The entertainment world is mourning Suzanne Somers. The beloved Three\u2019s Company star ended up having a long and successful career, though her childhood had a very dark side to it.
\nSomers\u2019 performance, \u201cplaying the dumbest blonde in America intellectually\u201d on Three\u2019s Company, as she described it, gave her a place in television history. But, behind the camera, things weren\u2019t all great. Somers and co-star Joyce DeWitt became bitter enemies and stayed that way for a long time.
\nIn the end, Somers and DeWitt were reunited. Before her death, the late Three\u2019s Company star opened up on what really happened.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers was born Suzanne Marie Mahoney on October 16, 1946, in San Bruno, California. Her mother, Marion, worked as a medical secretary, and her father, Francis, worked at a brewery. He had previously had some success as an athlete in baseball and boxing, but it didn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
When Suzanne grew up, the Three\u2019s Company star revealed she had been verbally abused by her father, who had alcoholism.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers were abused by her ather<\/p>\n
Speaking with Good Morning America, Suzanne Somers revealed that he called her \u201cstupid\u201d and \u201cworthless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy growing up with an alcoholic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The abuse went on for a very long time. But one night, Suzanne Somers decided that enough was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have moments where your life can fall apart, or you can use it like judo \u2014 using forward energy to win, making the negative work for you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It took her years, but in the end, Somers forgave her father. Meanwhile, he apologized for the abuse and negativity he had caused her. Even though she, of course, didn\u2019t like the abuse, Suzanne said that having an alcoholic father was the \u201cgreatest training ever\u201d because she learned how to be an advocate for herself.
\nSuzanne Somers went to a catholic high school. However, she was not to stay there for long. She had written some explicit love letters, which the nuns discovered, and she ended up being expelled. Instead, Suzanne graduated from Capuchino High School in San Bruno.<\/p>\n
Already at that point in her life, it seemed like Somers was destined for a great career. She appeared in a production of Guys and Dolls during high school, and one night, celebrity gossip columnist Walter Winchell was in the audience. He had seen Suzanne Somers\u2019 outstanding performance and decided to tell her, \u201cYou\u2019re going some place, sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Firstborn son almost passed away in car crash<\/p>\n
Somers\u2019 life took quite a turn once she attended Lone Mountain College, which today is the University of San Francisco. In 1965, she dropped out of school after discovering she was pregnant.<\/p>\n
The promising actress and the baby\u2019s father, Bruce, married just days later, and they welcomed their son, Bruce Jr. But they almost lost him.<\/p>\n
Bruce Jr almost died in a car accident, but luckily, he survived. The little boy had nightmares after the shocking incident, and Someers decided to take him to counseling.<\/p>\n
It turned out that counseling was also needed for Suzanne, as the counselor realized something was wrong. Once again, her childhood and her father became the talking point.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018He\u2019s fine. You need to stay.\u2019 I said, \u2018Why?\u2019\u201d Somers recalled the therapist saying after one year of counseling for her son. \u201cThat\u2019s when she said, \u2018You\u2019re a walking apology. I\u2019ve never met somebody with such low self-esteem.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the craziest, most violent, most unbelievable father,\u201d she says. \u201cI had to do this musical because how do you start out in a closet and end up with the life I have today?\u201d<\/p>\n
The low self-esteem would follow Somers into her professional life. She got a small role in George Lucas\u2019 film American Graffiti, which would change her entire career for the better. Or, more precisely, her one line \u201cI love you\u201d did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a life-changing moment. Five seconds on film that will never be forgotten,\u201d she said, adding that Lucas told her, \u201cEverybody will always remember the mysterious blonde in the Thunderbird.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers on \u2018Three\u2019s Company\u2019<\/p>\n
That was set to be true. Somers got a gig at The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where she began reading poetry in front of a national audience every month. She credited herself as the \u201cMysterious Blonde in the Thunderbird.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was difficult to miss Suzanne Somers, and this one TV executive didn\u2019t either. He offered her a role in a new television series called Three\u2019s Company.<\/p>\n
She was cast as Chrissy Snow and helped the series become a television mega-hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am really proud of creating that dumb blonde cause she had a moral code. She was lovable,\u201d Somers explained.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers\u2019 life changed while on Three\u2019s Company, starring alongside John Ritten, Joyce DeWitt, and Don Knotts. She appeared in 100 episodes of the show, but her time there abruptly ended.<\/p>\n
In 1981, the discussion about equal salary between men and women wasn\u2019t a hot topic \u2013 or no topic at all. However, Somers wanted it to be different. She landed herself in hot water over her salary, as she asked the producers for a 500 percent raise. Instead of the $30,000 she earned weekly, she wanted $150,000, equal to her male co-star John Ritter.<\/p>\n
