BRETT SOMERS
Name: Brett Somers
Birth name: Audrey Johnston
Born: 11 July 1924 New Brunswick, Canada
Died: 15 September 2007 Westport, Connecticut, USA
Brett Somers (July 11, 1924 – September 15, 2007)[1] was a Canadian-born
American actress, singer, and comedienne. She was best known as a panelist on
the 1970s game show, Match Game.
Born as Audrey Johnston in New Brunswick, Canada, she grew up near Portland,
Maine. She ran away from home at age 17 and moved to New York City to pursue a
career in acting. There she settled in Greenwich Village. She changed her
first name to "Brett" after the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway's The
Sun Also Rises, and the surname "Somers" was her mother's maiden name. She
became a U.S. citizen late in life. After moving to New York City, Somers
married and had a daughter, Leslie, before divorcing her first husband. In
1953, she married actor Jack Klugman; they had two sons: Adam and David. The
couple separated in 1974, but never divorced.
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" and "Robert Montgomery Presents". Her
Broadway debut, in the play "Maybe Tuesday", was a flop; the show closed after
five performances. She also appeared in Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch
and The Country Girl with her husband, Jack Klugman. She also amassed a number
of film credits, including A Rage to Live, Getting There, Bone, Bus Riley's Back
in Town and The Great American Beauty Pageant.
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, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Fugitive.
Somers had recurring roles as the ex-wife of Oscar Madison, Blanche, (played by
real-life spouse Klugman) on the ABC sitcom television series The Odd Couple in
the early 1970s, as well as the role of "Siress Belloby" on the science fiction
series Battlestar Galactica in 1978. She played Perry Mason's receptionist "Gertie"
on a short-lived revival of the series in 1973 which featured Monte Markham as
Perry Mason.
Name: Brett Somers
Birth name: Audrey Johnston
Born: 11 July 1924 New Brunswick, Canada
Died: 15 September 2007 Westport, Connecticut, USA
Brett Somers (July 11, 1924 – September 15, 2007)[1] was a Canadian-born
American actress, singer, and comedienne. She was best known as a panelist on
the 1970s game show, Match Game.
Born as Audrey Johnston in New Brunswick, Canada, she grew up near Portland,
Maine. She ran away from home at age 17 and moved to New York City to pursue a
career in acting. There she settled in Greenwich Village. She changed her
first name to "Brett" after the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway's The
Sun Also Rises, and the surname "Somers" was her mother's maiden name. She
became a U.S. citizen late in life. After moving to New York City, Somers
married and had a daughter, Leslie, before divorcing her first husband. In
1953, she married actor Jack Klugman; they had two sons: Adam and David. The
couple separated in 1974, but never divorced.
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" and "Robert Montgomery Presents". Her
Broadway debut, in the play "Maybe Tuesday", was a flop; the show closed after
five performances. She also appeared in Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch
and The Country Girl with her husband, Jack Klugman. She also amassed a number
of film credits, including A Rage to Live, Getting There, Bone, Bus Riley's Back
in Town and The Great American Beauty Pageant.
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, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Fugitive.
Somers had recurring roles as the ex-wife of Oscar Madison, Blanche, (played by
real-life spouse Klugman) on the ABC sitcom television series The Odd Couple in
the early 1970s, as well as the role of "Siress Belloby" on the science fiction
series Battlestar Galactica in 1978. She played Perry Mason's receptionist "Gertie"
on a short-lived revival of the series in 1973 which featured Monte Markham as
Perry Mason.