Brett Somers
Encyclopedia
Brett Somers was a American
actress, singer, and comedienne who was born in Canada
and raised in Maine
. She was best known as a panelist on the 1970s game show
, Match Game
and for her recurring role as Blanche Madison opposite her real life husband Jack Klugman
on The Odd Couple
.
. Somers grew up near Portland, Maine
. She ran away from home at age 17 and moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. There she settled in Greenwich Village
. She changed her first name to "Brett" after the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway
's The Sun Also Rises
, and the surname "Somers"
was her mother's maiden name. She became a U.S. citizen late in life. After moving to New York City, Somers married and had a daughter, Leslie, before divorcing her first husband. In 1953, she married actor Jack Klugman
; they had two sons: Adam and David. The couple separated in 1974, but never divorced.
", "Kraft Television Theatre
", "Playhouse 90
" and "Robert Montgomery Presents
". Her Broadway debut, in the play "Maybe Tuesday", was a flop; the show closed after five performances.
She also appeared in Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch
and
The Country Girl
with her husband, Jack Klugman
. She also amassed a number of film credits, including A Rage to Live
, Getting There, Bone, Bus Riley's Back in Town
and The Great American Beauty Pageant.
, The Defenders, Have Gun Will Travel, Ben Casey
, CHiPs
, The Love Boat
, Barney Miller
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, and The Fugitive
.
Somers had recurring roles as Blanche, the ex-wife of Oscar Madison (played by real-life spouse Klugman), on the ABC
sitcom television series The Odd Couple
in the early 1970s, as well as the role of "Siress Belloby" on the science fiction series
Battlestar Galactica
in 1978. She played Perry Mason's receptionist "Gertie" on a short-lived revival of the series in 1973 which featured Monte Markham
as Perry Mason
.
game show
Match Game
(during her tenure she sat in the top center seat next to Charles Nelson Reilly
who joined as a regular around the same time and who occupied the top right seat). She and the show became known for somewhat outlandish and risque dialogue; the show has been described as being at a game at a cocktail party. Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs and playing foil
to Charles Nelson Reilly
, Betty White
, Richard Dawson, and Fannie Flagg
, among others. Somers was sometimes the subject of questions on Match Game, such as "You may or may not believe in reincarnation, but listen to this. In a previous life, Brett used to be a ________."
Somers was not originally on the celebrity panel. When spouse Jack Klugman
appeared on the first week of the program in 1973, he suggested that producers bring her aboard. Her wit and dry humor proved extremely successful, and she would remain a regular panelist for the remainder of the show's nine-year network and syndicated run.
Her appearances on The Match Game led radio personality Robin Quivers
to impersonate her in parodies of such game shows on The Howard Stern Show. Robin's impersonation of Brett Somers is featured in the film Private Parts
.
and Betty White
(via videolink) as part of a Match Game reunion on CBS's The Early Show
. She also appeared with Reilly on Hollywood Squares
during that show's "Game Show Week" in 2002.
In 2006, she was a prominent interviewee in The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank on GSN
, and hosted the Match Game DVD as well. Somers also appeared in a cabaret show, An Evening with Brett Somers, from 2003 to 2004.
In 2006, she also appeared on "PBS Match Game", in a special skit created just for her. In the TJL Production "My Music: Magic Moments". Brett joined a special Match Game-esque panel with Dr. Joyce Brothers
, Rip Taylor
and Wink Martindale
. Introduced as "celebrity look-alike" by Rip, Brett ad-libbed and introduced the Four Lads correct answer for "Istanbul is Constantinople". She can also be seen on the programs end credits singing "Goodnight, Sweetheart Goodnight" with the McGuire Sisters and the entire cast.
Somers died on the morning of September 15, 2007 at her home in Westport, Connecticut
. Her son Adam gave the cause of her death as stomach
and colon cancer, which first developed in 2004 but was held in remission until August 2007. She was survived by her husband, Klugman, and their two sons. Her daughter, Leslie, from Somers' first marriage, died in 2003 from lung cancer
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, singer, and comedienne who was born in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and raised in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. She was best known as a panelist on the 1970s game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
, Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
and for her recurring role as Blanche Madison opposite her real life husband Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
on The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
.
Personal life
Born Audrey Johnston in Saint John, New BrunswickSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
. Somers grew up near Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. She ran away from home at age 17 and moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. There she settled in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. She changed her first name to "Brett" after the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...
, and the surname "Somers"
was her mother's maiden name. She became a U.S. citizen late in life. After moving to New York City, Somers married and had a daughter, Leslie, before divorcing her first husband. In 1953, she married actor Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
; they had two sons: Adam and David. The couple separated in 1974, but never divorced.
Early career
Somers began her career in theater, and made many of her initial television appearances in dramatic programs such as "The Philco Television PlayhouseThe Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse, a live television anthology series sponsored by Philco, was telecast from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the NBC series was seen on Sundays from 9:00pm to 10:00pm...
", "Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
", "Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
" and "Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example,...
