

In 2004, she appeared on the PBS concert special "Magic Moments – The Best of '50s Pop". She appeared in a cabaret show An Evening with Brett Somers in 2003–04. She appeared with Reilly on Hollywood Squares during that show's "Game Show Week" in the same year. 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. Quivers' impersonation of Somers was featured in the film Private Parts. Her appearances on Match Game led radio personality Robin Quivers to impersonate her in parodies of such game shows on The Howard Stern Show. She remained a regular panelist for the rest of the show's nine-year network and syndicated run. When spouse Jack Klugman appeared during the first week of the program in 1973, he insisted that the producers bring her aboard. Somers was not originally considered for the celebrity panel. In a previous life, Brett used to be a _." Somers was sometimes the subject of questions on Match Game, such as "You may or may not believe in reincarnation, but listen to this. She played foil to Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Scoey Mitchell, Fannie Flagg and many others. Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs. The show became known for somewhat outlandish and risque dialogue, sometimes being described as a game played at a cocktail party. She was clearly left-handed as she was always seen writing her answers with her left hand. 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 Brett and settled into the top-right seat. Somers was best known for her appearances as a panelist in the 1970s CBS game show Match Game.
Brett walker cause of death series#
She played the role of Siress Belloby on the 1978 science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica.
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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 had a recurring role as Blanche, the former wife of Oscar Madison (played by real-life spouse Jack Klugman) on the ABC sitcom The Odd Couple in the early 1970s. 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. 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. She also amassed a number of film credits, including A Rage to Live and Bus Riley's Back in Town. She also appeared onstage in productions of Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch and The Country Girl, the last opposite Klugman. The show was a flop and closed after just five performances. Her Broadway debut was in the play Maybe Tuesday. Career Early career Ī member of the Actors Studio from 1952, 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.

However, California court records indicate the couple actually divorced in August 1977. 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. She married actor Jack Klugman in 1953 they had two sons, David and Adam. The marriage produced one child, Leslie Klein (who died of lung cancer in 2003), and ended in divorce. Īfter settling in New York she married businessman Robert H. Her chosen last name, Somers, was her mother's maiden name. Her chosen first name, Brett, came from the lead female character in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. At age 18, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting, settling in Greenwich Village. Born Audrey Dawn Johnston in Halcomb, near Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada, Somers grew up near Portland, Maine.
