Post by Admin on Oct 16, 2023 15:50:44 GMT -4
Suzanne Somers, who became a household name through her role on Three’s Company, has passed away. Somers’ publicist confirmed the news to THR that Somers passed at her home in Palm Springs, California after a long battle with breast cancer, surrounded by her family. She was 76 years old and a day away from her 77th birthday.
“She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years. Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family,” said the statement. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on Oct. 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”
Somers had a 60-plus year career in the business and dozens of roles throughout her time as an active performer, but for most she will be remembers as Chrissy on Three’s Company or Carol Foster-Lambert on the 1990s ABC sitcom Step By Step. Those two roles made her a fixture of TV comedy for eleven years between 1977 and 1998 and a Golden Globe nominee in 1978.
Growing up in California, Somers began her acting career in the late 1960s with small, uncredited roles in Bullitt and the thriller Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting. Her first credited role was in George Lucas’ iconic dramedy American Graffiti in 1971, albeit simply as “Blonde in T-Bird.” She had other roles (some uncredited) in films like Magnum Force and Billy Jack Goes To Washington, as well as TV shows such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Starsky & Hutch, the latter of which she played multiple roles over three episodes.
1977 saw her get the role that launched her to stardom in Three’s Company as Chrissy Snow opposite John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. The sitcom was a huge success and she appeared on both it and spinoff The Ropers. Heading into the fifth season of Three’s Company, Somers demanded a salary increase from $30,000 an episode to $150,000 an episode, which would have been equal to what Ritter was making. ABC only offered her a $5,000 increase and she missed two episode tapings before being fired.
Following her run on Three’s Company, Somers went to Las Vegas and became an entertainer there. She continued to work on TV, starring in the syndicated sitcom She’s the Sheriff for two seasons in 1987 through 1989 among other roles. She returned to prime time with Step By Step in 1991 opposite Patrick Duffy. The series ran as part of ABC’s TGIF lineup until fall 1997, when it moved to CBS for one more season. During this time she also hosted her own talk show, The Suzanne Somers Show, from 1994 to 1995.
Somers became the spokeswoman for the Thigh Master during her time on Step By Step, which propelled her name recognition higher and eventually earned her an induction into the Infomercial Hall of Fame in 2014. She and her husband Alan Hamel became very well off through her informercial work and bought out the owners of the Thigh Master. She built a business empire that included a variety of self-help and wellness products, though she also garnered criticism for her advocacy of processes like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and alternative medical treatments for dealing with cancer.
On behalf of Flow & Style Celebrity Forum our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mrs. Somers. She will be missed.
Legendary Supermodel Turned Journalist Gail O’Neill Has Died
She appeared on several covers of Essence, and in 2008, she posed for Vogue Italia for its iconic “Black Issue” to bring awareness for the lack of diversity in the fashion and beauty industry.
With heavy hearts, we report that legendary supermodel turned journalist Gail O’Neill has died. She was 61.
Earlier this week, posts began floating around Instagram commemorating her life and legacy. On Thursday (October 12), her death was confirmed by her agency with Vogue.
As the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and one of three siblings, O’Neill was destined for success, and became a pioneer who served as an agent of change in the fashion industry.
In 1985, she began making a name for herself while working at Xerox in marketing and sales. Things took a fashionable turn for her when photographer Chuck Barry scouted her. She soon landed representation at Click Models, and then, in March 1986, she graced the cover of British Vogue. That launched a movement of Black models, revered as a renaissance, charted by models securing high fashion gigs in magazines and on runways.
Gail would become the face of Avon, Esprit, and Diet Coke, among other high-profile brands. Throughout her career, she was front and center on magazine covers for Essence, Glamour, Elle, and Mademoiselle. One of her career's most talked about highlights was landing the 1992 cover of the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
In 2013, she reflected on her childhood and how beauty helped shaped her view of the world. “Beauty, or a lack of it, was not something I ever thought about as a young child,” she said. “In fact, I think children are far more adept at perceiving true beauty, because they haven’t been corrupted by outside forces. Likewise, the older we get, and the more we buy into mass media’s definition of beauty, the more likely we are to find fault with ourselves and others
“I was no different, and by the time I was 11 or 12 years old I was convinced that my tall, skinny frame was some kind of cosmic joke...with me the punchline.”
O'Neill later became a fashion industry force, though she faced rejection. In 1988, she joined the Black Girls Coalition, founded by Iman and Bethann Hardison, who told The Hollywood Reporter, "I just wanted to celebrate Black models. I wanted them to see each other."
She pivoted careers in 1999 when she became a correspondent for The Early Show on NBC. She also worked for CNN and HGTV. In 2000, she relocated to Atlanta and became an editor-at-large for ArtsATL. "This is such a huge loss. Gail was a great journalist who cared about her craft, and the people she wrote about," said ArtsATL executive editor Scott Freeman.
"She was a strong ambassador for us in addition to her stellar journalism. She was also a dear friend. Sometimes it felt like she held the city of Atlanta in the palm of her hand; whenever we went to an event together, everyone seemed to know her and wanted to be around her. Gail was special: Humble, vivacious, caring. Simply one of the most incredible people I've ever known."
The trailblazer continued to use her voice and striking beauty to spread awareness of the lack of diversity in the fashion and beauty industry. In July 2008, she posed for Vogue Italia's Black Issue, which sold out in the United States and the U.K. within 24 hours of hitting newsstands.
Her cause of death has not been disclosed.
Rest In Peace Miss O Neill
