Hosted by Gene Rayburn, contestants would try to match answers to nonsense questions presented by a panel of celebrities including Somers, Fannie Flag, Richard Dawson and Charles Nelson Reilly. Somers acted on Broadway and had a scroll of movie and TV credits. Somers was married to actor Jack Klugman and had a recurring role as Klugman's ex-wife Blanche on his hit show The Odd Couple. He died at the age of 79 of esophageal. But NBC was so happy with the show that they thought it could compete against The Ed Sullivan Show. I want to get a piano and start composing. Nice job, Gene and Dee! Brett joined the Actors Studio in 1952. [citation needed] She played the role of Siress Belloby on the 1978 science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica. What I think of as the Big Three of the panelists Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers and Richard Dawson are also gone.. Today's Panel: George Gobel, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Stephanie Edwards, McLean Stevenson, and Elaine Joye In 1973 she played Rhoda Morgenstern's Aunt Rose in the season four episode "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.[15]. Somers appeared on several episodes of The Odd Couple, playing Blanche Madison, the ex-wife of Klugman's character, sloppy sports writer Oscar Madison. She married Jack Klugman in 1953; they would have two sons. Eventually, though, they moved the show from New York to California and Gene had an aversion to California, so he stayed in New York. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. They didnt dislike each other which is why she appeared on so many episodes of The Odd Couple but they just didnt want to live together anymore. The divorce went through in 1977. She was best known for her role as Jackie Stevens on the television sitcom The Odd Couple from 1970 to 1975. which featured regular panelists Richard Dawson, Brett Somers, and Charles Nelson Reilly, ran until 1979 on CBS and another three years in first-run syndication. Yet through it all, he credited his success to personality above everything else. That name of yours sounds Eye-talian. Somers quick-witted quips made her a popular celebrity panelist on the show. She was 83. WESTPORT, Conn., Sept. 17 (AP) Brett Somers, the actress and comedian who amused game show fans with her quips on "Match Game," one of the most popular quiz shows of the 1970s, died on Saturday. Brett passed away on September 15, 2007 at the age of 83 from a combination of stomach and colon cancer. First of all, he changes the show so that he does an opening monologue at the beginning of each episode. Charles Nelson Reilly | b. She died in October 1996 while still married to the television show host star. You get six people who dont know what theyre doing, are not smart, she said, put them on a panel, find two contestants off the street and ask them dopey questions. Then the woman who spoke the words of Odets onstage and of John OHara on film said, It was the best job I ever had., https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/magazine/30reilly-somers.html. Dick is, of course, an excellent dancer, he said while talking to the Independent Press-Telegram in 1972. 25 Feb/23. When he's not writing or spending time with his family, David enjoys playing basketball and golfing. I especially loved Charles Nelson Reilly. Gene Rayburn (born Eugene Peter Jeljenic; December 22, 1917 - November 29, . She appeared with Reilly on Hollywood Squares during that show's "Game Show Week" in the same year. Actually, Gene clarified in 1973, I went to college for about 20 minutes, and then I ran out of money and went into the cold, cruel world to make some. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? In the new millennium, if Family Guy does a non-sequitur reference to you as part of a cutaway gag, youve got pop culture relevance. In 1973, Brett became a popular panelist on the television game show, "The Match Game." Anyone can read what you share. He was a morning disc jockey that owned New York City., Genes morning drive time radio show initially saw him teamed up with Jack Lescoulie in a series called Anything Goes. She also wrote an autobiography entitled Confessions of a Matzo Ball Mother (1997). He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. Everything You Need to Know About the Beaglier! In between, he got his start in radio, worked with Steve Allen on The Tonight Show, appeared on Broadway, acted in TV dramas and much more. And she said, You dont deserve a raise; your show isnt that popular. So they set out to deliberately find the worst song they could and it was called Music, Music, Music, and they just played this song every day. Well, Jack Klugmans wife was Brett Somers and Brett fit in beautifully on that show. Even though he started as a promising actor side-tracked initially, he made a significant breakthrough in radio and television