". Her Broadway debut, in the play "Maybe Tuesday", was a flop; the show closed after five performances.
She also appeared in Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
and
The Country Girl
The Country Girl
The Country Girl may refer to:* The Country Girl , a 1915 silent film, based on an 18th-century play by David Garrick* The Country Girl , a 1954 film based on a play by Clifford Odets, starring Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly...
with her husband, Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
. She also amassed a number of film credits, including A Rage to Live
A Rage to Live
A Rage to Live is a 1965 American drama film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Suzanne Pleshette as a woman whose passions wreak havoc on her life. The screenplay by John T. Kelley is based on the 1949 novel of the same name by John O'Hara.-Plot:...
, Getting There, Bone, Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town is a movie written by William Inge, directed by Harvey Hart, and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks.The intense drama depicts a man returning home from three years in the Navy only to find that his girlfriend has married an older man...
and The Great American Beauty Pageant.
Television credits
Somers made many appearances on episodic primetime television, including Love, American StyleLove, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, The Defenders, Have Gun Will Travel, Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
, CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, and The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
.
Somers had recurring roles as Blanche, the ex-wife of Oscar Madison (played by real-life spouse Klugman), on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom television series The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
in the early 1970s, as well as the role of "Siress Belloby" on the science fiction series
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
in 1978. She played Perry Mason's receptionist "Gertie" on a short-lived revival of the series in 1973 which featured Monte Markham
Monte Markham
Monte Markham is an American actor. During his career, Markham has appeared in film, in television, and on Broadway.Markham was born in Manatee County, Florida, the son of Millie Content and Jesse Edward Markham, Sr., who was a merchant.Of his television roles, Markham is perhaps most famous for...
as Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
.
Match Game
Somers was best-known for her appearances as a panelist on the 1970s CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
(during her tenure she sat in the top center seat next to Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
who joined as a regular around the same time and who occupied the top right seat). She and the show became known for somewhat outlandish and risque dialogue; the show has been described as being at a game at a cocktail party. Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs and playing foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
to Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, Richard Dawson, and Fannie Flagg
Fannie Flagg
Patricia Neal , known professionally as Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedienne and author. She is perhaps best-known for the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was adapted into the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes; Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for...
, among others. Somers was sometimes the subject of questions on Match Game, such as "You may or may not believe in reincarnation, but listen to this. In a previous life, Brett used to be a ________."
Somers was not originally on the celebrity panel. When spouse Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman
Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
appeared on the first week of the program in 1973, he suggested that producers bring her aboard. Her wit and dry humor proved extremely successful, and she would remain a regular panelist for the remainder of the show's nine-year network and syndicated run.
Her appearances on The Match Game led radio personality Robin Quivers
Robin Quivers
Robin Ophelia Quivers is an American radio personality, most notable for being the long-running news anchor and co-host of The Howard Stern Show. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Quivers graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in nursing. In 1975, she joined the United States Air Force...
to impersonate her in parodies of such game shows on The Howard Stern Show. Robin's impersonation of Brett Somers is featured in the film Private Parts
Private Parts (1997 film)
Private Parts is a 1997 American biographical comedy film produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, the film is an adaptation of the 1993 best-selling book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern, who stars as himself. It...
.
Later life
In 2002, she appeared with Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
and Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
(via videolink) as part of a Match Game reunion on CBS's The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
. She also appeared with Reilly on Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
during that show's "Game Show Week" in 2002.
In 2006, she was a prominent interviewee in The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank on GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
, and hosted the Match Game DVD as well. Somers also appeared in a cabaret show, An Evening with Brett Somers, from 2003 to 2004.
In 2006, she also appeared on "PBS Match Game", in a special skit created just for her. In the TJL Production "My Music: Magic Moments". Brett joined a special Match Game-esque panel with Dr. Joyce Brothers
Joyce Brothers
Joyce Brothers is an American psychologist, television personality and advice columnist, publishing a daily syndicated newspaper column since 1960.-Personal life:...
, Rip Taylor
Rip Taylor
Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor, Jr. is an American actor and comedian.-Early life:Taylor was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Elizabeth, a waitress, and Charles Elmer Taylor, Sr., a musician. As a young man, Taylor served in the Korean War while in the U.S...
and Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
. Introduced as "celebrity look-alike" by Rip, Brett ad-libbed and introduced the Four Lads correct answer for "Istanbul is Constantinople". She can also be seen on the programs end credits singing "Goodnight, Sweetheart Goodnight" with the McGuire Sisters and the entire cast.
Death
During a 2002 interview, Somers denied rumors that she had suffered from cancer. She would reiterate that point in future interviews. Somers had a naturally husky voice that might have caused the misperception that she suffered from a throat ailment.Somers died on the morning of September 15, 2007 at her home in Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
. Her son Adam gave the cause of her death as stomach
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
and colon cancer, which first developed in 2004 but was held in remission until August 2007. She was survived by her husband, Klugman, and their two sons. Her daughter, Leslie, from Somers' first marriage, died in 2003 from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.