I enjoyed watching Suzanne Somers on Three's Company. She was hilarious! Three's Company is a totally awesome show, which I grew up watching during my childhood. I watch old reruns of Three's Company even now and I just love it!

I loved her on TC and Step by Step

Ahh she went on 2 7 successful seasons on STEP BY STEP where she was the star with Patrick Duffy, SHE DID FINE

In reruns, they always cut out the final minute of SS' cameo shows to prevent SS from getting rerun residuals.

True, John was the show.

I still watch Three's Company episodes, and the one thing I noticed was that most times, the show always tried to eclipse Janet with Chrissy--Janet wearing dumpy clothes while Chrissy wearing skimpy ones. When Janet was on the show, she was a very attractive woman. I'm not sure what she looks like now but Janet could hold her own in the looks department yet was more often than not, portrayed as the dumpy and dependable Janet. In the show, both women were attractive, not saying Chrissy wasn't, but it wasn't balanced enough.

I understand how when someone becomes an unexpected breakout star they would ask for more money, but not at the expense of the show that got you there in the first place. Henry Winkler was unquestionably a breakout star, and an icon to boot. Yet he asked to take a lower salary in exchange for profit sharing later on, instead of alienating the other lead actors (Ron Howard and Tom Bosley). To this day he gets paid every time Happy Days airs.

Knowing what she was like behind the scene then watching episodes she acted as if the show revolved around her if you really pay attention to each episodes she was on.

Amazing comments here for me, a voyeur obsessed with 70s tv, and all its politics.

I always say: out of the bad will come some good! It is sad that they let her go and the show was never the same but she went onto to do so much more and make more money so good for her. So maybe that was the path she was meant to take albeit not on her terms. She really should have been present though at that meeting so she would have more control and actually see where it was going and maybe it might have turned out differently.

I remember watching and still liking Three's Company but being frustrated as a kid because things weren't the same after Chrissy. Cindy's clumsiness was annoying and Terry was boring. #Chrissy.

You are right,John was the star. Here was the problem with the negotiation: She not only asked for more money but a piece of the back end-meaning cut of syndication where the real money was. This was a huge mistake. This also explains why Ross said he would not share his "blood" with her. Here is what Somers should have done: She should have gotten Ritter and Dewitt to form a united front. She should have asked for maybe 75-80,000 per episode and not more than 100K. No back end deal.

Also, SS was only part of the show as a regular from Seasons 01-04, and a few scattered cameos in Season 05. She was not on the show for six years, as SS said.

I've met Suzanne a few times and she was very nice, I liked her on the show, but the star of the show was John with a strong ensemble cast including Suzanne. Most great comedy shows have that really good main star and a great ensemble. She a least should have been paid equal to the rest of the cast. Suzanne was on the show for 4 seasons and left in her 5th season. The first season the show started early in 1077

Great insight! I'm sure a lot of people can relate to similar situations in life. A perceived minuscule decision could deviate a path immensely!

The difference between Somers and Ritter, though, was that Three's Company could continue without Somers, it COULDN'T continue without Ritter. Thus, the salary difference. She didn't get that.

she wanted $150,000 per episode plus 10%, that was crazy.

I agree that her character was very special, but she wasn't fired for asking for more money, she was fired because after they refused to give her what she asked for she started acting up and was then in breach of her contract by refusing to appear on multiple shows during the beginning of S5 claiming to have a false injury that prevented her from working, during her final year while she was still under contract with the show she went on coast-to-coast TV multiple times and badmouthed the producers and owners of the series

"so i looked around and said why are all the men including john ritter making 10 times more then me.... at that time i didn't know john was making more.." contradicts herself, and it was no where near 10 times.. not even double. i really don't think she can try to claim any kind of innocence in this, she didn't show up for tapings and cost the company a lot of money, made the other people have to work extra hard and prepare for shows IF she showed or IF she didn't. she basically threatened the whole show. i believe it was mostly her husbands stupidity but she also went along with it... and she still sounds like she won't fully admit to it.

The producers made this mistake a few times. If you remember Mr and Mrs Roper, you know what I mean. I liked Mr. Firley a lot but I Just loved Stanley Roper he was Da Bomb! I guess that's why they tried to give them their own show, but it was a loss. Chrissy was a loss, you think they would've found some middle ground. Doh Well!!!!

Here's the problem: She's trying to attach current social conscience (equal rights/equal pay) with something that occurred over 2 decades ago. The truth of the matter is her people had piss-poor negotiation skills. She was playing the role of a pretty, dumb blonde on a popular show. They are a dime-a-dozen in Hollywood. They attempted to use strong-arm tactics as their bargaining technique and it failed... miserably. That's a big part of the problem that the Fems don't understand today about pay wage. It's market-driven, not equality driven. If her star power was as strong as she suggested, then they would've been able to reach a compromise that worked in her favor.