hosting and is a great legend today. But both were already accomplished veterans of stage and screen. He showed tremendous leadership skills at the learning institution, where he was a senior class president. -- Dick Martin, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Lorrie Mahaffey, from "Family Feud," Richard Dawson, and Joyce Bulifant, as we play the star-studded, big-money Match Game PM, and here's the star of Match Game PM Gene Rayburn! Somers married actor Jack Klugman, the future star of TV shows Quincy and The Odd Couple, in 1953. And if thats the case, then Gene Rayburn and Match Game are still relevant. This announcing gig landed Rayburn back in New York at WNEW. Celebrity. Despite her many television series appearancs, she is best known for her role as a panelist on the . What that meant is that every night they would stop the Tonight show cold and Gene would do five minutes of news and weather. And they found the right celebrities right away with Richard Dawson, they booked Jack Klugman for the first week and Jack agreed to do it on the grounds that they would book his wife to be a panelist on a future show. In 1953, she married Klugman, the actor who rose to fame as the star of the television shows The Odd Couple and Quincy. Hosted by Gene Rayburn, a 70's geezer with a suspiciously lush hairdo and a hauntingly long, thin microphone, Match Game was a very accessible show because it was very silly and required no . Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on "The Match Game" in the 1970s, has died, her son said. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? Subsequent game shows included The Match Game (1962), Make the Connection (1955), Musical Chairs (1954), Play Your Hunch (1958), Tic Tac Dough (1956) and Dough Re Mi (1960). So that, the investments and the fact he hadnt been working steadily in a while all took a toll., Right to the end, Gene, who enjoyed his involvement with various game shows and the success they brought him, also felt frustrated that he was never able to achieve success as an actor. His name was Dick DeBartolo and Dicks actual job was that he was a writer for MAD magazine, but he took on the job at Match Game. When The New Match Game premiered in 1973, Jack was actually ready to be a part of it. Her Broadway debut was in the play Maybe Tuesday. It was a comedy in three acts and seven scenes. 17 (AP) Brett Somers, the actress and comedian who amused recreation display lovers together with her quips on Match Game, one of the most common quiz displays of the Seventies, died on Saturday at her home here. Somers, meanwhile, in a Match Game cast reunion a few years ago, was asked to describe the premise of the show. So to give it some kind of link, they had Gene at the stroke of midnight do a five-minute piece about the news, which was just the oddest-sounding thing. Jeremy Rytky: What you should know about Andrea Barber's ex-husband. Brett made guest appearances on many television shows including: Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 May 25, 2007)gave her the nickname of Susan on the set of Match Game. The disk jockeys played the record over and over, said the paper. . Early. Whenever he feels romantic he yells (BLANK).'" The questions were usually a bit risqu, at least for that period, incredibly tame today. Rayburn has an older brother called Alfred that died when he was young. The couple had purchased their own house in Roxbury, Conn. Additionally, he couldnt get access to his pension fund through AFTRA because the people in charge couldnt figure out who he was. Carolyn Raisner won the most money on the original Match Game, with a total of $32,600. Posted on December 26, 2007. It was catchy. An excellent show called Match Game that defined the 1970s with its phenomenal host, Gene Rayburn is perhaps a great example. Today, over 20 years after his passing, the memory of Gene Rayburn and his years hosting Match Game live on, helped no doubt by the airing of reruns on the Game Show Network and numerous videos of him at work that are on YouTube. Reports have it that the couple separated in 1974 but remained legally married until the time the actress passed away. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. When Match Game first premiered in 1962, Gene Rayburn was hosting his own show on NBC. . Why did Charles Nelson Reilly leave Match Game? You cant acquire it, its a congenital endowment. And in real life she was exactly what you saw onscreen, a funny, down-to-earth person.. Hosted by Gene Rayburn, . They got caught up in a bidding war, says Adam, and NBC wanted to give them a shot at the big time. The therapist kind of rubber-stamped Gene and said, Youre OK now, but his daughter looked at him and said, No, theres still stuff going on here. OK, now were going to play four notes of the song Now were going to play five notes , and that was the show, with them just slowly building the tune until youve heard enough of it to name the song. Although she had been kicking around Hollywood for about 20 years at that point, genuine stardom had eluded her until Match Game. They got busy It took some expert detecting to find the old man in the lonely boarding house where he lived in a single room. Sadly, Gene would suffer from dementia and he would die of congestive heart failure on November 29, 1999, at the age of 81. 