A fictional apartment in Santa Monica, California is no longer funny. Suzanne Somers passed away at the age of 76 on October 15, 2023. She was one of the main cast members on the 1970s/80s series “Three’s Company” alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt, playing the cheerful and (though I hate that word) goofy Christmas “Chrissy” Snow. As someone who watched the show as a very young child, I saw most of the episodes. What I didn’t know was that Somers was also playing another character, hiding in plain sight the entire time.
“Three’s Company” was based on the British TV show “Man About the House” and aired on ABC from 1977-1984, with Somers reprising her role in seasons 1-5, leaving after contract negotiations fell through. The show revolved around two women, Chrissy Snow and Janet Wood (DeWitt), who lose their roommates and need someone to take over their share of the rent. They find Jack Tripper (Ritter), but in order to get around the landlord’s “no unmarried men” rule, they have to pretend that Jack is gay.
Hey, this was the 1970s, and even then, as a kid, I realized that was a stupid rule and that the blonde jokes about Chrissy were really offensive. Still, it was one of those shows that everyone knew (there weren’t that many channels to watch it on), and the actors were great.
So where was Somers hiding during her second secret appearance? Think back to those episodes and see if you can spot her in your mind. You probably won’t guess. I certainly didn’t. But according to Chris Mann’s 1998 book “Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three’s Company,” Somers actually appeared as a second character in the series’ introduction.
Come and Knock on Our Door
In the book, Ritter is the one who reveals Somers’ mysterious second character. If you remember the opening (I apologize for getting the theme song stuck in your head, but if I have to listen to it in my brain for the next few hours, so do you—it’s incredibly catchy), Jack is riding his bike on Coastal Drive in Venice Beach in Southern California.
While cycling, he sees a woman in very short shorts walking towards him, and he gets so distracted by her that he falls off his bike. We only see the woman from behind, and she has curly brown hair. According to Ritter, it’s Somers. “That brunette is Suzanne in a wig,” he says. “You can tell by her little Suzanne bun.” Yeah, that’s definitely one way to put it!
Look, things were different back then, and that’s not exactly what we’d say now. Somers was also known in earlier decades for her ThighMaster and ButtMaster exercise systems, so maybe that makes it a little better? I don’t know. I may have lived in that decade, but I also remember talking to my friends about how I hated the blonde jokes, especially since I was one of them.
It was a strange but popular show at the time, and the comedic talents of Joyce DeWitt and the late Somers and Ritter (Ritter passed away in 2003 from an aortic aneurysm) were undeniable. Regardless of what you think of the show and its premise, these guys are comedy gems, and it’s fun to learn about this little secret appearance by Somers. Rest in peace, she is.
