Claim: Lee Majors is a performer.

Steve Austin is a science fiction character created by Martin Caidin for his 1972 novel , Cyborg . The lead character , Colonel Steve Austin , became an iconic 1970s television science fiction action hero , portrayed by American actor Lee Majors , in American television series The Six Million Dollar Man , which aired on the ABC network as a regular series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978 . In the television series , Steve Austin takes on special high-risk government missions using his superhuman bionic powers . The television character Steve Austin became a pop culture icon of the 1970s .   The Six Million Dollar Man television series had as its original working title during pre-production the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg title .   Caidin 's version of Steve Austin appeared in only four original novels unrelated to the television series continuity : Cyborg , Operation Nuke , High Crystal , and Cyborg IV .   Following the The Six Million Dollar Man television series , Lee Majors reprised the role of Colonel Steve Austin in several bionic reunion television movies in the late 1980s and 1990s .