To this day, Lee Majors is known to most Americans as Steve Austin, aka “The Six Million Dollar Man,” though the signature science-fiction program ended 40 years ago.

Running for 99 episodes from 1974 to 1978, “The Six Million Dollar Man” followed the adventures of Steve Austin, an ex-astronaut rebuilt after nearly losing his life in an accident. Using — you guessed it — $6 million, Austin is turned into a cyborg with all the features of a man still intact plus the added bonuses of enhanced strength, vision, speed, etc.

“The Six Million Dollar Man” was a huge step forward for grounded science-fiction on television, and it remains supremely popular today. There are even still reports that Mark Wahlberg is working on a reboot film based on the show, to be titled “The Six Billion Dollar Man” — obviously with an upgraded dollar amount because, well, inflation just plain stinks.

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As 2018 marks 40 years since the show said its goodbyes, here’s a look at five facts you likely never knew about the series that turned Lee Majors into Steve Austin.

1.) Majors did many of his own stunts. During the action scenes, viewers could often see Majors’ full body and face, something camera and editing work usually hide given the presence of stuntmen in most cases.

Though he couldn’t do every stunt, Majors had the motivation and athleticism to do what he reportedly believes to be over 80 percent of his own stunts (he played college football).

2.) Majors was nearly replaced. Amid contract disputes in 1977, producers reportedly began sniffing around for new candidates to fill their lead actors’ shoes. One of those considered was Olympian Bruce Jenner — now known as Caitlyn Jenner.

Interestingly enough, Jenner would end up a replacement for an actor on another popular series, “CHiPs.” The move was extremely unpopular with fans and only lasted a handful of episodes. Good thing producers worked things out with Majors.

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3.) Farrah Fawcett had not one role on the show — but four. “Charlie’s Angels” superstar Farrah Fawcett was married to Lee Majors while they were both on popular television programs. However, before Fawcett scored her gig on “Angels,” she appeared on “The Six Million Dollar Man” — playing three different characters in four different episodes.

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4.) The show was based on a novel. “The Six Million Dollar Man” may have seemed like an original concept at the time, but it was loosely based on a best-selling novel by Martin Caidin, “Cyborg,” which was released in 1972. It inspired multiple sequels in book form.

5.) There were six television movies. The show was a successful movie franchise outside of its main television programming. Before the series aired its first episode, Lee Majors took on the role of Steve Austin in three made-for-television movies.

The first movie, titled “The Six Million Dollar Man,” was such a ratings success it inspired the creation of two more films, titled “The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War” and “The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping.”

The end of the program was also followed by three more TV films, with Majors reprising his role as Austin in all three.

The movies focused on combining “The Six Million Dollar Man” with its spinoff series, “The Bionic Woman,” which starred Lindsay Wagner in the lead role and ran for three seasons.

“The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” aired in 1987, “Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” aired in 1989, and “Bionic Ever After?” aired in 1994. The last film featured a special wedding many fans had been awaiting for years.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]