Suzanne was hot commodity, but she and alan were too greedy, wanting almost $100,000 per episode & a percentage in ownership of the show. True Larry Hagman, Alan Alda, and Carroll O'Connor were paid $100,000. Per episode for their shows, but they were much more relevant to their shows than Suzanne was to 3's Company. Could you imagine Dallas without JR? All in the Family without Carroll O'Connor? Larry was smart. He negotiated his contract during the shows hiatus and during the Who Shot JR? hoopla. He threatened not to come back, & Lorimar was already considering another actor for the part of JR. They considered Robert Culp. What would happen was JR gets shot in the face & has reconstructive surgery, which explains the face difference. However, Lorimar met Larry's demands and paid him what he wanted. I have the utmost respect for Suzanne, but she and Alan especially were too greedy. Then she would be a no show at rehearsals at times. She tried to have the show by the balls. There were constantly rewrites of the script to accommodate whether Suzanne would be there or not. It's true that the show suffered some when she left, but ratings picked back up when Priscilla Barnes joined the cast. I think the producers tried to hard to make Jenilee Harrison a carbon copy of Chrissy.

She's the Sheriff!

John made $50,000 to Suzanne's $30,000. That's not 10x as much. She also left out the part where she cost the studio at least 230,000 for a missed taping, and forced them to rewrite a handful of scripts. THAT'S why they let her go.

I noticed that, too. Here's with the problem with Suzanne-she assumed that getting on magazine covers, Tv chat shows and posters meant that she was THE star of the show. She wasnt-John Ritter was. Everything she noted-demos, media exposure-doesnt translate into a viable enough reason for her to get a big pay raise Had she asked for maybe $30-40,000 more and not made a grab for an ownership stake, it might have been a different story. Instead she wanted the whole pie. Big mistake.

$150,000 a weeek!!!?? Bullshit.

I love Suzanne Somers. However, she forgot to mention the x amount of times she called in sick ~ wouldn't that be another reason to be fired? ...not just asking what ALL male actors were making! I love you Suzanne but I just thought this should be added...

I watched Three's Company and Suzanne Somers was a big loss to the show..but she wasn't the star. She did have more celebrity than the others but John Ritter was clearly the star of that sitcom. The show went on for three or four seasons after her departure... Had she been star, the show would have been canceled upon her departure..she didn't bring what Carroll O'Connor, Larry Hagman or Alan Alada brought to their shows.

Excellent point. I noted a little of this in a previous post. She really had no leverage to hold over the producers since John was the star of the show. She overreached and she paid the pirce for it. The back-end demand was absolutely ludicrous. She should have gotten what John did and-if she wanted back-end-wait a couple of years later too see how thing would go so that she would be in a positon to demand it. She didnt do that and she was banished. Her career has never been the same.

Honestly even though she was famous this was the only thing going for her at that time. It's not like she was regularly paid millions in a three picture contract deal. This was her first real break as an actress. It is outrageous that she wasn't being paid equally but it's not like she had tons of experience to back her up. If she worked her way up who knows what kind of success she could've had.

Suzanne was brainwashed to think she was better than everyone else. She would no-show the tapings and completely hold the show hostage. She went from nothing to a huge star... and if she would have understood that she, Jon and Joyce made the show go, she would have enjoyed a long tenure of success. Instead, she and her husband got greedy and she paid the price. Too bad. I liked the show.

She does bring up good points. However, why did they not just give her a raise and send her husband on his way?

What about the lesser paid people on the show like camera people, lighters, make up artists, etc.? If the show ended because of her wantings, what would happen to all of those people??

Her problem was demanding the same money as John Ritter. He was the star. Without him; no show at all. With out Suzanne, a lesser show; but still a show nonetheless.

She wanted to make Alan alda and carrol o connor money John Ritter was the star of the show

I don't really believe Suzanne's account here. After having heard all the others' account, I believe all of them instead of Suzanne's solo account.

I like Chrissy but I didnt miss her because Cindy and Terri were just fine for me :)

I like her. I really do. But there is something about her that is not quite authentic. I sense a phoniness. Before all that stuff went down she DID refuse to come to work. The cast had two different scripts. There is some selective memory with her. Did she ever stop to think how the producers were going to pay her and her co-stars $150,000 and a piece of the back end. Was she crazy?

John Ritter was the star of the show. What did Suzanne Somers do of any note after Three's Company as far as acting goes? John Ritter did multiple TV series AND movies. She was a key part of TC, but the show went on without her -- wasn't the same obviously --- but it continued on. She did do well with her other ventures though. She probably made a boatload with the Thigh Master and had had the most money in the end.

