Actress, author, and businesswoman Suzanne Somers died early today surrounded by her family. She would have been 77 years old tomorrow. After a minor stint in films, most notably a bit in 1973's American Graffiti, the Bay Area actress got her big break in the role of Chrissy Snow, the dumb blonde, in the ABC hit sitcom Three's Company. Her costars were the late John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. I never watched the show--I didn't watch much television at that time anyway and didn't often tune into ABC programs--but it was known as being one of those shows that was knee-deep in what was called "T and A" like the equally notorious Charlie's Angels. The sitcom made a big deal out of the three stars sharing a residence because there was one guy and two attractive women. As I remember, Ritter was supposed to pretend to be gay or something lest people "talk." Like I said, I never watched it. I do recall, however, it earned a place in the 1980 book, The Worst TV Shows Ever. I probably should have given the show a look because of that dubious honor.
Anyway, much of the show rode on Somers's part as the ditzy blonde. Off the set, she was anything but ditzy and was not happy with how much she was making despite being the major draw of the series. She and her second husband, Alan Hamel (he known to many Californians for his Alpha Beta commercials) tried their best to make her point, but in the end, she left the series. Somers was never out of work, however, and she starred in a number of other shows with varying success. Three's Company limped along for a couple more years before it got cancelled.
While she was acting, she was also involved in writing books promoting health and sexuality. She rightly got criticized for some of it, especially regarding the bioidentical hormones for menopause, because what she was peddling wasn't backed by science. As for sexuality, she made a big deal out of how many times a week she and her husband were having sex. She was still talking about this as recently as a year or two ago, and many people thought it was too much information. Perhaps she overdid it because in reality she was living on borrowed time.
Somers had revealed she had been battling cancer, including an aggressive form of breast cancer, from the time she was in her twenties, before she ever became famous. The cancer would return off and on throughout her adult life, until it finally got the better of her in the end. Perhaps the miracle is she lived as long as she did with the grim hand she was dealt. She made it to nearly 77 years, probably far longer than she had ever expected.
Somers was also the butt of a lot of jokes because of her promotion of products such as Thighmaster. However, she cried all the way to the bank as far as I am concerned.
In addition to her iconic roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company (1977-1981) and Carol Foster Lambert on Step by Step (1991-1998), Somers also starred as Sheriff Hildy Granger in She's the Sheriff (1987–1989).
The actress was also known for her books — she penned over 25, and was a New York Times best-selling author — and for her health and beauty business ventures, namely the ThighMaster exercise equipment.
Somers is survived by her “blended family” — Hamel, her son Bruce, 57, her stepchildren, Stephen and Leslie, and her six grandchildren.
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