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 last name, 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.[citation needed]
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]
The show became known for somewhat outlandish and risque dialogue, sometimes being described as a game played at a cocktail party. Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs. She played foil to Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Scoey Mitchell, Fannie Flagg and many 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 considered for the celebrity panel. When spouse Jack Klugman appeared during the first week of the program in 1973, he insisted that the producers bring her aboard. She remained a regular panelist for the rest of the show's nine-year network and syndicated run. Her appearances on Match Game led radio personality Robin Quivers to impersonate her in parodies of such game shows on The Howard Stern Show. Quivers' impersonation of Somers was featured in the film Private Parts.[citation needed]
Later life and death
In 2002, she appeared with Charles Nelson Reilly and Betty White (via videolink) as part of a Match Game reunion on the CBS program The Early Show. She appeared with Reilly on Hollywood Squares during that show's "Game Show Week" in the same year. She appeared in a cabaret show An Evening with Brett Somers in 2003–04.[3] In 2004,[17] she appeared on the PBS concert special "Magic Moments – The Best of '50s Pop".[18] In the two-minute segment, hosted by Wink Martindale, Somers was a member of a faux quiz-show panel with Dr. Joyce Brothers and Rip Taylor. 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.[citation needed]
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]
^"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"
^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."