4. She was 83. leslie klein brett somers daughter. Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs. Somers made regular appearances in several early television shows including The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90 and Robert Montgomery Presents. i like everyone on the show. Many know him as part of The Osbournes celebrity family, which he has made several appearances on the familys show. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. Between 2003 and 2004, Brett started her own show which she called, An Evening With Brett Somers. However, California court records indicate the couple actually divorced in August 1977. Brett was once married to actor Jack Klugman, but they separated. I was outraged when I first heard the news, but after seeing some of Genes later work, I can kind of see where they were coming from. Somers basically retired, while Reilly returned to the stage and guest TV appearances. And that gives Gene a chance to interact with people and it gets a really good reaction. Did you know that he started his career as an actor by making regular appearances with Ozzy and his family in the first season of The Osbournes? "Polio moved me out of physical effort," he mentioned, "and forced me into a mental manner of living.". After their divorce some time after their daughter was born she married Jack Klugman in 1953, giving birth to their sons Adam and David. Among their usual culprits: television in general and in particular game shows, perhaps the strongest a posteriori evidence that Americans brains were getting flabby on cultural junk food. I most always matched his answers. Her chosen last name, Somers, was her mother's maiden name. She apeared on the show from 1973-1982. So much fun to stumble across this thread! They include White, Fannie Flagg, Elaine Joyce, Jo Ann Pflug and Joyce Bulifant. When Crow T. Robot did his one-man show about the life of Gene Rayburn up on the Satellite of Love, Russell was one of the . However, after his wife's death in 1999, Gene Rayburn moved close to his daughter's home in North Shore, Massachusetts. Yes, some of the original Match Game regulars are still alive. Gene entertained a generation of watchers with his comically-long microphone and a suggestive toothy grin on the signature show, Match Game. It started at 11:15 p.m. and ran until 1:00 a.m. Somers was married to actor Jack Klugman and had a recurring role as Klugman's ex-wife Blanche on his hit show The Odd Couple. They played it daily and it became a chart-topping hit. It leads to more activity, and thats good., In 1961 he had perhaps his greatest opportunity to prove himself as an actor, by hitting the Broadway stage as the replacement for Dick Van Dyke (who was heading to television for his own show) in the musical Bye Bye Birdie. On the show hosted by Gene Rayburn, contestants were required to match answers to questions presented by a panel of celebrities which Brett Somers was among and due to her witty remarks, she became a popular celebrity panellist on the show. Sure enough, after the success of The Hollywood Squares, March Game was revived in 1973 in a new format. But by the time The Odd Couple began to be filmed, their marriage was already in trouble. Rayburn hosted many other shows, and appeared as a guest in others like: His last television appearance was in 1998 when he was featured in an interview with Access Hollywood that coincided with the 25th anniversary of the CBS game show, Match Game. Gene Rayburn was born on December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Even despite the fact that the 2 did not get off at the right foot when they first began filming The Odd Couple in 1970, it was handiest a matter of time until they put their differences aside and turned into the most efficient of pals. It's also possible that Gene Rayburn didn't like anyone. Gene Rayburn had married in 1940. Maybe its both. One additional observation the publication made was, The playing of records on a Rayburn-Finch show is essential just as it is on any disc jockey program, but they are apt to heckle a recording, halt it midway, sing along with it in burlesque fashion or dash an offending disc to the floor., Explains Adam, One of the things that Gene could kind of brag about was that they did legitimately have influence on popular culture. She was born as Audrey Dawn Johnston, on July 11, 1924, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Rayburn was married to Helen