Brett Somers Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Early Life
Brett Somers was born Audrey Dawn Johnston on July 11, 1924, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. She spent part of her youth in New England and, while still in her teens, headed to New York City to pursue an acting career. In New York she reinvented herself, choosing the first name Brett in homage to Brett Ashley, the heroine of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, and adopting Somers from family roots. Immersed in classes, workshops, and auditions, she developed a stage-trained presence marked by quick timing, a resonant, distinctive voice, and a dry, mischievous sense of humor that would later become her public signature.

Stage and Screen Career
Somers built her early career in theater, appearing in a range of stage productions that sharpened her instincts for character and comedy. She was associated with rigorous actor training and, through steady work in New York, moved into television during the 1950s and 1960s. Guest roles on dramatic series and appearances in teleplays displayed her versatility, but it was her effortless banter and observational wit that pushed her toward lighter fare and variety programming.

Her most widely recognized scripted role came on The Odd Couple, where she played Blanche Madison, the ex-wife of Oscar Madison, portrayed by her real-life husband, Jack Klugman. Their scenes together carried a lived-in rhythm that felt both combative and affectionate, with Tony Randall's Felix Unger often caught between them. Somers's timing and vocal grain turned Blanche into a memorable presence, deepening the show's portrait of divorce and friendship with levity and bite.

Match Game and Television Persona
In the 1970s, Somers became a fixture on the hit game show Match Game. Sitting beside her close friend and comic foil Charles Nelson Reilly, and sparring playfully with host Gene Rayburn, she shaped a new variety of television personality: a panelist whose character was the act. Her frank asides, self-deprecating humor, and oversized glasses became trademarks, and her spirited rivalry with fellow panelists like Richard Dawson and Fannie Flagg gave the program a bright, improvisational energy. Somers was as quick with a quip as with a side-eye, crafting a persona that could tease without wounding and command the room without pretense. Decades of reruns kept those exchanges alive for new audiences, cementing her as one of the game show era's defining wits.

Personal Life
Somers married actor Jack Klugman in the early 1950s. Their marriage produced two sons, Adam and David, and Somers also had a daughter, Leslie, from a previous marriage. The couple separated in the mid-1970s but remained linked by family, shared history, and the professional overlap of The Odd Couple. Friends and colleagues often remarked on their mutual respect, even when they lived apart, and Klugman's own straightforward screen persona made their offscreen connection a subject of public curiosity. Away from the camera, Somers was forthright, practical, and loyal; she prized the camaraderie of her Match Game circle and the close-knit relationships that come from years of working together under studio lights.

Later Years
After her peak television years, Somers continued to perform, returning to the stage and developing cabaret material that combined songs with autobiographical patter, a format that showcased both her musical instincts and her raconteur's charm. She remained part of the conversation around classic television through reunion appearances and interviews, and she addressed a false internet rumor about her death by appearing on-air with a wry, good-natured correction that reminded audiences of her resilience and timing. Throughout, she carried a clear sense of who she was: a working actor who understood the craft and the joke, and who never confused them.

Death and Legacy
Brett Somers died on September 15, 2007, at the age of 83. News of her passing prompted affectionate tributes from viewers and colleagues alike, many recalling scenes on The Odd Couple and the sparkling, unscripted repartee she brought to Match Game with Charles Nelson Reilly and Gene Rayburn. She stood for a particular kind of television presence: older, sharper, and gloriously herself at a time when variety and game shows were shaping mass culture. Somers left behind her children, Adam, David, and Leslie, and a body of work that endures less by volume than by memorability. Whether trading jabs across a panelist's desk or delivering a rueful line as Blanche Madison, she made audiences feel they were in on the joke. That invitation to laugh with her, never at her, is the essence of her legacy.

Our collection contains 8 quotes who is written by Brett, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Music - Art - Movie - Gratitude.

Other people realated to Brett: Jack Klugman (Actor)