Brett Somers

Brett Somers was born as Audrey Dawn Johnston on July 11, 1924 in New Brunswick, Canada. At the age of 18, she ran away from her home to pursue an acting career. She changed her name to ‘Brett’ and settled in Greenwich Village. Later on, she moved to New York and married Robert Klein. The couple had a daughter, Leslie, who died in 2003 due to cancer. In 1953, Somers married Jack Klugman and gave birth to sons Adam and David. The couple divorced in 1977. In the year 2004, the actress was diagnosed with stomach and colon cancer. After fighting the disease for a few years, she finally died on September 15, 2007, at the age of 83.

Brett Somers started her career in theatre and proceeded to do many television programs like ‘The Philco Television Playhouse’, ‘Playhouse 90’, ‘Kraft Television Theatre’ and ‘Robert Montgomery Presents’. She also did the plays ‘The Seven Year Itch’, ‘Happy Ending’ and ‘The Country Girl’. The actress was then cast in films like ‘Bus Riley's Back in Town’ and ‘A Rage to Live’.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she made several appearances on television shows including ‘American Style’, ‘Love’, ‘The Defenders’, ‘Ben Casey’, ‘Have Gun Will Travel’, ‘The Love Boat’, ‘CHiPs’, ‘The Fugitive’, ‘Barney Miller’ and ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’. Talking about Somers’ recurring roles, she played Blanche in the ABC sitcom ‘The Odd Couple’ and Siress Belloby on the series ‘Battlestar Galactica’. She also played the role of Gertie on the short-lived revival series ‘The New Perry Mason’. Somers was also famous for appearing as a panellist on the CBS game show ‘Match Game’ in which she used to wear enormous eyeglasses and fashionable wigs.

She also appeared on CBS's ‘The Early Show’ along with Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly as part of the ‘Match Game’ reunion. She and Reilly even appeared on ‘Hollywood Squares’ in the early 2000s. During 2003-04, Somers did the cabaret show titled ‘An Evening with Brett Somers’. In the year 2006, she was an interviewee on ‘The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank’. During that time, she also hosted ‘Match Game DVD’. The same year, she did ‘PBS Match Game’ as well.