Ticknor from 1940 until her death in October 1996. In 1953, Mr. Klugman married actress and comedian Brett Somers, best known as a game-show panelist on the "Match Game" in the 1970s. Dawson, and Reilly (formerly Game Show Network.) She wasnt particularly a great actress, but whatever the attraction was, it was there. Although there are conflicting reports, it seems that Richard Dawson and Gene Rayburn did not always see eye to eye. The Background: It was early fall 1978. Brett Somers was a Canadian-American actress, comedian and writer. This time it was an unseen audience and no one dreamed how large it would grow. He was 81. He chose the stage name Rayburn from a phone book. Bastian Schweinsteiger: A Legend of Football and German Hero, Unveiling the Mysteries of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Bastet, Uncovering the Fascinating World of Basilisk Lizards, The Incredible Versatility of Basalt Rock and Its Many Uses, Barry Trotz: The Rise of an NHL Expansion Teams Coach, Barry Melrose: From Hockey Star to Stanley Cup Coach, Harness the Power of Bardic Inspiration in D&D 5e. She was not married long before they divorced. Clarence Williams III: wife, net worth, children, cause of death. Write by: . In 1958, Somers made her Broadway debut in a flop play called Maybe Tuesday, which also featured future TV star Alice Ghostley, who played Esmeralda on Bewitched. But if you were one of the millions of housewives or home-sick-from-schoolers or summer vacationers who carved out a portion of the day to spend with these shows, you knew that there could be a form of higher intelligence involved: the campy rejoinders of Paul Lynde (who died in 1982) on Hollywood Squares; the droll sarcasm of Richard Dawson on Match Game (before he became a kissing fool on Family Feud); and, on that same show, the daily barb exchange of Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly. The actor is back . [13] She also appeared onstage in productions of Happy Ending,[14] The Seven Year Itch and The Country Girl, the last opposite Klugman. He did whatever Genes mom told him to do, because that was the easiest way to live. jim martin death couples massage class san diego beaver falls football why did brett somers wear a wig. Brett was once married to actor Jack Klugman, but they separated in 1974. What happened with roy gilbert and sally rayburn? Gene also displayed great enthusiasm in acting and took part in the plays Robert of Sicily, and Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Battlestar Galactica and a revival of the series Perry Mason. Canadian-born actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on Match Game in the 1970s, has died, her son said. It was long reported that Somers and Klugman separated in 1974 but remained legally married until her death; this mistaken belief was furthered by the fact that Klugman waited until after Somers died to marry his second wife. Bretts biggest project in television is the ABC situation comedy, The Odd Couple, where she starred alongside her real-life husband. She played the role for five seasons until the show ended in 1975. Long before becoming a television show host, he was one of the most popular morning drive time hosts in New York City. Get ready to MATCH the STARS! This game show consisted of a host (Gene Rayburn) and 6 celebrities who try to match what the contestant might say to a question like: "Ruth said, It's strange being married to a ship's captain. His long career in the media industry where he worked in radio and television put him in a great position of winning lucrative deals. I watch it everyday, I DVR it so I can watch an episode later, and all these years later, it is still just as fresh and relevant as the day the episode originally aired. Quivers' impersonation of Somers was featured in the film Private Parts. In fact, she even had a recurring role on that series as Oscars ex-wife, Blanche. And, again, it was intentionally a bad song that theyd picked. In his personal life, Richard was married to Diana Dors from 1959 to 1967, and then Gretechen Johnson from 1991 until his death. She had a recurring role as Blanche, the former wife of Oscar Madison (played by real-life spouse Jack Klugman) on the ABC sitcom The Odd Couple in the early 1970s. 121 Classic (and Not-So-Classic) TV Sitcoms from the 1970s, Ellen DeGeneres Has Tested Positive For The Coronavirus, Charley Pride: Country Music Legend Dies At Age 86. While he was gone, a stray dog. Many people have been speculating about Brett Somers, another Match Game panellist, association with Gene Rayburn. She died in 2007. The show returned in 1973 with a significantly changed format on CBS (also in daytime). I went to rehearsal expecting the worst, but it turned out to be a breeze. Five days a week they start at 6:00 a.m. and finish at 9:30 a.m. and on Saturdays, they start at 7 a.m. and finish at 9:30 a.m., In the piece, Gene