Heather Thomas, known for her role alongside Lee Majors in *The Fall Guy*, turned 66 on September 8. She was on track for a very successful Hollywood career.
However, after the show’s finale, her mother appeared on set, and Thomas rushed to the hospital, thinking her father had an emergency. But when she arrived at the Santa Monica hospital, her family and friends told her that her father, Leon, was fine—it was her they were worried about.
This marked the start of a new chapter in the 28-year-old’s life, which would change both her personal life and career.
Read on to find out what happened to the famous 1980s pinup girl!
Heather Thomas had talent and natural beauty that compared to stars like Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear. She was born to be in the spotlight.
At just 14, she hosted an NBC show called *Talking with a Giant*, where she and other teens interviewed celebrities.
Wanting more, Thomas studied film and theater at UCLA, aiming to be an actor, director, and writer. Before she graduated, she appeared in a short-lived comedy series called *Co-Ed Fever* in 1979.
In 1980, Thomas, who was born in Connecticut, landed her first major role in *The Fall Guy*. She played Jody Banks, a stuntwoman and bounty hunter, alongside Lee Majors, who was famous for his role in *The Six Million Dollar Man*.
Her role made her popular, especially among male viewers, who saw her as a sex symbol. Thomas had mixed feelings about this label.
“There’s a kind of condescension that comes with it,” she told *People*. “You fit the stereotype of the blonde bimbo. But at the time, I was just having fun.”
Unfortunately, Thomas’s fun also involved drugs, a habit that began before her role as Jody Banks.
She revealed that her drug use started in sixth grade to help keep her grades up. “I was taking acid and getting straight A’s. I thought it was mind-expanding,” Thomas said.
As Heather Thomas grew older, the drugs she used also changed.
While studying at UCLA, Thomas started using cocaine. By 1981, just one year into her role on *The Fall Guy*, her drug problems got worse.
Feeling pressure to live up to her image as a sex symbol, the 5-foot-7 actress became obsessed with her weight. She began taking Lasix, a diuretic that can cause extreme tiredness.
To fight the tiredness, she used more cocaine to stay energized.
“At first, I loved the drug. I felt like I was getting a lot out of it. It kept me awake all night, and I could still work the next day,” she said, but claimed she never used it on set. “Cocaine isn’t accepted on sets. It’s no longer cool. It’s just a personal nightmare.”
However, a source close to Thomas told *People* that her drug use was hurting her career. “People knew Heather had a problem,” the source said.
Thomas’s weight dropped from 125 to 105 pounds, and she began falling asleep between scenes. She admitted, “Sometimes, I was in a mini coma.”
One day, she passed out in front of her co-star, Lee Majors. He contacted her manager, who then called her mother.
After the final episode of *The Fall Guy* was filmed, Thomas’s mother, Gladdy Ryder, showed up on set and told her that her father was in the hospital.
Thomas rushed to St. John’s Hospital, but when she arrived, she was met by her family and friends. They were there to admit her into a three-week drug rehabilitation program.
“That day was a big relief for me,” Thomas said. When she checked into detox, she had pneumonia, scarred lungs, and inflamed kidneys. “I’d been on a roller coaster, and I wanted to get off. If my family hadn’t stepped in, I probably would have kept going until I lost my job or died.”
She also said, “The doctors told me I should have been dead three years ago.”
Determined to recover, Thomas surrounded herself with people who supported her goal of staying drug-free. That’s when she met Allan Rosenthal, co-founder of Cocaine Anonymous, and married him when she was 28. They divorced in September 1986.
That same month, Thomas was hit by a car while crossing the street, leaving her with serious injuries to both legs.
After detox, divorce, and surgery to repair major damage in one of her legs, Heather Thomas returned to acting with smaller roles in TV series. She also appeared in movies like *Cyclone* in 1987 and the 1990 Canadian film *Red Blooded American Girl* with Christopher Plummer.
With her struggles behind her, Thomas started fresh in the 1990s. While working to revive her career, she married entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham in 1992. She became a stepmother to his two daughters, Kristina and Shauna, and gave birth to her only biological child, daughter India Rose, in June 2000.
