Three’s Company Star Suzanne Somers Passes Away

Suzanne Somers, who became a household name through her role on Three’s Company, has passed away. Somers’ publicist confirmed the news to THR that Somers passed at her home in Palm Springs, California after a long battle with breast cancer, surrounded by her family. She was 76 years old and a day away from her 77th birthday.

“She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years. Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,” said the statement. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on Oct. 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

Somers had a 60-plus year career in the business and dozens of roles throughout her time as an active performer, but for most she will be remembers as Chrissy on Three’s Company or Carol Foster-Lambert on the 1990s ABC sitcom Step By Step. Those two roles made her a fixture of TV comedy for eleven years between 1977 and 1998 and a Golden Globe nominee in 1978.

Growing up in California, Somers began her acting career in the late 1960s with small, uncredited roles in Bullitt and the thriller Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting. Her first credited role was in George Lucas’ iconic dramedy American Graffiti in 1971, albeit simply as “Blonde in T-Bird.” She had other roles (some uncredited) in films like Magnum Force and Billy Jack Goes To Washington, as well as TV shows such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Starsky & Hutch, the latter of which she played multiple roles over three episodes.

1977 saw her get the role that launched her to stardom in Three’s Company as Chrissy Snow opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. The sitcom was a huge success and she appeared on both it and spinoff The Ropers. Heading into the fifth season of Three’s Company, Somers demanded a salary increase from $30,000 an episode to $150,000 an episode, which would have been equal to what Ritter was making. ABC only offered her a $5,000 increase and she missed two episode tapings before being fired.

Following her run on Three’s Company, Somers went to Las Vegas and became an entertainer there. She continued to work on TV, starring in the syndicated sitcom She’s the Sheriff for two seasons in 1987 through 1989 among other roles. She returned to prime time with Step By Step in 1991 opposite Patrick Duffy. The series ran as part of ABC’s TGIF lineup until fall 1997, when it moved to CBS for one more season. During this time she also hosted her own talk show, The Suzanne Somers Show, from 1994 to 1995.

Somers became the spokeswoman for the ThighMaster during her time on Step By Step, which propelled her name recognition higher and eventually earned her an induction into the Infomercial Hall of Fame in 2014. She and her husband Alan Hamel became very well off through her informercial work and bought out the owners of the ThighMaster. She built a business empire that included a variety of self-help and wellness products, though she also garnered criticism for her advocacy of processes like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and alternative medical treatments for dealing with cancer.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mrs. Somers. She will be missed.