Suzanne Somers calls 'Three's Company' character Chrissy Snow a feminist

[TMC]

https://news.yahoo.com/suzanne-somer...191121415.html

Suzanne Somers loved being Chrissy Snow on Three's Company. "I am really proud of creating that dumb blonde cause she had a moral code. She was lovable," the actress says. But when she asked for her worth on the ABC sitcom — and got fired for it.

Somers, now 74, who was a fan favorite for five seasons, calls herself the “first feminist” to request to be paid commensurate to her male co-stars.

“All the men were being paid 10 to 15 times more than me,” Somers explains. “So my contract was up, I renegotiated and I was fired for asking, essentially.”

Recalling the “humiliating” process of being fired midway through the fifth season, Somers says that in order to collect her paycheck while negotiations were ongoing, she had to appear occasionally on the series. Ultimately, she would make seven cameos across her final season on the show, but despite her limited presence, the sitcom continued to use her name to promote the program.

“They used me to be able to perpetuate the fact that Suzanne Somers was still on the show while they were trying out other girls,” she tells Yahoo Life. “I don't know how much money they lost when they broke up that chemistry but I think it was in the billions. I hear it all the time to this day: ‘I never watched again when you weren't there.’”

Somers was replaced by Jenilee Harrison, who portrayed Cindy Snow, Chrissy’s clumsy cousin.

Despite the setback, Somers recalls the situation being a blessing in disguise, brought to light by some sage wisdom from her husband, Alan Hamel.

“He said, ‘We're going to make this work for us or only go to work for ourselves going forward,’” she explains. “And so that's pretty much how we became the entrepreneurs that we are.”

Since her time on Three’s Company, Somers has launched a beauty line, penned a dozen books and, of course, famously promoted products like the Thigh Master. All of which happened without a TV executive telling her how much — or, rather, how little — she was worth.

“You know, I didn’t wallow in anger and darkness and negativity,” she muses of that time in her life. “I don’t hate any of them, I just feel indifferent. You know, you’re not worth my expending emotion on it. I just try to keep my thoughts in such a healthy place.”

[RetroGuy2000]

Hmmm.... Suzanne's numbers still do not add up.

[icecream]

John Ritter was the clear lead of the show. Naturally Suzanne Somers wasn't going to make as much as him. Now Step by Step, maybe she could have demanded equal pay with Patrick Duffy.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by icecream

John Ritter was the clear lead of the show. Naturally Suzanne Somers wasn't going to make as much as him. Now Step by Step, maybe she could have demanded equal pay with Patrick Duffy.

Equal pay with Patrick Duffy on SBS would have made sense. But apparently Susanne was actually asking for three times what John Ritter was making on TC. Over the years, she has claimed she was asking for "pay equity", but that doesn't appear to be the truth. She's also stated the dispute happened going into Season 6, which is clearly not accurate.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by icecream

John Ritter was the clear lead of the show. Naturally Suzanne Somers wasn't going to make as much as him. Now Step by Step, maybe she could have demanded equal pay with Patrick Duffy.

John Ritter had a clause in his contract that stipulated he was "Top of the show" and that he would make 15% more than the other actors of the show.

Suzanne is delusional -- Chrissy Snow was a ditz, not a feminist and compared to the others, she was a relative newcomer. She was demanding a salary comparable to people who were established industry veterans like Larry Hagman and Carroll O' Connor.

Did she deserve a raise? Probably, but whatever she made, Ritter would have made more than her due to contracts and the show's budget would have skyrocketed.

She made a bad move and will never admit it.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

John Ritter had a clause in his contract that stipulated he was "Top of the show" and that he would make 15% more than the other actors of the show.

Suzanne is delusional -- Chrissy Snow was a ditz, not a feminist and compared to the others, she was a relative newcomer. She was demanding a salary comparable to people who were established industry veterans like Larry Hagman and Carroll O' Connor.

Did she deserve a raise? Probably, but whatever she made, Ritter would have made more than her due to contracts and the show's budget would have skyrocketed.

She made a bad move and will never admit it.

It was her husband

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

She made a bad move and will never admit it.

I think the closest she ever came was during one video interview (now on YouTube) where she recounted her version of the story and said something to the effect of "why did I do this?" But even then, she was spinning, claiming she only wanted what "the men" were making.

I think all of us here agree Suzanne should have been making more. But the amount she (well, her husband) was demanding was ridiculous. As you say, she's never going to admit the truth, and unfortunately, we continue to see these interviews where she's just not being honest, pretending this was a "feminist" cause.

[Cbalducc]

It’s a shame people don’t want to move on. On the other hand, I can see why Suzanne has a hard time doing it. Playing “Chrissy” on “Three’s Company” was the high point of her career.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

It was her husband

Yes, but ultimately it was Suzanne's decision to go forward with this based on her husband's advice as her manager.

I suspect he probably regrets doing it now.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by Cbalducc

It’s a shame people don’t want to move on. On the other hand, I can see why Suzanne has a hard time doing it. Playing “Chrissy” on “Three’s Company” was the high point of her career.

Yep, and for nearly a decade, her career tanked.

She's The Sheriff?? I don't think Suzanne would have done that if she were an A-list star.

Her career did revive when she did Step by Step, but it was never the same.

And she pretty much torpedoed her career when she became the spokeswoman for Thighmaster.

[Cbalducc]

Even though Suzanne joined the cast of TC at the last minute, she knows her role was primarily to serve as eye candy for men. I wonder if she ever regretted being on the show.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by Cbalducc

Even though Suzanne joined the cast of TC at the last minute, she knows her role was primarily to serve as eye candy for men. I wonder if she ever regretted being on the show.

Perhaps.

She was a relative unknown when the show debuted. John Ritter was an established character actor by that point with a hot career: He'd appeared in episodes of The Waltons and M*A*S*H, among many others.

I suspect that for all her posturing and saying she has no regrets, that she probably does regret asking for as much money as she did. She has to maintain the facade of no regrets because pride is a very strong thing.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Yep, and for nearly a decade, her career tanked.

She's The Sheriff?? I don't think Suzanne would have done that if she were an A-list star.

Her career did revive when she did Step by Step, but it was never the same.

And she pretty much torpedoed her career when she became the spokeswoman for Thighmaster.

Yeah, you pretty much don't do first-run syndicated sitcoms if you're an A-lister. Plus, TV Guide back in 2002 named She's the Sheriff as one of the worst TV shows of all-time. So even then, the show was of dubious quality.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by TMC

Yeah, you pretty much don't do first-run syndicated sitcoms if you're an A-lister. Plus, TV Guide back in 2002 named She's the Sheriff as one of the worst TV shows of all-time. So even then, the show was of dubious quality.

And what's even worse is that Jenilee Harrison was booked as a guest star on She's The Sheriff without Suzanne's knowledge. Suzanne said it was uncomfortable, but she made the most of it.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

And what's even worse is that Jenilee Harrison was booked as a guest star on She's The Sheriff without Suzanne's knowledge. Suzanne said it was uncomfortable, but she made the most of it.

Oh, wow. I had no idea!

I am glad Suzanne made the most of it. That is one thing she's very good at: bouncing back.