RIP Brett Somers; GSN Plans Special Tribute

17 Sep

Posted by Alex Davis as Breaking News, GSN, Schedule Change

Sad day in the game show world today. Famous Match Game panelist Brett Somers died Saturday at her home of stomach and colon cancer, her son said. She was born Audrey Johnston in New Brunswick, Canada, and grew up in Portland, Maine. She ran away from home at age 17 and headed for New York City, where she settled in Greenwich Village. She changed her first name to Brett after the lead female character in the Ernest Hemingway novel “The Sun Also Rises.” Somers was her mother’s maiden name.

GSN is planning a special Saturday marathon celebrating Brett Somers consisting of, of course, Match Game. Various episodes featuring the best of Brett will be shown Saturday, September 22nd, from 9AM to 4PM ET. Directly after that GSN will show the Match Game documentary, Behind the Blank, from 4PM to 5PM ET. Also, on Sunday, September 23rd, at 3:30AM ET, an episode of Password from 1971 with her and her then-husband, Jack Klugman, will be shown.

All marathon information courtesy of GSN.

15 Responses

Intelligent777
1
September 17th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

Oh no. We unfortunately can now say that the greatest panel tandem in game show history has left us for good. Yes, we will always have the reruns and the DVD’s, but it is sad none the less, my condolences to her family.

It’s too bad, really, I would have loved to have seen Match Game revived and have Brett (and Charles) have one final go round on the panel in a special guest role.

Goodbye Brett, we love you!
abric pitt
2
September 17th, 2007 at 6:18 pm

In heaven right now, God must be laughing so hard with Gene, Brett and Charles up there.
RIP Brett
shelly
3
September 17th, 2007 at 7:48 pm

RIP, Brett. :(
The Great Butler
4
September 17th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

I remember somebody saying when Charles passed earlier this year that they suspected Brett wouldn’t last very long, since the two were so close.

What a shame….we’ve lost so many this year….Charles, Tom Poston, Kitty Carlisle, now Brett…

I hate to sound opportunistic but at least we get to see an ABC Password…

RIP Brett. You made the world laugh.
dropzone5
5
September 17th, 2007 at 9:00 pm

Can’t forget Merv Griffin, Butler.

But man, this is hard news for anyone. Who’s left to interview for the second Match Game DVD now that Brett’s gone?

The world is a lot quieter now that Brett Somers is no longer with us to make us laugh. We miss you already, Brett.
Nikolai
6
September 17th, 2007 at 9:02 pm

Brett sure was a funny lady. She will really be sadly missed. RIP, Brett.
The Great Butler
7
September 17th, 2007 at 9:54 pm

I feel like a fool for forgetting Merv. Not sure how I did that.

I really am beginning to get nervous. With all the deaths this year, I can’t help but wonder in fear….who next?
DDELE7
8
September 18th, 2007 at 12:24 am

OH MAN, what a loss!

We lost Charles at the start of the summer, Merv in the middle and now we have lost Brett at the end.

The duo of Brett and Charles, what a team, the chemistry between the two of them was unforgettable. They made Match Game what it is today.

And the strange thing is that we were all caught off guard with both of their illnesses. Mostly because they were out of the public eye for so many years.

Well, thanks Brett and goodbye….. for now.
mrquiz
9
September 18th, 2007 at 8:09 am

I had heard a few years ago that she had cancer, but supposedly she either had it under control, or it was in remission. My heartfelt condolences to her family.
insaneben
10
September 18th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

Ye gods, man!
Has this been the Summer of Discontinuation, or what?!
Ever since the beginning of June, we’ve seen Bob Barker retire, Sony order FlashGames2 to “cease-and-desist” their games, the deaths of Charles Nelson Reilly, Kitty Carlysle (sp?), and Merv Griffin. Now we’ve lost Brett Somers. This truly has been one bummer summer.
My thoughts and prayers go out all of Ms. Somers’ family, friends and relatives (both near and distant).
Scott
11
September 18th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

What is amazing is that though separated since the early 1970s, Brett Somers and Jack Klugman never divorced (and ironically, she played Oscar’s ex-wife on The Odd Couple). Condolences to Jack Klugman, and thanks to him as well, for if he had never suggested Brett to serve as a panelist on Match Game, we would perhaps never have come to know and love her as we did. Another legend gone… :(

P.S. I sincerely doubt Richard Dawson, the only surviving MG regular, will be asked to “host” the next Match Game video…he burnt too many bridges. My vote would be Betty White, a semi-regular who had occasional on-screen tangles with Brett…
Adam
12
September 18th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

RIP Brett. We loved you on Match Game. Thank God we still see you today on GSN in the reruns of MG. You’ve brought so many smiles to the faces of many Game Show fans. We will never forget you.
Andrew Budny
13
September 19th, 2007 at 7:37 pm

Brett was on of the greatest pannelists in the history of game shows. Rest in peace Brett.
John
14
September 20th, 2007 at 2:16 am

Now we are losing great people who made a difference in game shows.
R.I.P. Brett Somers Klugman
Duane
15
September 27th, 2007 at 10:13 pm

Richard Dawson is the last of the ‘regulars’ still left from the original “Match Game” panelists. I got an autogrpahed picture from him, as well as two autographed pics from Brett Somers herself, and with age, maybe Richard had mellowed enough to where he might consider doing commentary for a second set of “MG” episodes (if one is done.) Since Betty White was a semi-regular (and she seemed pretty close to Richard on the show), maybe she could coax him into doing it.

RIP Brett - to me, you ARE the queen of the CBS version of “Match Game.” May your hearty laughter give others all of the fun you shared with us, the audience, as well as Gene & Helen Rayburn, Charles Nelson Reilly, and all of the other panelists wherever you may be. You will always be beloved by this fan.

My condolences go out to Jack Klugman, and their two sons through this rough time.