Suzanne Somers, Star of ‘Three’s Company,’ Is Dead at 76

A STAR IS GONE –

Oct. 15, 2023 – “Three’s Company” was one of the nation’s most popular sitcoms. During Ms. Somers’s contract negotiations with ABC in 1980, it was widely reported, she asked for a raise from $30,000 to $150,000 — equal pay with the series’ male star, Mr. Ritter. Instead of getting the raise, Ms. Somers was fired. Ms. Somers also wrote more than 25 books, several of them best sellers, which tended to focus on issues related to the body and aging.

Oct. 15, 2023 – “I’ve been playing what I think is one of the best dumb blondes that’s ever been done, but I never got any credit,” she told The New York Times that year. “I did it so well that everyone thought I really was a dumb blonde.” In the years to come, she remained recognizable for frequent appearances in movies and on television, including the 1990s sitcom “Step by Step” and talk shows.

But her later reputation sprang just as much from her business acumen — which proved to be more formidable than ABC’s executives appreciated in 1980.

She and her husband, Alan Hamel, made the ThighMaster one of the most recognizable products in infomercial history, thanks in part to Ms. Somers’s many leggy appearances alongside the product. She said that she and her husband had earned hundreds of millions of dollars from its sale.

Ms. Somers also wrote more than 25 books, several of them best sellers, which tended to focus on issues related to the body and aging.