Heavy/ABC Suzanne Somers on "Dancing With the Stars."
Tony Dovolani paid tribute to Suzanne Somers following her death at age 76.
The former “Three’s Company” star died on October 15, 2023, just one day before her 77th birthday. Somers’ cause of death has not been revealed. In a statement to ABC News, her publicist R. Couri Hay confirmed she had been fighting breast cancer for more than two decades.
Somers was partnered with Dovolani when she competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in season 20 back in 2015. The duo became the fourth couple eliminated in the season that crowned Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy as the winners.
Hours after Somers’ death was announced, Dovolani posted to his Instagram page to share a “Dancing With the Stars” publicity photo of the two of them. Somers wore a sparkly black dress as she posed alongside the pro dancer, who was dressed in matching tuxedo pants and a bow tie.
“Rip @suzannesomera,” Dovolani captioned the photo. “What an honor getting to know you #danceinheaven beautiful human being so saddened by this news.”
On his Instagram story, Dovolani also shared throwback photos of him and Somers in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom alongside former host Tom Bergeron.
Tony Dovolani Called Suzanne Somers a ‘Beautiful Human Being’
Dovalani also shared a video of him and Somers with cream pie all over their faces after an impromptu pie fight in 2015. The prank took place on International Pi Day when Dovolani smashed a pie in Somers’ face during rehearsals, per The Daily Mail.
During their partnership on DWTS, Somers and Dovolani had a friendly relationship. Their team name was “Two’s Company,” a spin on Somers’ famous ABC sitcom, per Entertainment Tonight. Dovolani was even a fan of the sitcom star. The Albanian dancer told the outlet he learned to speak English by watching Somers on TV. “When I came here, I was 15,” Dovolani said. “So grammatical mistakes I make, it’s her fault.”
In 2015, Somers talked about Dovolani’s teaching style in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Tony is tough but fair,” she said at the time. “I am so used to being the boss and making my own decisions that being back in class with a world champion dancer took some mental calisthenics on my part. He told me that in five days of teaching me, he is squeezing in four years of lessons.” Somers added that she trusted Dovolani and respected his “direction.”
After she was eliminated from the competition on Disney Night, Somers reflected on her DWTS experience on her blog for People. “I will miss hanging out with Tony and our little family that met daily for four hours over the past six to seven weeks to rehearse,” she wrote. “We laughed a lot, had a moment or two of drama, and we did some great work.”
Other DWTS Cast Members Reacted to The Death of Suzanne Somers
Somers’ death is being felt across the DWTS universe. In addition to Tony Dovolani’s tribute, a remebrance was shared to the official DWTs Instagram page shared a tribute. “We are saddened at the loss of one of our dear DWTS family members, Suzanne Somers. She was an icon in and out of the ballroom, and our hearts go out to her loved ones. ❤️,” came the caption.
Former host Tom Bergeron also posted photos of the late star in the ballroom. “Another bright light gone. #RIP @suzannesomers 😔,” the veteran TV host wrote.
In addition, Somers’ season 20 competitor Robert Herjavec shared a series of photos from the DWTS ballroom. “Sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Suzanne Sommers – such a pleasure to watch her on Three’s Company and then many years later to be with her on @dancingwiththestars in 2015!” the “Shark Tank” star wrote.
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