A conversation with Lee Majors

On Saturday, July 3, the Hallmark Channel premieres “Trail to Hope Rose,” starring Ernest Borgnine (“The Wild Bunch”), Lou Diamond Phillips (“Young Guns”), Marina Black (“Six Feet Under”), Warren Stevens (“Stoker Ace”), Richard Tyson (“Genghis Khan”) and Lee Majors (“Big Valley,” “The Six Million Dollar Man” and the upcoming “Alien Apocalypse”). The film focuses on the venerable Western theme of the good guys (played by Phillips, Borgnine, Black and Majors) versus the bad guys (played by Stevens, Tyson and others).

Lee Majors made his debut in Westerns in the 1960s series “The Big Valley.”

“I remember thinking at the time,” Majors says, “that if I never do another series, that’ll be OK, because ever since I could remember I loved Western movies, and now I was actually doing a Western show, and I couldn’t imagine that it would ever get any better than that.”

Majors, who plays the role of Marshall Luther Toll in “The Trail to Hope Rose,” continues, “I used to go to the movies on Saturdays and sit through the serials and then watch whatever films they’d be showing, some with Roy Rogers, Tom Mix or Gene Autry. It didn’t matter who was the star. The story was always the same: The heroes — the guys in the white hats — always had the courage to face up to the villains — the guys in the black hats, and the good guys always won. It was a story you could take with you anywhere in life: Stand up to the bully or whatever bad guy is threatening you at the time, and he’ll back down.”

Majors (who, of course, went on to do three more series, “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “The Fall Guy” and “Tour of Duty”), says, “These days you have Westerns on TV that are more involved with psychological factors: examining motives of the villains and the heroes. That’s not my idea of a Western. And that’s one of the reasons I agreed to do ‘The Trail to Hope Rose’ (because it follows the classic form). The other reason being the chance to work with Ernie Borgnine, whom I’ve known for years and who is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet, as well as a great actor. And I also wanted to work with Lou Diamond Phillips, another fine actor. As a matter of fact, I think this film has some of the best actors in the business.”

Finally, going back to all the Westerns he appeared in after “The Big Valley,” what was Lee Majors’ most memorable role in that genre?

“That’s easy,” he says. “I got to play the Gary Cooper ‘High Noon’ character, Will Kane, in a movie called ‘High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane.’ And I even got to do the same showdown that Gary Cooper did. And that was really something.”

In Focus

Jessica Simpson (“Newlyweds”) is one of a large troupe of entertainers appearing on “An American Celebration at Ford’s Theatre,” airing July 4 on ABC and hosted by Kelsey Grammar. The event is played out for an audience that includes President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, along with other Washington dignitaries. Meanwhile, congratulations are in order for Ms. Simpson, who won the coveted role of Daisy Duke in the upcoming film “The Dukes of Hazzard,” based on the 1970s series on which Catherine Bach played Daisy.

Dial Tones

•Look for Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City,” now airing on TBS) to become more involved in matters of importance to New Yorkers (besides expensive shoes and sex, of course). Seriously, Parker is expected to work with several groups on a number of issues, including literacy and children’s health.

•Julianna Margulies, who reportedly told the British press that she never regretted turning down a multi-million dollar contract to stay with “ER” because she needed to be challenged in her career, stars in the upcoming TNT miniseries “The Grid,” bowing in on July 19. She co-stars with another series veteran, Dylan McDermott (“The Practice”).

•Meanwhile, “ER” fans are upset about the show’s decision not to invite Alex Kingston back next season as Dr. Corday. Kingston suspects this is part of the show’s plan to repopulate the cast with younger members.John Stamos is returning to series TV in an as-yet-unnamed comedy to air on ABC next year.

•And Rocco DiSpirito, whose reality series on NBC, “The Restaurant,” just did an “86” (that stands for “no-go” or “nothing” in short-order restaurant slang) is writing a cookbook.