Suzanne Somers' Husband Reveals Why She Was Buried in Special Hiking Boots
Suzanne Somers loved her designer shoes.
She had “every Manolo Blahnik ever made,” her husband, Alan Hamel, told People.
But Somers, who died of breast cancer Oct. 15, a day before her 77th birthday, wasn’t laid to rest in the pricey, trendy footwear she loved so much.
Instead, Hamel said, she was buried in a pair of Timberland hiking boots that carried special meaning for the actress.
He had special-ordered the boots for her to use on the rugged hikes they used to take most mornings, he told the entertainment news outlet.
He had customized them by adding some words “that represented our life to some degree and made them very personal to Suzanne,” he explained.
The actress was thrilled with the boots, he said. “Every time she put on the Timberlands, she said, ‘I am wearing you, and my boots will keep me safe.’”
It would “have been predictable but not very personal” to have Suzanne “wearing [Manolo Blahniks] for her final trip,” Hamel said.
Somers’ career spanned several decades, starting out with some non-speaking roles on TV and movies, including the mysterious “blonde in a T-bird” in George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” in 1973, according to IMDB.
She gained fame as the ditzy Chrissy Snow in the sitcom “Three’s Company,” which ran from 1977 to 1981.
She had other guest roles and starred in other series, including “She’s the Sheriff” from 1987-1989 and “Step by Step” from 1991-1998.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, fought it with conventional and alternative treatments, and went on to write more than 25 books, mostly on health and wellness topics.
She was also an entrepreneur, involved in marketing health and beauty products, most notably the meme-worthy ThighMaster exercise device — whose TV commercials were particularly popular with young men.
“A long time ago, I saw Suzanne Somers demonstrate the Thigh Master on late night television,” Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” wrote in a Facebook post in 2020. “I’ve not been the same since.”
He talked in the post about meeting her and learning that she was a fan of his television programs. “I loved your work with the skilled trades and your stance on everything,” she told him.
Rowe reflected, “It didn’t seem appropriate to say ‘I love your work with the Thigh Master,’ so I simply thanked her and tried to think pure thoughts while we posed for a photo.”
In recent years, Somers launched and promoted her own line of cosmetics called Suzanne Organics.
The actress revealed in July that her breast cancer had returned, People reported.
“This is not new territory for me,” she said at the time. “I know how to put on my battle gear, and I’m a fighter.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
