Suzanne Somers, actress & Palm Springs resident, dead at 76 after long battle with breast cancer
Actress and Palm Springs resident Suzanne Somers, died today after a long battle with breast cancer, one day before her 77th birthday, according to multiple media reports.
Somers rocketed to fame as ditzy blonde Chrissy Snow on ABC's "Three's Company'' in the late 1970s and later enjoyed a successful career as a businesswoman and author.
"Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of Oct. 15th,'' her publicist R. Couri Hay said in a statement released to the media. "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. 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."
The celebrity news site Page Six reported that Somers died in Palm Springs.
Statement from the city of Palm Springs:
"The City of Palm Springs is heartbroken to learn of the passing of iconic actress, author, health guru and long-time resident Suzanne Somers, a much loved member of our community for more than 40 years,” said Mayor Grace Garner,” who noted over the decades Somers was a huge supporter of the Palm Springs Police and Fire departments, served as 2013 Celebrity Grand Marshal of the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade, and helped christen the BUZZ Trolley in 2014. “A bright star in our city has left us, but we are forever thankful to Suzanne for always supporting Palm Springs and sharing her love for our uniquely special city with the world. She was truly a part of the magic that makes Palm Springs like no place else and we will never forget her. On behalf of our residents, we send our deepest condolences to Suzanne’s husband Alan and her family."
After many small roles in films and TV shows, including a non-speaking part as the iconic woman in the Thunderbird in 1973's "American Graffiti," Somers hit it big when "Three's Company" premiered in 1977.
Alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt, she played a one of two single women sharing an apartment with Ritter's character, who pretends to be gay to avoid the disapproval of the trio's landlord. Slammed by critics as low-brow "jiggle show'' whose plots often relied on tired tropes of mistaken identity, the series nevertheless was enormously popular.
Somers left the show at the height of its popularity after a contract dispute in its fifth season.
Our very own Karen Devine interviewed Somers while she was training for the 2015 Dancing with the Stars television competition.
The late 1980s brought another, albeit less successful leading sitcom role in "She's The Sheriff," which ran for two seasons.
She gained renewed notoriety as the spokeswoman for the Thighmaster in a series of commercials for the popular piece of exercise equipment in the 1990s.
Over the last two-plus decades of her life, Somers wrote several books on aging, diet, and health-related issues.
She married Canadian producer and television host Alan Hamal in 1977, her second marriage. Hamal is 87.
