Heather Thomas, who turned 66 on September 8, was poised for a successful Hollywood career after starring opposite Lee Majors in The Fall Guy.
But when the actor’s mother showed up on set after the show’s finale was filmed, the gorgeous blonde rushed to hospital, believing that her father had an emergency.
The family and friends who greeted her at the Santa Monica hospital let her know that her dad, Leon, was fine, and that it was her who had their concerns.
This was just the beginning of a new journey for the then 28-year-old woman, whose personal life and career completely transformed after that visit to the hospital.
Keep reading to find out what happened to the former pinup girl of the 1980s!
Heather Thomas was born to act, with talent and beauty to rival Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear.
At 14, she hosted Talking with a Giant, an NBC show where she and four other teens questioned celebrities.
Before graduating, Thomas, 66, studied film and theater at UCLA and appeared in the short-lived comedy series Co-Ed Fever (1979). She wanted to become an actress, director, and writer.
Heather Locklear and Heather Thomas
In 1980, the Connecticut-born actor won her first leading role in the TV series, The Fall Guy, playing the sidekick to Lee Majors, who in the 1970s, gained global recognition for his performance as Steven Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man.
Playing Jody Banks, a stuntwoman-bounty hunter on the popular action show, Thomas was adored by the male population who viewed her as a s’e_x symbol, a title which she admits to having mixed feelings.
“There’s obligatory condescension that goes with that,” Thomas told People. “You fill that archetype, the blonde bimbo. But at that point, I was just having fun.”
Unfortunately, she was having too much fun with the inclusion of d::rug::s, a habit that started before her role as Jody Banks.
Her substa:nce use dates to the sixth grade when she started using dru_gs to maintain steady top grades. Thomas said, “I was taking acid and making straight A’s. I just thought it was mind expanding.”
As her mind evolved from child to adult, so did the dr:ugs she consumed
At UCLA Thomas started using c:ocaine & in 1981, one year into her role on The Fall Guy, her drug problems escalated.
Also, feeling like she had to live up with her s’e_x symbol title, the 5-foot-7 Thomas became obsessed with weight, and started taking Lasix, a diuretic that can cause severe lethargy.
To counteract the lethargy, she took more co:ca:ine for a burst of energy.
“At first I was in a honeymoon stage with the drug. I felt that I was getting a lot for my money. It enabled me to stay up all night and then work all the next day,” she said, claiming that she never used cocaine on set. “C:oca:ine is not approved of on sets. It’s not clubby to do it anymore. It is just a private hell.”
Contrary to her assertions, a source close to the actor told People that d:rug:s were hurting her career. “Word was out on Heather,” the person stated. “People knew she was troubled.”
Between takes, Thomas dropped from 125 to 105 pounds and fell asleep. Thomas said, “Sometimes I was in a minicoma.”
She fainted in front of Majors, who contacted her manager, who called her mother.
After The Fall Guy’s series finale, her mom, Gladdy Ryder, a former special education teacher, notified her that her father was hospitalized.
At St. John’s Hospital, the author of “Trophies” was rushed by family and friends to be admitted into a three-week drug treatment.
“It was a big relief to me,” Thomas said of that day, adding that 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 intervened, I probably would have gone on my merry way until I lost my job or I d!ed.”
She added, “…The doctors said I should have been de:a:d three years ago.”
Committed to recovery, Thomas surrounded herself with like-minded people who would benefit her goals of being d:ru:g-free. That was when Thomas, 28 at the time, met and married Allan Rosenthal, the co-founder of Cocaine Anonymous, whom she divorced in September 1986.
The same month, she suffered serious injuries to both legs when she was struck by a car while crossing the street.
Thomas returned to TV with smaller roles after detox, divorce, and leg surgery. She appeared in 1987’s Cyclone and 1990’s Canadian Red Blooded American Girl opposite Christopher Plummer.
In 1992, Thomas married entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham to restart her career after her difficulties. Thomas had her sole biological child, India Rose, in June 2000 after becoming a stepmother to Kristina and Shauna.
“So when I had about 45 restraining orders out, and I was on everything from a toilet seat cover to an ashtray–and I was in love, and [then] had two little girls–I decided to give it up and write,” she said.Heather made a brief comeback in Girltrash: All Night Long in 2017, one of her 26 acting credits.
The Zapped! actor says stalkers kept her from performing, not a lack of roles.
“I was stalked. One man climbed the barrier with a knif::e. I had two tiny children that required raising, so that was it. However, I suppose I’m old enough to be ignored.”
Thomas is now an activist and was on the Rape Foundation and Amazon Conservation Team boards.
Thomas explained the power of both as a feminist, a deceptive label for a former s:ex symbol.
When I was young, I did what others told me, but as I got older, I didn’t compromise. For power and freedom. This provided me a house and the fame to enter. Showing your body is fine. Don’t think I betrayed myself. Feminists shouldn’t be ashamed of their bodies, she argued.
Reuters. We’re sad that Heather Thomas couldn’t resume acting, but we’re glad she got therapy and is now recovering for life.
We adored her as Jody Banks in The Fall Guy with Lee Majors, one of many great 1980s series!