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Brett Somers

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Brett Somers (born Audrey Dawn Johnston; July 11, 1924 – September 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American game-show personality, actress, and singer. Somers was best known as a panelist on the 1970s game showMatch Game and for her recurring role as Blanche Madison opposite her real-life husband, actor Jack Klugman, on ABC's The Odd Couple.

Personal life

Born Audrey Dawn Johnston in Halcomb, near Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada, Somers grew up near Portland, Maine. At age 18, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting,[2] settling in Greenwich Village. Her chosen first name, Brett, came from the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Her chosen surname, Somers, was her mother's maiden name.[3]

After settling in New York, she married businessman Robert H. Klein in 1948. Together they had one child, Leslie Klein (who died of lung cancer in 2003), but their marriage ended in divorce.[2] She married actor Jack Klugman in 1953; they had two sons, David and Adam.[4][5]

It was long reported that Somers and Klugman separated in 1974 but remained legally married until her death; this mistaken belief was furthered by the fact that Klugman waited until after Somers died to marry his second wife. However, California court records indicate the couple actually divorced in August 1977.[6][7][8][9][10] Somers became a U.S. citizen late in life.

Career

Early career

A member of the Actors Studio from 1952,[11][12] Somers began her career in theater and made many of her initial television appearances in dramatic programs such as The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90, The Naked City and Robert Montgomery Presents.

Her Broadway debut was in the play Maybe Tuesday. The show was a flop and closed after just five performances.[13] She also appeared onstage in productions of Happy Ending,[14]The Seven Year Itch, and The Country Girl, the last opposite Klugman. She also amassed a number of film credits, including A Rage to Live and Bus Riley's Back in Town.

Television credits

Somers made many appearances on episodic primetime television, including Love, American Style; The Defenders; Have Gun Will Travel; Ben Casey; CHiPs; The Love Boat; Barney Miller and The Fugitive. In 1973 she played Rhoda Morgenstern's Aunt Rose in the season four episode "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.[15]

She had a recurring role as Blanche, the former wife of Oscar Madison (played by real-life spouse Jack Klugman) on the ABCsitcomThe Odd Couple in the early 1970s. In 1973 she played Perry Mason's receptionist Gertie on The New Perry Mason, a short-lived revival of the classic TV series, with Monte Markham as Perry Mason. She played the role of Siress Belloby on the 1978 science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica.

Match Game

Somers was best known for her appearances as a panelist in the 1970s CBS game show Match Game. For her debut episodes she sat in the lower-left panel position, but for the remainder of her tenure she occupied the center seat of the upper tier, most often next to Charles Nelson Reilly, who joined as a regular around the same time as Somers and settled into the top-right seat. She was clearly left-handed as she was always seen writing her answers with her left hand.[16]

El programa se hizo famoso por sus diálogos un tanto extravagantes y atrevidos, a veces descritos como un juego de cóctel. Somers era una presencia habitual en pantalla, luciendo enormes gafas y diversas pelucas. Interpretó el papel de contrapunto de Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White , Scoey Mitchell , Fannie Flagg y muchos otros. Somers a veces era objeto de preguntas en Match Game , como por ejemplo: «Puede que creas o no en la reencarnación, pero escucha esto. En una vida anterior, Brett era un/una ________».

En un principio, Somers no fue considerada para el panel de celebridades. Cuando su esposo, Jack Klugman, apareció durante la primera semana del programa en 1973, insistió en que los productores la incluyeran. Ella permaneció como panelista habitual durante los nueve años que duró el programa, tanto en la televisión nacional como en la sindicada. Sus apariciones en Match Game llevaron a la locutora de radio Robin Quivers a imitarla en parodias de este tipo de concursos en The Howard Stern Show . La imitación de Somers por parte de Quivers apareció en la película Private Parts .

Vida y muerte posteriores

En 2002, apareció con Charles Nelson Reilly y Betty White (vía videoconferencia) como parte de una reunión de Match Game en el programa de CBS The Early Show . Apareció con Reilly en Hollywood Squares durante la "Semana de los concursos" de ese programa en el mismo año. Apareció en un espectáculo de cabaret, An Evening with Brett Somers, en 2003–04. [ 3 ] En 2004, [ 17 ] apareció en el especial de conciertos de PBS "Magic Moments – The Best of '50s Pop". [ 18 ] En el segmento de dos minutos, presentado por Wink Martindale , Somers fue miembro de un panel de un falso concurso con la Dra. Joyce Brothers y Rip Taylor . En 2006, fue una entrevistada destacada en The Real Match Game Story: Behind The Blank en GSN y también presentó el DVD de Match Game .

During a 2002 interview Somers denied rumors that she had cancer, which she reiterated in later interviews.[10] Somers had a naturally husky voice that might have caused the misconception that she suffered from a throat ailment. However, she was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. Following a period of remission, she died on September 15, 2007, at her home in Westport, Connecticut, at age 83. Her younger son, Adam, gave the cause of her death as stomach and colon cancer.[5] GSN hosted a daylong tribute to Somers, showcasing her most memorable appearances on Match Game.[3]

References

  1. ↑"Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca.
  2. 12Andrew Gans "DIVA TALK: A Chat with "Match Game" Star Brett Somers"Archived December 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Playbill, July 11, 2003.
  3. 123"Brett Somers, 83; 'Match Game' regular was a comedian, actress". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. September 18, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  4. ↑Ventre, Michael (October 3, 2010). "Spotlight can burn children of the famous". Today Show. New York: NBC News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  5. 12"Actress Brett Somers of "Match Game" fame dies at 83". WestportNow. September 17, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  6. ↑"Ancestry Library Edition". Interactive.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  7. ↑"California Divorce Index, 1966-1984". Family Search. May 15, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2017. Audrey Johnston and Jack Klugman, Aug 1977; from "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984"
  8. ↑"Citing Los Angeles, California, Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento". Ancestry.com. 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  9. ↑"Jack Klugman dies", CNN, December 24, 2012; accessed July 9, 2015.
  10. 12Portantiere, Michael. "Somers in the City"Archived 2007-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, Theatremania.com, July 3, 2003.
  11. ↑Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-0254-2650-4.
  12. ↑Knopf, Terry Ann. "The Rula Lenska of Game Shows". The Boston Globe. December 14, 1980. "She has been a member of the Actors' Studio for more than 25 years - proudly noting she joined the same year as James Dean."
  13. ↑"Maybe Tuesday". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  14. ↑Louis, Repertory Theatre of St. "Happy Ending | Repertory Theatre of St. Louis". www.repstl.org. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  15. ↑"The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Season 4, Episode 3 Rhoda's Sister Gets Married". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015.
  16. ↑Eakin, Marah; Teti, John; Adams, Erik (June 16, 2014). "Bonus round stars: 9 celebrities who found their greatest fame on game shows". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  17. ↑PBS's "Magic Moments - The Best of '50s Pop at WorldCat. Retrieved June 16, 2019
  18. ↑"Magic Moments - The Best of 50s' [sic] Pop (My Music #102)". KLVX. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.