| BIOGRAPHY
Though best known for portraying rather ditzy blondes in television
series such as Three's Company and Step by Step, there is much
more to Suzanne Somers than meets the eye. In addition to acting,
Somers has found success as an author, poet, entrepreneur, spokeswoman,
nightclub performer and talkshow hostess.
The daughter of a secretary and high school athletic coach, Somers
briefly attended a private Catholic School until she was expelled
for passing notes to her friends. Following graduation from public
school, Somers attended Lone Mountain College in San Francisco.
Marrying and divorcing early, Somers had a child to support, so
she sought out modelling and acting work, with a few stints as
a cocktail waitress. TV bit roles and fleeting appearances in
such San Francisco-based films as Bullitt (1968) led to a decorative
girl-friday job on a TV game show hosted by Alan Hamel, whom she
eventually married. Always just on the brink of stardom, Somers
took whatever job came along, gaining a measure of attention as
the mysterious "blonde in the car" in the 1973 film
American Graffiti (a role later expanded for the film's reissue
after Somers became famous).
One audition struck gold in 1977 when Somers was cast as the
dumbest of dumb blondes Chrissy on the ABC sitcom Three's Company
where Somers scored a hit with viewers. This being the Fonzie/Farrah
Fawcett Majors era of TV idolatry, Somers was suddenly catapulted
into sex-symbol status, with one of her "pin-up" photos
selling 500,000 copies. This sudden fame led Somers to insist
upon a salary raise - but the producers weren't prepared to pay
$100,000 weekly for an actress previously receiving $30,000, nor
did they want to give her a percentage of profits. Somers tried
to break her contract, but was held to it by the producers, who
forced her into what was virtually an extra role, limiting her
weekly appearance to one minute, physically separated from her
co-stars. Somers was off the show by 1980, and up until 1986 rarely
appeared on television. Instead, Somers found success headlining
a Las Vegas show where she pulled down $100,000 for each performance.
The comeback began with a 1986 syndicated situation comedy, She's
the Sheriff, which lasted two years. In the '90s, Somers began
marketing exercise equipment products such as the Thighmaster
and Buttmaster, via television infomercials. The products' success
have made Somers a millionaire...again. |
FILMOGRAPHY
• Say It Isn't So (2001)
• No Laughing Matter (1999)
• Seduced by Evil (1994)
• Serial Mom (1994)
• Exclusive (1982)
• Nothing Personal (1980)
• Yesterday's Hero (1979)
• Ants (1977)
• Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977)
• American Graffiti (1973) |