quipped, This is no time of day for a decent citizen to start earning a living, so you can draw your own conclusions. especially gene rayburn, brett summers, charles nelson reilly, richard dawson but especially brett. what is brett summers doing these days? When he was asked about it years later, Gene said, in his own words, I fell on my ass. Flying solo in that role just didnt work. Reilly won a Golden Globe Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on The Ghost & Mrs. Muir as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on How to Murder Your Wife. Another exciting thing about Gene Rayburn is that he enlisted in the United States Army Air Force and served in World War II. Without it, I still might be a semi-cripple.. [3] In 2004,[17] she appeared on the PBS concert special "Magic Moments The Best of '50s Pop". When I was doing the old Rayburn and Finch program on WNEW, I used to roll out of bed at 4:30 in the morning and drive to work. They had two children, David Klugman and Adam Klugman. Last year, he took to Twitter to share this . Now, we've got a complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested! The idea was to stay ahead of the competition by ripping off your own stuff., What this then led to was the creation of a rip-off of Password, the result something called The Match Game. One of the big TV game shows of the 1970s was Match Game, hosted by Gene Rayburn, which featured six celebrity panelists who would try and match answers with contestants. And it worked fabulously., That version of Match Game ran until 1979 on CBS and then enjoyed three more years in first-run syndication. She remained a regular panelist for the rest of the show's nine-year network and syndicated run. [3], After settling in New York, she married businessman Robert H. Klein in 1948. He was born Eugene Peter Jeljenic in Christopher, Illinois, on December 22, 1917, the youngest of two children. Brett Somers Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Brett Somers (July 11, 1924 - September 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American actress, singer, and comedian who was born in Canada and raised in Maine. "The . His breakthrough came in the mid-50s as the announcer on The Tonight Show (1953), with Steve Allen. After working for three years in the same position, Gene was given a chance to announce at different radio stations. However, they never officially divorced. Randy took a big shit on him. It should have some good lyrics. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? In 1953, Brett Somers married Jack Klugman. In 1983, she starred in her own sitcom, Brett, wich was cancelled after one season. A Rayburn, long the host of the game show, passed away in 1999. Somers changed her first name to Brett after the lead female character in The Sun Also Rises, a 1957 film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name and directed by Henry King. In the early stages, NBC envisioned it as a companion piece to the Today show, which is why they were calling it Tonight. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. and would she get . She would appear onstage in Happy Ending, The Seven Year Itch, and The County Girl.She also appeared in three movies: Bus Riley's Back in Town and A Rage to Live, both from 1965 and in Bone from 1972. But he managed to completely annoy the NBC news brass, because he would end the news with jokes and they felt the news should be serious and low key. He was born on April 27, 1922, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. There's tremendous development in the media industry, but the old days were still awesome. Gene Rayburn, 81, who amused TV audiences from the 1960s to the 1980s as host of "The Match Game," died of congestive heart failure Nov. 29 at the home of his daughter in Gloucester, Mass. In fact, he was on the shows first and second weeks. What were Brett Somers net worth and cause of death? In the 1970s, she became well-known for her appearances on the popular game show Match Game. Brett and Charles did many things in their careers but their appearances on "Match Game" throughout the 70s were so delicious . However, it is unclear if they actually consumed alcohol during the show, or if they simply held alcoholic beverages for prop purposes. Gene had only one wife and was never married to Somers. This is a query our professionals keep getting once in a while. She is the only champion to have retired undefeated. After serving within the Army as an officer, bombardier and pilot right through World War II, he become a group of workers announcer at WNEW radio in New York, the place he helped to popularize what is referred to now as pressure time programming in a full of life, early morning radio show called Rayburn & Finch. He later hosted other techniques for NBC William Lawrence Cullen was born in Pittsburgh. With such an exhaustive. How I became Gene Rayburn is