What started of as a Quote for the Day growed like Topsy into the following post . . .
In this current age of women being
treated correctly, equally and with respect, it is sometimes apt to hark back
to when things were different, if only to see where we have moved from and where
we still need to go. It has been
reported that female stars of shows receive less than their male co-stars.
A case in point: Suzanne Somers.
In 1980, Suzanne Somers was at the
height of her career, winning accolades and the public’s admiration for playing
blonde bimbo “Chrissy Snow” on ABC’s hit Emmy-winning comedy “Three’s Company”
alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt.
In 1978, just a year after the show
premiered, Somers won a People’s Choice Award for “favourite female performer.” In 1979, the role earned her a Golden Globe
nomination for best TV actress in a comedy.
Somers became a household name, making countless TV appearances and
became an international sex symbol.
But in 1980, at age 34, Somers’
career came to a screeching halt when she asked ABC for a salary raise on par
with what fellow cast member John Ritter was making. “When it came time for fifth-season
negotiations in 1980, Somers asked for a pay hike from $US30,000 an episode to
$US150,000,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, noting the salary increase
would be “equal to what her Three’s Company co-star John Ritter
was receiving and comparable to salaries M*A*S*H* ‘s Alan Alda and All in the
Family‘s Carroll O’Connor were being paid on lower-rated shows.”
Instead, ABC offered Somers a $US5,000
salary increase.
As a result, Somers boycotted the
third and fourth shows of the new season, using excuses such as “the recurrence
of an old back injury,” The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time. She finished the remaining season
on her contract with ABC, but her role was decreased to a mere 60 seconds per
episode and shot separately from the rest of the cast.
Eventually, Somers’ contract with
ABC was terminated. The network that had made the actress a household name
fired one of its biggest stars. Later
that season, Somer’s “Chrissy Snow” character was replaced by her clumsy cousin
Cindy Snow, played by Jenilee Harrison. In
1981, ABC added another replacement the following season, Priscilla Barnes,to
make up for the loss of Somers. The show
would go on until 1984, but meanwhile Somers’ career came to a halt.
Somers would go on to sell
clothing, jewellery, skin-care, toxic-free cleaning supplies, weight loss, and
beauty products on the Home Shopping Network and her own website. She has also
written over 20 books, including autobiographies, poetry, and many about ageing.
Somers has continued to build a massive empire as an actress, author, and
businesswoman. Today, Somers is worth a
reported $US100 million, due mainly in part to her successful product lines.
Which brings me back to her sacking
from the Three’s Company show. It was
all to prove a point.
Somers’ husband and manager, Alan
Hamel, recently recalled to The Hollywood Reporter:
The night before we went in to renegotiate, I got a call from a friend who had connections high up at ABC and he said, ‘They’re going to hang a nun in the marketplace and the nun is Suzanne.’ The network was willing to do this because earlier that year the women on Laverne & Shirley had gotten what they asked for and they wanted to put a stop to it. They’d destroy the chemistry on Company to make a point.
Sources:
Business Insider
The Hollywood Reporter
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