Suzanne Somers
Actress
About This Interview
In her Archive interview, Suzanne Somers discusses her early years as a single mother and struggling model/actress. When she landed a small but memorable role in the feature film American Graffiti, it led to appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and her casting on Three's Company. Somers describes being mentored by Three's Company producer Michael Ross and star John Ritter, and how she came to grasp the essence of comedy acting. She speaks frankly about the pitfalls of her meteoric rise to stardom, which eventually resulted in her exit from Three's Company. She then speaks about her subsequent work as a Vegas headliner, author, and star of 1990s sitcom Step By Step. Suzanne Somers was interviewed in Malibu CA on July 15, 2009; Stephen J. Abramson conducted the two-hour interview.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
Video: Suzanne Somers on The New Dating Game (1974)
Resources
Links:
Book: After the Fall: How I Picked Myself Up, Dusted Myself Off, and Started All Over Again
DVD: Three's Company: Season One
IMDb entry for Suzanne Somers
Wikipedia page for Suzanne Somers
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
Actress Suzanne Somers on how she first came to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in her early career (pre-Three's Company)
Clip begins at: 24:52, Duration: 02m 45s- Actress Suzanne Somers on how she was cast on Three's Company by ABC exec Fred Silverman, who had seen her on The Tonight Show
Clip begins at: 31:17, Duration: 03m 02s - Actress Suzanne Somers on learning comedy from John Ritter and being mentored by producer Mickey Ross (and their eventual falling out)
Clip begins at: 38:15, Duration: 02m 26s - Actress Suzanne Somers on her Three's Company character "Chrissy Snow"
Clip begins at: 41:13, Duration: 00m 42s - Actress Suzanne Somers on Three's Company as part of ABC's successful Tuesday night lineup
Clip begins at: 48:20, Duration: 00m 34s - Actress Suzanne Somers on her working relationship with John Ritter on Three's Company
Clip begins at: 48:54, Duration: 02m 26s - Actress Suzanne Somers on the popularity of Three's Company
Clip begins at: 52:31, Duration: 01m 25s 
Actress Suzanne Somers on how the hairstyle and trademark laugh for her Three's Company character "Chrissy Snow" came about
Clip begins at: 03:01, Duration: 02m 02s- Actress Suzanne Somers on how her contract was not renewed for Three's Company
Clip begins at: 25:38, Duration: 05m 40s - Actress Suzanne Somers on how her bad departure from Three's Company affected her
Clip begins at: 35:41, Duration: 01m 40s - Actress Suzanne Somers on deciding to take sitcom Step By Step over a Broadway role
Clip begins at: 38:11, Duration: 02m 00s
Interview
- Part 1
- On her parents; on her desire to become a performer; on early TV she watched, including The Ed Sullivan Show; on playing the female lead in "Guys and Dolls"; on her father's alcoholism
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On becoming a teenage mother/wife; on her early modeling and acting career; on her son's childhood accident and its aftermath (the counseling she received)
Clip begins at: 13:14 - On her appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in her early career; on appearing on the syndicated game show The Anniversary Game, hosted by her future husband Alan Hamel; on her audition for the movie American Graffiti
Clip begins at: 24:52 - On how she was cast on Three's Company by ABC exec Fred Silverman, who had seen her on The Tonight Show; on how she nearly declined auditioning for Three's Company after she had a near-death plane experience; on the resentment she felt from others when she won acting awards having never studied acting; on learning comedy from John Ritter and being mentored by producer Mickey Ross (and their eventual falling out)
Clip begins at: 31:17 - On her Three's Company character "Chrissy Snow"; on how she missed out on several movie opportunities during Three's Company; on her inexperience at the start of Three's Company; on her audition (with Joyce DeWitt); on Three's Company as part of ABC's successful Tuesday night lineup; on her working relationship with John Ritter
Clip begins at: 41:13 - On her similarities to her character "Chrissy Snow"; on the popularity of Three's Company; on her initial fame; on actor Norman Fell ("Mr. Roper"); on the atmosphere on the set of Three's Company
Clip begins at: 51:33 - Part 2
- On how the hairstyle and trademark laugh for her Three's Company character "Chrissy Snow" came about; on her character's innocence; on performing physical comedy with John Ritter
Clip begins at: 0:20 - On the beginning of her stardom (and conflicts on Three's Company) during a Newsweek cover photo shoot; on angering ABC when she "sold" her hiatus to CBS; on how her contract was not renewed for Three's Company
Clip begins at: 12:52 - On headling in Las Vegas; on how her contract was not renewed for Three's Company; on how her bad departure from Three's Company affected her
Clip begins at: 23:10 - On deciding to take sitcom Step By Step over a Broadway role; on working on Step By Step; on career advice to actors
Clip begins at: 38:11
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What a great interview, and such a great woman making great contributions and magnificent strides to keep people motivated and inspired. You can tell when people are happy and at peace with themselves and their lives and this certainly shines through in this interview. Thanks Suzanne and thanks for TVLegends for giving us another treasure!
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