-fiction series "The Bionic Woman."
The show revolves around the character of Jaime Sommers, who has bionic body parts.
Continue watching to learn amazing facts about Lindsay in this role, including the one person
who convinced her to take the role when she was thinking about passing on the opportunity!
Fact Verse Presents: Lindsay Wagner & Secrets Behind The Bionic Woman.
If you’re a fan of this classic show and its beautiful leading lady, show us by clicking
the like button!
And for more videos like this, make sure you subscribe to our channel and click the notification
bell.
NUMBER ONE: Jaime Sommers was first introduced to viewers in "The Six Million Dollar Man,"
series.
It was a two-part episode.
She actually wasn't supposed to continue the character's storyline, however she was so
well received by audiences they gave her a series!
NUMBER TWO: Two other actresses were considered for the role, including Stefanie Powers and
Sally Field.
Lindsay got the role instead, as she was more spontaneous.
NUMBER THREE: During Lindsay's official Six Million Dollar Man debut, Steve Austin was
portrayed by Lee Majors.
When Steve traveled to Ojai, California, he rekindled a relationship with old flame, Jaime
Sommers.
Ojai, California, was Steve's hometown.
He travels back home to purchase a ranch and visit his parents.
During the trip, he rekindles with professional tennis player, Jaime Sommers.
NUMBER FOUR: On Steve's skydiving date with Jaime, she has trouble with her parachute
and she falls to the ground.
During the fall, she severely injuries her arms, legs and head.
In a desperate attempt to save her life, Steve begs his boss, Oscar Goldman, to make Jaime
bionic.
The bionic team rebuilds her.
NUMBER FIVE: During the second part of the episode, Jaime begins having headaches.
According to Dr. Wells, Jaime's body was rejecting the bionic implants.
A cerebral clot was the cause of her intense and relentless headaches.
Jaime collapses and passes away on the operating table... or so it seems.
NUMBER SIX: Due to her immense popularity, ABC brought Jaime's character back to life.
During the first episode of the following season, Jaime was deemed "still alive."
Steve was unaware of Jaime's survival until he ended up in the hospital for a bionic leg
injury.
During his hospital visit, he sees Jaime fall into a coma.
Dr. Well's assistant found a way to remove the cerebral clot, allowing Jaime to survive.
NUMBER SEVEN: This was the perfect segue into Lindsay's own series, entitled "The Bionic
Woman."
This is the project she is most known for.
Premiering on ABC in January 1976, the show quickly became the fifth most popular of the
year.
This was impressive considering the season only aired half of its episodes.
The Bionic Woman even ranked higher than 'The Six Million Dollar Man.'
NUMBER EIGHT: In the series, Jaime's body has been reconstructed, using the same type
of implants Steve Austin had.
The cost of her rebuild was not reveled on the show, however it was estimated to be less
than $6 million.
The reason for the price difference was because her body parts were "smaller."
However, it has been agreed this was a case male chauvinism- that somehow her bionic body
would cost less.
Surprisingly, when The Bionic Woman aired in Germany, they changed the name to "The
Seven Million Dollar Woman."
Wow!
NUMBER NINE: In order to keep the show as authentic as possible, the creative producer
set clear limitations on Jaime's abilities.
For example, he said when building a fantasy series, it is very important to prevent chaos.
He said if you let the characters do whatever they want because they're "bionic," it gets
out of hand.
This is why Steve and Jaime had tight rules on what they could and could not do as bionics.
For example, they could jump up two stories, however three was impossible.
Jaime could turn over a car, but not a truck.
These types of boundaries kept the series realistic in a world of fantasy.
NUMBER TEN: These limits were actually worked into the show.
In the "Kill Oscar" episode of season two, Jaime is combating fembots.
During the fight, she has to make a long jump- something too difficult for her bionic legs.
As she jumps, her legs endure massive injury.
The jump was almost fatal.
NUMBER ELEVEN: The series became internationally popular, especially in the UK.
In fact, the first episode of the series became the most watched show of the week.
Over 14 million UK viewers tuned in for the show's debut.
The third episode gained just as much attention, topping the list of most-watched shows again.
NUMBER TWELVE: 'The Bionic Woman' holds the number one place for science fiction in the
UK as of present day.
To put this into perspective, The Six Million Dollar Man never once made the most-watched
UK list- even after five seasons.
NUMBER THIRTEEN: The "Deadly Ringer" episode of season two landed Lindsay Wagner an Emmy
Award.
She was crowned for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Role."
NUMBER FOURTEEN: After two wildly successful seasons, ABC cut the program.
NBC saw an opportunity to continue the show.
The show aired its third season on NBC from September 1977 until May 1978.
Maximillion was featured in the third season as a bionic dog, costing one million to make.
Chris Williams was introduced into the cast as a love interest.
The series added Chris due to the network switch.
The show officially ended after its third season.
NUMBER FIFTEEN: 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman' were canceled at the
same time.
The only difference was The Bionic Woman had a proper finale.
During the finale, Jaime is nicknamed "Robot Lady" by a young girl.
The young girl finds out about her bionic body parts.
Similar to Steve, Jaime has to process the fact she is not a regular human.
After three years of a rigorous schedule, she decides to resign.
The authorities mandate she can not simply "resign" and decide to monitor her in a "safe
community."
Jaime decides to run away, but later goes back to work for the OSI.
The finale of the show was compared to "The Prisoner."
Jaime is being harassed because of the special information she knows.
NUMBER SIXTEEN: After the series ended, three movies were created as spin-offs.
The bionic family was expanded.
Jaime and Steve rekindle their romance.
During the final spin-off movie, Jaime says "I do," and upgrades her bionic power.
