Suzanne Somers, the vivacious blonde actress credited with portraying Chrissy Snow on “Three’s Company” and becoming a successful entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author, has passed away. At the time, she was 76.
Sunday morning marked the end of Somers’s 23-year battle with breast cancer, according to a statement released by her family via her longstanding publicist, R. Couri Hay. Her immediate family members, including her spouse Alan Hamel and their son Bruce, accompanied her to Palm Springs, California.
“On October 16th, her family gathered to honour her 77th birthday,” the statement continued. “On the contrary, they shall commemorate her remarkable existence and extend their sincere gratitude to the countless admirers and adherents who cherished her.”
In July, Somers announced via Instagram the recurrence of her breast cancer.
“Like any cancer patient, you feel a pit in your stomach when you hear the dreaded phrase ‘It’s back.'” “I donned my battle attire and prepared to engage in combat,” she initially told Entertainment Tonight. “I am very tough and this is a battleground I am very familiar with.”
Before her initial diagnosis in 2000, she had been afflicted with skin cancer. Somers encountered criticism due to her purported adoption of an organic and chemical-free way of living to combat cancers. Her dissenting views regarding chemotherapy were expressed in books, and talk shows such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” where she faced censure from the American Cancer Society.
Suzanne Somers, of ‘Three’s Company,’ dies at 76
Somers was born in San Bruno, California, in 1946 to a mother who was a medical secretary and a father who was a horticulturist. Later, she would reveal that her childhood was turbulent. Her father was an abusive alcoholic. She married Bruce Somers at 19 after becoming pregnant with her son, Bruce. She began supporting herself as a model for “The Anniversary Game” three years after the couple’s divorce. She became acquainted with Hamel during this period; the two were wed in 1977.
Early in the 1960s, she began her acting career with her debut appearing in the Steve McQueen film “Bullitt.” But she truly came into her light in 1973, when George Lucas cast her as the blonde driver of the white Thunderbird in “American Graffiti.” Her sole dialogue consisted of murmuring “I love you” to the character portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss.
During her audition, Lucas merely inquired about her driving ability. She stated at the time that it “permanently altered her life.”
Later, Somers would perform “The Blonde in the Thunderbird,” a one-woman Broadway show based on her biography, to largely negative reviews.
During the 1970s, she appeared in numerous television programs, such as “The Rockford Files,” “Magnum Force,” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.” However, her most renowned role was in “Three’s Company,” which debuted on ABC in 1977 and ran until 1984; her participation concluded in 1981.
In the flatmate comedy “Three’s Company,” she portrayed the sassy blonde who stood opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt.
“In reality, she was an intellectual creation,” she stated to CBS News in 2020. “Insights on how to endear her and make her lovable… stupid blondes are annoying.” I imparted a moral code to her. I perceived it as the ideal childhood that I had yearned for.
In 1980, following four seasons, she requested an increase in compensation from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode, a figure on par with Ritter’s salary. Hamel, an ex-producer of television programming, had proposed the request.
“The response from the show was, ‘Who do you believe you are?'” In 2020, Somers told People. “They proclaimed John Ritter to be the star.”
Her character was replaced for the remaining years of the program aired by two roommates after she was expeditiously phased out and fired. Additionally, it caused a rift between her and her co-stars; they remained silent for years. After his passing, Somers reconciled with Ritter and DeWitt on her online talk program.
However, Somers utilized the hiatus to pursue new endeavors, such as launching a talk show, performing in Las Vegas, and becoming an entrepreneur. During the 1990s, she was appointed as the brand spokesperson for “ThighMaster.”
Her most notable network television appearance was “Step by Step,” broadcast on ABC’s youth-oriented TGIF lineup in the 1990s. The network also broadcast “Keeping Secrets,” a biopic of her life in which she starred.
In addition to being a prolific author, Somers authored books concerning sex, cancer, aging, menopause, attractiveness, and wellness.
She was surrounded by family and in high spirits before her passing; she discussed her birthday plans with People Magazine, where she stated that she would be spending it with her “nearest and dearest.”
Hamel stated in the People article that she had recently returned from six weeks of intensive physical therapy in the Midwest.
“Sixty years into our marriage, I continue to be astounded by Suzanne’s extraordinary determination and dedication,” Hamel remarked.
She informed the publication that she had requested “substantial quantities of cake.”
“Cake is my absolute favourite,” she declared.
SOURCE – (AP)