Instead of meeting her demands, Suzanne Somers was fired.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been playing what I think is one of the best dumb blondes that\u2019s ever been done, but I never got any credit,\u201d she told The New York Times the same year. \u201cI did it so well that everyone thought I really was a dumb blonde.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her husband, Alan Hamel, a former television producer representing his wife during the negotiations, told People that the decision to fire her was meant to discourage other women from following Somers\u2019 lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did I think I could get paid what men are being paid\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2005, Suzanne Somers reflected on the time after she got fired.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got fired, I thought, \u2018I should never have asked. Why did I ask? Why did I think I could get paid what men are being paid? Who did I think I was?\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than thinking, \u2018Hey, c\u2019mon. I have the highest demographics of any woman on television. I\u2019m on the No. 1 show. I\u2019m doing the heavy lifting, too,\u2019 I went right into low self-esteem. I hid in my house for a year in absolute grief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though it was a fair proposal for Somers, her career had worsened because of her demands on Three\u2019s Company. The following situation didn\u2019t improve either, as no one wanted to hire her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere I was on the number one show, and I couldn\u2019t even get an interview because I was considered trouble,\u201d Somers told CNBC.<\/p>\n
While Somers fought for her equal pay, things got heated on set. She and co-star Joyce DeWitt\u2019s relationship was going up in flames, and tensions on set were high.<\/p>\n
Even though she had been fired, Suzanne Somers needed to finish the fifth season of Three\u2019s Company. However, she was not allowed to interact with any cast members, including Joyce DeWitt.<\/p>\n
Her scenes were limited to bizarre phone conversations filmed on a side set. Suzanne was escorted to and from the site by a police guard.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Somers\u2019 character of Chrissy was replaced \u2013 first by Chrissy\u2019s cousin Cindy Snow, played by Jenilee Harrison, and then by nurse Terri Alden, played by Priscilla Barnes, from 1981 until the show\u2019s end in 1984.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers\u2019 troubled relationship with Joyce DeWitt<\/p>\n
\u201cThey painted me as she\u2019s trying to ruin the show,\u201d Somers said in 2020. \u201cSo, I never talked to anybody on that show ever again. Ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had very different approaches to our careers,\u201d DeWitt said of the relationship between her and Somers following the show. \u201cWe had very different needs. I did not have a child that I was supporting on my own. I didn\u2019t have a business head, so I didn\u2019t understand someone who did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt didn\u2019t speak for more than 30 years. However, they finally reunited in February 2012 on Somers\u2019 talk show Breaking Through. The former co-stars and friends hugged and chatted about their different perspectives and paths in life.<\/p>\n
While DeWitt went on to work in theatre, she thanked Somers for the opportunity to \u201cwalk her talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have relentlessly said that it is my opinion that the only reason Three\u2019s Company is worth remembering is that it created an opportunity for all of us to laugh together, to celebrate joy. It\u2019s a profound gift,\u201d she said on the show.<\/p>\n
Moreover, DeWitt revealed that she had avoided the fame part of the industry business in later years.<\/p>\n
She expressed tremendous respect for Somers\u2019 accomplishments.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers dead at 76<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went up against ruthlessness, and it came down,\u201d Dewitt said. \u201cWhat you\u2019ve gone on to do is immeasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a group of serious actors, I probably pissed you all off,\u201d Somers concluded.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Somers became a successful businesswoman, author, and fighter for women\u2019s rights. The actress made millions writing books and also promoting clothes and fitness equipment for women. Sadly, her life ended just days ago when it was announced she passed away at age 76.<\/p>\n
The official cause of death was breast cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuzanne 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,\u201d Somers\u2019 longtime publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement on behalf of the actress\u2019 family.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cHer 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further, Hay told People, \u201cThere were all these plans, and she was always working and dreaming and had brought her family into the business, and the grandchildren and step-children were all part of the business,\u201d adding that Suzanne was \u201cvery engaged right to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joyce DeWitt breaks silence on Suzanne Somers\u2019 death<\/p>\n
Fans worldwide mourn the beloved actress and entrepreneur, and several former colleagues decided to speak out on the sad news of her passing. One of those was her former co-star, somewhat enemy, and later friend, Joyce DeWitt.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart goes out to Suzanne\u2019s family,\u201d DeWitt told People. \u201cThey are a very close family \u2014 deeply connected and caring one to the other. I can only imagine how difficult this time is for all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cI\u2019m sure Suzanne was greeted by Angels into the loving wisdom waiting for all of us on the other side, and I hope that will assist her family\u2019s hearts in healing as they travel through this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week, a private family burial will take place. A memorial will be held in November.<\/p>\n
Rest in peace, Suzanne Somers. Please share this article to honor her.<\/p>\n