a little story in itself, he told the News-Pilot of San Pedro, California in 1973. It was the Great Depression and money was just hard to come by., Moving to New York, he spent three years working as a page and a tour guide at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York. They had one child together, a daughter named Lynne. Noted the Democrat and Chronicle in 1950, The latest attempt to popularize a network disc jockey show is being made through a zany pair known as Gene Rayburn and Dee Finch. The couple has two sons Adam and David. One of those "things" included a nine-year run on the classic game show "Match Game," hosted by the late Gene Rayburn. Somers was sometimes the subject of questions on Match Game, such as "You may or may not believe in reincarnation, but listen to this. Big names have tried it and given up. Early career This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Actress and author ("Fried Green Tomatoes") Fannie Flagg wrote a wonderful tribute to Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly that appears in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. Tickets for the concerts are priced at $25 (in advance) and $30 (at the door). Brett Somers was famous among game show fans for her appearances on the 1970s hit The Match Game, where she traded comical insults with host Gene Rayburn and fellow panelists Richard Dawson and Charles Nelson Reilly. After The Odd Couple ended, Somers appeared in several made-for-television movies and guest-starred on various television shows. Richard Dawson, one of the first on the show, died at the age of 79 of oesophageal cancer on June 2, 2012. He would say that, grind up his piece of chalk and sprinkle it all over the state. Brett married Jack Klugman in 1953 and went by the name Brett Somers Klugman at one . Reviewed the Democrat and Chronicle of this early version of the show, In his newest role, Gene Rayburn has relinquished a good deal of the silliness and settled down to the extremely serious business that is an emcees function: to make certain the half-hour is light, bright and mentally untaxing. Rubessa is the name of my stepfather, a great guy. ", Somers was not originally considered for the celebrity panel. 1. Its like a dream, the old man said, being back in show business again. They had two sons, Adam and David. The analogy that I heard when I interviewed multiple people and when I looked at different research sources, is that he was the Howard Stern of the 1940s. Genes account, Adam relates, was that his phone never rang again after that. As an actor he appeared in films including The Rat Race, How to Murder Your Wife, For Those Who Think Young, Car Wash, and The Muppet Movie. So now Im working for this lady at a station in New York. Brett often mentioned Susanville, California. This included panellists like Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Dawson. Gene Rayburn joined the United States Army Air Corps, He began coaching at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas and graduated in 1942, He flew struggle missions in the Pacific Theatre with the Bomber Barons of the 394th Bomb Squadron, fifth Bombardment Wing of the Thirteenth Air Force. Tuko.co.ke featured an interesting article about the English record producer and DJ. Gene started radio with Jack Lescoulie (Anything Goes) and later with Dee Finch (Rayburn and Finch) on WNEW, now called WBBR. is brett married? But then, says Geoffrey, came a time when either the shooting schedule interfered with The Odd Couple or he wasnt feeling well and he told the producers, Hey, let my wife do this. Brett was currently on The New Perry Mason playing Gertie the secretary. It has plenty of names. She was 83. . In the summer of 2003, Somers wrote, co-produced and appeared in a critically acclaimed one-woman cabaret show, An Evening with Brett Somers. Looking back, though, he realized he was being offered a chance for a showcase of his own. However, it is possible that at least some of the wigs worn by Brett Somers were not real hair, as she was known for her over-the-top fashion sense and often wore outrageous costumes on The Odd Couple. She continued to perform after being diagnosed with cancer. I love RICHARD DAWSON, Brett and Charles. Mexicos Courageous Stand in the Battle of Puebla. Brett Somers was born Audrey Johnston on July 11, 1924, in New Brunswick, Canada, and grew up in Portland, Maine. Gene brought in a new format whereby contestants would attempt to match the responses of six celebrities. In New York she met and married Robert Klein, who was definitely not the comedian of the same name. Brett Somers, born as Audrey Dawn Johnston, was a Canadian-American actress, singer, and game-show personality, who was best known for playing the recurring role of Blanche Madison on the TV show "The Odd Couple" and for appearing as a panelist on the CBS game show titled "Match Game." Biography