NUMBER SEVENTEEN: "Bionic" dolls were made after the major success of the series.
The dolls were created similar to "Barbie."
The producers initially denied this, however many thought bionic dolls looked too similar
to a fashion doll, instead of a strong hero.
NUMBER EIGHTEEN: Jaime's name came from SeaWorld.
Yes that's right!
Kenneth Johnson, creator of the show, previously worked on a SeaWorld production.
He met a water skier with the name "Jaime Sommers."
He loved the name so much and gave it to the character.
NUMBER NINETEEN: When the Fembots came to the series, an uncomfortable mold of plaster
had to be made for skintight latex.
One actress, Janice Whitby almost lost her job for refusing!
NUMBER TWENTY: More than one dog was used as the "bionic dog!"
Maximillion was played by a German Shepard, however other breeds were brought on set for
tricks and canine stunts.
NUMBER TWENTY-ONE: Lindsay Wagner initially didn't want to play the role, as she thought
it was "pretty absurd."
However, her younger 11-year-old sister loved The Six Million Dollar Man series, so she
decided to move forward with the series.
We hope you learned something new about this iconic series and its all star lead!
If you’ve ever wondered what Lindsay Wagner did outside of this show, you’re in luck.
We’re about to take a look at the exciting life of Lindsay Wagner.
If you’re enjoying the video so far, please click the like button so we know to make more
content like this!
Lindsay Wagner was born in Los Angeles on June 22nd, 1949.
She is the daughter of William Wagner and Marilyn Louise.
At the age of seven, Lindsay's parents divorced.
Following the divorce, Lindsay's mother moved to Eagle Rock in northeast LA.
She went to live with her mother.
Shortly after, her mother remarried and Lindsay relocated once again- this time to Portland,
Oregon.
It was here that the actress attended David Douglass High School.
Lindsay starred in many plays at her high school.
After graduating, she moved to France for a few months.
Once back in the US, she attend the University of Oregon.
After one year, she transferred to Mt. Hood Community College.
Six months later, she dropped out and moved to Los Angeles.
It was during this time that the actress was diagnosed with dyslexia.
During her years as a young adult in LA, she worked as a model.
She received minor television recognition portraying a hostess in "Playboy After Dark."
She also appeared as a contestant on "The Dating Game" early-on in her career.
Interestingly, one of her suitors was Roger Ewing, however she never selected him.
In 1971, Lindsay signed a contract with Universal Studios.
She was a contract player for Universal productions.
Her official network debut was on "Million Dollar Bluff," also known as Adam-12.
Following this, the actress appeared in many other Universal shows.
These include "Sarge," "Night Gallery," "The F.B.I." and "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law."
From the years 1971- 1975, Lindsay made an appearance in five episodes of "Marcus Welby,
M.D." and two episodes of "The Rockford Files."
Lindsay ventured into film in 1973.
"Two People" was her fist feature film.
This was also her first starring role.
Lindsay co-starred in the popular 20th Century Fox film entitled "The Paper Chase" in 1973.
She played the daughter of Kingsfield, a somber law professor.
Her big break came in 1975, under contract with Universal Studios.
She was casted for Jaime Sommers.
Jaime Sommers was a professional tennis player.
Sommers was the childhood crush of Steve Austin, also known as the "Six Million Dollar Man."
Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors.
According to close sources of the show, Lindsay was casted as Jaime Sommers due to her spontaneous
and pleasant demeanor.
Once producers saw her performance as an actress in "The Rockford Files," they knew she was
the perfect fit for Jaime's character.
In 1976, Lindsay was in a car accident with Michael Brandon, former boyfriend.
The car spun out of control and crashed into a tree.
The actress had cuts on her scalp and face.
She had a prominent scar from the accident, visible on her upper lip.
Before marrying, Lindsay was dating Captain Daniel Yoder of the United States Air Force.
The pair split when he went to Vietnam.
Lindsay married Allan Rider, music publisher in 1971.
They divorced in 1973.
In 1976, she married actor Michel Brandon, however they parted ways in 1979.
In 1981, she married Henry Kingi, a stuntman.
She had two sons with Kingi, Alex and Dorian.
However, the pair divorced in 1984.
She married Lawrence Mortorff in 1990, however the pair split up a few years later.
Lindsay continued to act in Hollywood after the iconic series ended.
She mainly acted in TV films and TV series.
She appeared in "Scruples" in 1980.
Not to mention, she also starred in three Bionic reunion movies.
The reunion movies were filmed from 1978 to 1994.
Lindsay co-starred as the ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone for "Nighthawks.'
Lindsay even continued her career with television roles.
This included "Jessie" in 1984 as well as "A Peaceable Kingdom" in 1989.
In addition, she was featured for an episode of "The Fall Guy-" Lee Major's series.
Throughout the 90's and 2000's, Lindsey continued to act and appear in various films/ TV shows.
Her roles became smaller over time, until she eventually shifted her focus to teaching.
Lindsay Wagner began her teaching career in 2013 at the San Bernardino Valley College.
She taught acting and directing for TV/film.
Proving she still has the skill to act, she also appeared in the 10th episode of NCIS's
13th season in 2015.
Lindsay even ventured into the video game arena, providing her voice for "Death Stranding."
She voiced the characters of Amelie and Bridget Strand.
This was the first time Lindsay used voice acting technology.
Lindsay Wagner currently has an impressive catalogue of acting credits and awards.
Hopefully you learned something new about this talented actress during this video.
Now we’d like to hear from you: Do you think The Bionic Woman was Wagner’s best achievement?
Or do you remember her better for a different role?
Let us know in the comments!
And don’t forget to subscribe to Facts verse for more videos like this.