Heather Thomas, who turned 66 on September 8, was well-known for her leading part in The Fall Guy with Lee Majors and was expected to have a very successful Hollywood career.

However, the stunning blonde hurried to the hospital, thinking her father had an emergency, when the actor’s mother appeared on set during the filming of the show’s conclusion.

She was informed by her relatives and friends who met her at the Santa Monica hospital that her father, Leon, was doing well and that their worries were with her.

For the then-28-year-old woman, this was just the start of a brand new path, as her work and personal life completely changed following that hospital visit.

Discover what became of the former 1980s pinup girl by continuing to read!

Heather Thomas fulfilled her destiny, possessing a natural beauty and ability that rivaled that of Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear.

When the girl was just 14 years old, she presented the talk show Talking with a Giant on NBC, where she and four other teenagers conducted celebrity interviews.

Thomas, now 66, studied theater and cinema at UCLA with the goal of advancing her career as an actor, director, and writer. The year before she graduated, she made an appearance in the short-lived comedy series Co-Ed Fever (1979).

The actor, who was born in Connecticut, landed her first major part in 1980 in the television series The Fall Guy. She played Lee Majors’ sidekick, who in the 1970s became well-known throughout the world for his portrayal of Steven Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man.

As the popular action show’s stuntwoman-bounty hunter Jody Banks, Thomas was adored by men who saw her as a sex symbol—a label about which she acknowledges she feels conflicted.

“That comes with a certain amount of required condescension,” Thomas told People. “The blonde bimbo is a stereotype that you fit into. But I was simply enjoying myself at the moment.

Regretfully, she was enjoying herself excessively when using drugs, a tendency that predates her portrayal of Jody Banks.

Her history with drugs began in the sixth grade, when she began abusing narcotics to keep her grades at the top. “I was taking acid and getting straight As,” Thomas declared. I simply believed it to be mind-blowing.

In 1981, Heather Thomas, an actress, posed for a picture in Los Angeles, California. (Image by Getty Images/Harry Langdon))

Her mother, former special education teacher Gladdy Ryder, informed her daughter that her father was in the hospital after the Fall Guy series finale concluded.

The writer of “Trophies” hurried to St. John’s Hospital, where she was welcomed by relatives and friends who were prepared to have her admitted into the three-week drug program.

Thomas remarked of that day, “It was a big relief to me.” She also mentioned that she had pneumonia, scarred lungs, and swollen kidneys when she checked into detox. “I wanted to get off the roller coaster I’d been on.” I most likely would have continued on my merry way till I lost my job or passed away if my family hadn’t stepped in.

“The doctors said I should have died three years ago,” she continued.

Thomas, who was dedicated to her recovery, surrounded herself with people who shared her values and would help her achieve her drug-free objectives. That’s when Allan Rosenthal, a co-founder of Cocaine Anonymous, and 28-year-old Thomas first met. She later got married to him and filed for divorce in September 1986.

She was hit by a car while crossing the street that same month, severely injuring both of her legs.