Oct. 16, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a column on the late Suzanne Somers who launched a career with her sitcom role in “Three’s Company,” from which loyal fans then followed her into fitness and business adventures. Published in the New York Times “Face Forward” column under the heading Before Goop, There Was Suzanne Somers: https://tinyurl.com/5xtmkxpa
Of all the sunny blondes of the 1970s, Suzanne Somers was the sunniest. She had the face, the figure, the hair, the smile, the giggle, the wiggle, and enough good humor to make her breakout “dumb blond” character on “Three’s Company” lovably watchable rather than cloying or offensive.
Being a bombshell can bring a certain level of success, but it takes a special kind of charisma and drive to remain famous for more than 50 years. Ms. Somers’s alchemy derived from a combination of innocent sex appeal, nostalgia (for the pop culture ’70s fun she represented) and a canny understanding of the American cult of personality.