Talking about her decision to step away from acting, Thomas said, “I had about 45 restraining orders, and I was on everything from a toilet seat cover to an ashtray. Then I fell in love, had two little girls, and decided to give up acting to write for a while.”
In 2017, Thomas made a brief comeback in the movie *Girltrash: All Night Long*, one of her 26 acting credits.
However, Thomas has focused mostly on writing. She said it wasn’t a lack of roles that drove her away from acting but the constant threat of stalkers invading her privacy. “One guy climbed over the fence with a knife. I had two little girls who needed raising, so that was that. Now, I think I’m old enough that people won’t bother me as much.”
Today, Thomas is also involved in activism. She has served on the boards of the Rape Foundation and the Amazon Conservation Team.
Identifying as a feminist, which some find surprising for a former sex symbol, Thomas explained how she embraced both roles.
“When I was younger, I did what people told me. But as I got older, I didn’t compromise myself. I wanted power and freedom, and my career gave me that. I don’t think being a feminist means you should be ashamed of your body,” she said.
It’s unfortunate that Heather Thomas wasn’t able to fully revive her acting career, but we’re glad she got the help she needed and is now on a lifelong journey of recovery.
The 1980s had so many great shows, and we loved watching her as Jody Banks in *The Fall Guy* alongside Lee Majors, the Six Million Dollar Man!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about Heather Thomas and her journey to recovery!
A teenager built his ideal tiny house entirely from reused materials and now enjoys living without paying rent
While many people typically wait until they are at least 30 years old to build their dream home, the thrill of hand-crafting your ideal living space is unmatched.
Imagine the journey of creating a plan, putting your heart and soul into it, and finally seeing your vision come to life. That’s exactly what Tom did. At just 17 years old, he used his skill, creativity, and determination to make his dream a reality.
Driven by rising housing costs and a desire for independence, Tom set out to build a modest home using recycled materials. He discovered he could create something completely from scratch while staying within a budget.
“My vision for the cabin was to keep things simple and provide a stress-free lifestyle. Everything I have is mine; I paid for everything”, Tom explained.
Now, at 20, Tom is relieved knowing he won’t have to spend his hard-earned money on rent. “It’s a no-brainer life and once you’ve built something, it really is yours”, he added.
Tom’s house is located on his grandfather’s extensive property and retains a charming English country aesthetic, complete with a side window. At 17, he bought a caravan and immediately began building it while working and completing his carpentry apprenticeship, which he completed in December.
The front of his house is made of larch wood, sourced cheaply from a local sawmill, while the side walls are made of fence boards. All the windows are recycled, sourced from a website that specializes in used materials. He recently added a porch, using boards from a scaffolding company and other scrap and reclaimed wood he recovered from the job.
Upon entering Tom’s home, visitors are greeted by beautiful reclaimed wood and a tranquil poster of a seascape. “My goal was to use only reclaimed wood for the build because it’s budget-friendly,” Tom noted. Much of the wood in his home was salvaged from old homes that he personally stripped down, sanded and repurposed.
The living area includes a compact workspace for his work and meals, a standard sofa, and a wall-mounted TV. In the future, he hopes to upgrade to a multifunctional sofa with built-in storage.
Tom especially loves his kitchen, where he made a fully functional worktop out of recycled scaffolding boards and spent hours sanding and painting it. The kitchen is equipped with essential appliances such as a fridge, stove and toaster.
Opposite the kitchen is a compact bathroom with a small chemical toilet with electric flush. The shower area has corrugated iron walls and copper fittings, evoking a rustic farmhouse feel. Back in the living room, a ladder leads to the loft, which leads to Tom’s cozy bedroom with double mattress.
Tom began building his dream home at age 17 with a budget of $8,200 and an hourly wage of $5.50 and managed to save most of his income to finance the construction of his home using recycled materials.
Imagine how his home will evolve as he completes the various upgrades he has in mind! For a full tour of Tom’s home, check out the video below
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