Heather Thomas, best known for her role alongside Lee Majors in *The Fall Guy*, celebrated her 66th birthday on September 8. Once on track for a highly successful Hollywood career, her life took a significant turn after a startling hospital visit following the show’s finale.
When her mother unexpectedly arrived on set, Thomas rushed to the hospital in Santa Monica, fearing an emergency with her father. However, upon her arrival, her family and friends informed her that her father, Leon, was fine—it was her well-being they were worried about.
This hospital visit marked the beginning of a major shift for the 28-year-old, reshaping both her personal life and career.
Blessed with movie star talent and natural beauty, often compared to icons like Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear, Thomas seemed destined for stardom. At just 14, she hosted NBC’s *Talking with a Giant*, where she and other teens interviewed celebrities. Seeking to elevate her career as an actress, director, and writer, she pursued film and theater studies at UCLA. While still in school, she landed a role in the short-lived comedy series *Co-Ed Fever* in 1979.
In 1980, Thomas, born in Connecticut, secured her breakout role in *The Fall Guy*, playing Jody Banks, a stuntwoman and bounty hunter, opposite Majors. The action series made her a beloved figure among male audiences, who viewed her as a sex symbol—a label she had mixed feelings about. Reflecting on the era, she admitted, “There’s obligatory condescension that goes with that… you fill that archetype, the blonde bimbo. But at the time, I was just having fun.”
However, her fun was accompanied by a growing drug habit, which started long before her *Fall Guy* fame. Thomas revealed that her drug use began in sixth grade, where she experimented to help maintain her high grades. “I was taking acid and making straight A’s,” she recalled, believing it was a way to expand her mind.
As Heather Thomas transitioned from childhood to adulthood, so did her drug use. While attending UCLA, she began using cocaine, and by 1981, just a year into her role on *The Fall Guy*, her substance abuse worsened.
Feeling pressure to maintain her status as a sex symbol, the 5-foot-7 actress developed an obsession with her weight. She began taking Lasix, a diuretic that left her feeling extremely lethargic. To combat the exhaustion, she relied on cocaine to boost her energy.
“At first, I felt like I was getting my money’s worth,” Thomas recalled, explaining that the drug allowed her to stay up all night and work through the next day. Though she claimed never to use cocaine on set, she admitted, “Cocaine is not approved of on sets. It’s not clubby to do it anymore. It is just a private hell.”
However, a source close to the actress contradicted her, saying that her drug problem was becoming widely known in the industry. “People knew she had a problem,” the source told *People*, suggesting it was affecting her career.
As her weight plummeted from 125 to 105 pounds, Thomas was often falling asleep between takes. She confessed, “Sometimes I was in a minicoma.” Things came to a head when she passed out in front of co-star Lee Majors, prompting him to call her manager, who then contacted her mother.
After filming the final episode of *The Fall Guy*, her mother, Gladdy Ryder—a former special education teacher—showed up on set and told her that her father was in the hospital. Rushing to St. John’s Hospital, Thomas was greeted by family and friends, who were there to support her admission into a three-week drug rehabilitation program.
“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 died.”
She added, “…The doctors said I should have been dead three years ago.”
Committed to recovery, Thomas surrounded herself with like-minded people who would benefit her goals of being drug-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.
After going through detox, a divorce, and surgery to repair significant damage to one of her legs, Heather Thomas made her return to acting with smaller roles in TV series. She also appeared in films such as *Cyclone* (1987) and the 1990 Canadian movie *Red Blooded American Girl* alongside Christopher Plummer.
With her struggles behind her, Thomas entered a new chapter in the 1990s. While working to revive her career, she married entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham in 1992. In addition to becoming a stepmother to his two daughters, Kristina and Shauna, she welcomed her own daughter, India Rose, in June 2000.
Reflecting on this period, she told *Reuters*, “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 had two little girls—I decided to give it up and write for a while.”
In 2017, Thomas made a brief return to the screen in *Girltrash: All Night Long*, marking one of her 26 acting credits. However, she primarily shifted her focus to writing, explaining that it wasn’t a lack of roles but rather the constant stalking that drove her away from acting.
“I was getting so stalked. I had one guy climb over the fence with a knife once. I had these two little girls who needed me, so that was that. But I think now I’m old enough that people won’t bother me much,” she explained.
Beyond acting, Thomas became an activist, serving on the boards of the Rape Foundation and the Amazon Conservation Team. Identifying as a feminist—an interesting juxtaposition for a former sex symbol—she emphasized the empowerment of both identities.
“When I was young, I did what people told me to do, but as I got older, I didn’t compromise myself. I wanted power and freedom. Being a sex symbol gave me a house and the notoriety to get in the door. There’s nothing wrong with letting people see your body. I don’t think I betrayed myself, and being a feminist doesn’t mean you should be ashamed of your body,” she explained.
Though it’s unfortunate that Thomas wasn’t able to fully revive her acting career, it’s heartening to see that she got the help she needed and is now on a lifelong journey of recovery. We loved watching her as Jody Banks in *The Fall Guy* alongside Lee Majors, and we’re glad to see her thriving today.
What are your thoughts on Heather Thomas’s journey and recovery? We’d love to hear from you!