Usually people aren't so much like their character, lol.

I really like Suzanne alot more after watching this video. It's so candid and not fake. This is much more down to earth than I'm used to seeing her. I respect her more I wish she'd of said this in the 80s

if you see the The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company by Joyce Dewitt and that tell the truth, well the producers all ready negociate with her but she isn´t have good advisors

That's the way I remember it too.

ashame really the show's winning style was the trio without her or any of them missing, the show falls apart all i know it would probably run longer if they kept the trio cause you'll make it back

in the early 1980s?? Yeah it was!

How about SHE'S THE SHERIFF??? Was she successful at that?

She's conveniently leaving out a great deal of the story. First of all, when she didn't get what she wanted, she stopped showing up for work while the rest of the cast was waiting on the set ready to begin filming. She attempted to hold the show hostage. After doing this more than once, that was when the show finally started to fight back by reducing her screen time to one minute per episode. Also, Suzanne was NOT the star of 'Three's Company', it was John Ritter. That was why he was getting more money than the rest. And as far as the other highly paid men on television at the time Suzanne is referring to, they, too, were the stars of their shows, (Alan Alda on 'MASH', and Carroll O'Connor on 'All In The Family' to name a couple). The series would not have been able to continue without those characters. They were the focus, Suzanne was not the focus of her show, even with all of her useless magazine covers. She had a ridiculously distorted idea of her own worth, and got too greedy, and jeopardized the jobs of her friends and co-workers as a result. She got exactly what she deserved. Good.

Love you Suzanne, watched you growing up, thanks for the laughs. I think you did the right thing, standing up for all woman.

Totally inspired. Good for her.

She's worth 100 million, so it all worked out in the end.

Go Suzanne you rule! X

@YELLOW42758 230,000 is not much in Hollywood

What a candid and honest interview by Somers. Ohh well, you took a shot girl, good on you.

Wasn't her husband a lawyer?

Yes she looks hot here!

Now people are making a million an episode for shows. She must be pissed! She was ahead of her time. She should be proud that she stood up for herself!

how is she still so good looking?

CHRISSY BABY YOU LOOKED SOOO GREAT ON THE SHOW I ONLY LIKE REDHEADS AND JET BLACK HAIR WOMEN YOU WERE THE HOTTEST BLONDE AT THAT TIME THE OPENING OF THE SHOW INSTRUMENTAL HITTIN

She wanted $5000 an episode and they told her to walk.

im poor. cuz im not as important as the star ... waaa i reflect and say. poker is hard

I have some DVD's of Three's Company, and I will only watch the Chrissy episodes. The show went downhill after she left. Also, CBS was to have her in another TV show called the Suzanne Somers Show, and the ABC folks had the right to the Chrissy character, not Suzanne. I would have fought that had I been in Suzanne's shoes! Those no good chowderheads at the network are not her mother, and they cannot tell her what to do!

Other actresses like Brittany Murphy have talked about or been afraid of, some unseen "blacklist" after getting the wrong bigs mad at them - but in Suzanne's case it appears that it was real. She had ungodly drawing power for ratings in those years, and it's hard to believe nobody would do a new venture - but we all saw how she disappeared from TV, for many years until Step By Step I think. Others got far wealthier than Suzanne did on her appeal, bur credit her for clawing back for something

An entire show ~ and entirely written ~ based on a misunderstanding. Ewe...

LIAR !

I think that the show did SS wrong.

Why NOT negotiate for more? Why not get what the men were making? In the end, she had the balls to go up against the big guns; and learned that, although she lost the immediate battle, she picked herself up and reinvented career---going on to find success again. To sum things up, "he who laughs last, laughs loudest..." Because of her business smarts she is now worth 100 million. She's 65 years old and looking like she's in her 40s. My hats off to her. cruzthemuse

Good for Chrissy standing up for equal pay!!' She made three company. The show was not the same when she left. They should have paid her more money.

I agree with her. She (and Joyce) should DEFINITELY have received the same pay as the guys. Chauvinism at it's worst. Women still make less then men in most jobs. My family quit watching the show after she left, it wasn't as funny with the new blondes they brought on after her. But I never realized for some reason, that she was cut. I thought she left on her own accord.

Major Props To Somers! She got screwed, but fought the good fight.

I really didn't care for the show once Chrissy left. Its sad how women constantly have to work 10x harder to make the same amount as men. John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt should have had her back. Its even sadder that not much has changed since the 80's. Women still don't get paid as much as men.

Cindy and terry were so boring. I wouldn't even watch it when I was little and seen it was one of them on.'

The show went DOWN after you left. It was WRONG WHAT THEY DID. That's why you couldn't work. They lost THE ENTIRE SHOW WITHOUT YOU.