Suzanne Somers Dies: ‘Three’s Company’ Actress And Personal Fitness Guru Was 76
15.10.2023 - 20:43
/ deadline.com
Suzanne Somers, best known for her ditsy comedy turn in the hit television series Three’s Company, has died. She was 76.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement to People shared on behalf of the actress’ family.
“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,” the statement continued. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”
Somers first cultural impression was as the blonde beauty in a white Thunderbird in George Lucas’ ‘60s hit comedy-drama, American Graffiti (1973).
Her big break came in 1977, when she was cast as one of the two female leads in the third pilot for Three’s Company.
Somers was the epitome of the “dumb blonde” on the show as Chrissy Snow. She joined with Joyce DeWitt and John Ritter in the improbable sitcom about three roommates that captured the fancy of TV audiences, rising to No. 3 in the national ratings in its 1977-78 debut season. The racy show for its time kept in the Nielsen Top 5 through the beginning of the 1980 season, when Somers exited the show over a business conflict. She made brief cameos that season and was completely written off the show after that season, replaced by other characters.
From there, Somers tried a Vegas act, and then was the star of the syndicated sitcom She’s the Sheriff. In 1991, she again gained some momentum when she was cast opposite Patrick Duffy in Step by Step, a traditional sitcom