Heather Thomas, best known for her role as Jody Banks in The Fall Guy, seemed destined for a long and successful Hollywood career. With striking beauty and undeniable talent, she was often compared to icons like Farrah Fawcett and Heather Locklear. However, beneath the glitz and glamour, Thomas battled a personal struggle that nearly derailed her life and career.
Born in Connecticut, Thomas showed promise in the entertainment industry from a young age. By 14, she was hosting Talking with a Giant, an NBC series where she interviewed celebrities alongside four other teens. Determined to pursue acting, directing, and writing, she enrolled at UCLA to study film and theater. Before even graduating, she landed a role in Co-Ed Fever (1979), a short-lived comedy series. But her breakthrough came in 1980 when she was cast in The Fall Guy, starring opposite Lee Majors. The show, where she played a stuntwoman-turned-bounty hunter, cemented her status as a sex symbol, a title she had mixed feelings about.
“There’s an obligatory condescension that goes with that,” she once said. “You fill that archetype, the blonde bimbo. But at that point, I was just having fun.”
However, behind the scenes, her personal life was spiraling. Her struggles with substance use began early—by sixth grade, she was experimenting with drugs while maintaining top grades. “I was taking acid and making straight A’s. I just thought it was mind-expanding,” she admitted. By the time she reached UCLA, she had started using cocaine, and by 1981, one year into The Fall Guy, her addiction had escalated.
In addition to the pressures of fame, Thomas felt an increasing need to maintain a certain physique, which led her to abuse Lasix, a diuretic. The drug left her lethargic, so she turned to cocaine for an energy boost. Initially, she thought she was in control. “At first, I was in a honeymoon stage with the drug. It enabled me to stay up all night and then work all the next day,” she said, though she insisted she never used cocaine on set. Despite her claims, a source close to her told People magazine that her drug use was affecting her career. “Word was out on Heather,” the source revealed. “People knew she had a problem.”
Her declining health became evident. She dropped from 125 to 105 pounds and often fell asleep between takes. Eventually, she collapsed in front of Lee Majors, prompting her manager to call her mother. When The Fall Guy wrapped, her mother, Gladdy Ryder, tricked her into rushing to the hospital under the pretense that her father was sick. Instead, she was met by concerned family and friends who urged her to check into a three-week drug treatment program.
“It was a big relief to me,” Thomas later said, reflecting on her intervention. When she entered detox, she was suffering from 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.” Doctors even told her she should have been dead three years earlier.
Determined to stay sober, she surrounded herself with supportive people, including Allan Rosenthal, co-founder of Cocaine Anonymous, whom she married. However, the marriage ended in divorce in September 1986. That same month, she suffered severe leg injuries when she was hit by a car while crossing the street.
After overcoming addiction, divorce, and surgery, Thomas tried to revive her career. She appeared in films like Cyclone (1987) and the Canadian thriller Red Blooded American Girl (1990). By the 1990s, she took a step back from acting and focused on writing. In 1992, she married entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham, becoming a stepmother to his daughters, Kristina and Shauna. She later welcomed her only biological child, India Rose, in June 2000.
Reflecting on her decision to leave acting, Thomas revealed that stalkers had a significant impact on her choice. “I was getting so stalked. I had one guy climb over the fence with a knife one time. I had these two little girls, and they desperately needed raising, so that was that. But I think now I have gotten so old that people won’t bother me much.”
In 2017, she made a brief comeback in Girltrash: All Night Long, one of her 26 acting credits. But her passion had shifted to activism and writing. She served on the board for the Rape Foundation and the Amazon Conservation Team.
A proud feminist, Thomas dismissed the idea that being a sex symbol contradicted her beliefs. “When I was young, I did what people told me to do, but when I was older, I didn’t compromise myself. I wanted power and freedom. This gave me a house and the notoriety to get into the door. There is nothing horrible in letting people see your body. I don’t think I betrayed myself. I don’t think being a feminist means you should be ashamed of your body.”
Although Thomas never fully returned to Hollywood, her journey is one of resilience. She overcame addiction, took control of her life, and focused on her passions. While many fans wish she had continued acting, she found fulfillment in other pursuits.
Looking back, Thomas’s time as Jody Banks in The Fall Guy remains a beloved memory for fans of 1980s television. Though she faced challenges, she emerged stronger, living proof that recovery and reinvention are always possible.
