Patrick Duffy has shared a heartfelt reflection on his enduring friendship with Suzanne Somers, remembering the late actress on what would have been her 80th birthday and offering a glimpse into the special connection they developed while starring together in the beloved family sitcom Step by Step.
The Dallas star, who portrayed Frank Lambert opposite Somers’ Carol Foster, looked back on their relationship during an appearance at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, on Friday, October 16, 2026. The event fell on the date Somers would have celebrated her milestone birthday, bringing added poignancy to Duffy’s recollections of a co-star who became one of his closest friends.
As reported by Nicola Conville for HELLO!, Duffy recalled how quickly he and Somers established a connection, describing a working relationship that echoed the successful partnership he had previously enjoyed with his Dallas co-star Larry Hagman. His remarks combined humor, affection and nostalgia, reflecting the personal bond behind one of television’s familiar on-screen marriages of the 1990s.
Somers died on October 15, 2023, following a long battle with breast cancer. She was 76 and passed away at her home in Palm Springs, California, one day before her 77th birthday. Her death marked the loss of an entertainer whose career extended well beyond sitcoms, encompassing books, business ventures and a prominent presence in popular culture.
A Remarkable Connection That Began After Dallas
Duffy’s recollections at 90s Con offered a reminder of how one successful television partnership can shape an actor’s professional and personal life.
After spending years playing Bobby Ewing on Dallas, Duffy was ready to move into a new chapter when he met Somers, who had already established herself as a recognizable television personality. Their first meeting, he recalled, took place only two weeks after he left Dallas.
“I left Dallas, and two weeks later I went into the meeting to meet Suzanne Somers, and I looked at her, and I went, ‘Oh my God, that’s my new Larry Hagman,’” Duffy said.
The comparison was an affectionate reference to Hagman, whose portrayal of J.R. Ewing had made him one of the defining figures of Dallas. Duffy’s relationship with Hagman had been an important part of his experience on the long-running drama, and finding a similar rapport with Somers helped establish the foundation for their next television partnership.
Duffy went on to describe Somers as his “best friend” during their seven years working together. Their connection, he explained, developed into the kind of easy professional chemistry that allowed both performers to feel comfortable experimenting with their characters.
For a sitcom built around the everyday complications of family life, that comfort was particularly valuable. The relationship between Frank and Carol needed to feel convincing not only during moments of domestic disagreement but also when the couple found opportunities to reconnect amid the demands of raising their children.
How Step by Step Made Their Television Marriage Work
Premiering in 1991, Step by Step ran until 1998 and followed Frank Lambert and Carol Foster, two people who married and brought their respective families together. Frank had three children, as did Carol, creating a blended household in which six children had to navigate new relationships, changing routines and the challenges of sharing a family.
The series drew much of its comedy from those domestic complications. Its premise allowed the writers to explore sibling rivalries, parental responsibilities and the adjustment required when two established family units become one.
Yet the marriage at the center of the sitcom was just as important as the children’s storylines. Frank and Carol were not simply parents managing a busy household; they were a couple whose relationship needed to remain lively despite the interruptions and unpredictability of family life.
According to Conville’s account in HELLO!, Duffy recalled how he and Somers sometimes improvised during scenes involving their characters. Some of their favorite moments featured Frank and Carol attempting to spend private time together, only to be interrupted by one of the children.
Rather than limiting themselves strictly to the scripted exchanges, the actors sometimes continued playing off one another after the written dialogue had ended. Duffy humorously recalled that they could “play out our fantasies”, while emphasizing that their improvisations remained “in good taste”.
The memories illustrate how performers can contribute to the personality of a television series beyond the lines written for them. While the scripts provided the situations and storylines, the actors’ timing and mutual understanding helped determine how those situations played on screen.
In Frank and Carol’s case, the goal was to portray a couple whose affection had survived the practical demands of marriage and parenting. Their romantic moments provided a counterbalance to the commotion of the blended household, reinforcing the idea that the parents’ relationship remained an important part of the family structure.
That balance also helped distinguish the show’s central couple from a purely functional television partnership. Their characters had responsibilities, disagreements and competing demands on their time, but they continued to find ways to enjoy each other’s company.
From On-Screen Spouses to Lasting Friends
The warmth Duffy described was not confined to the fictional relationship between Frank and Carol. According to his recollections, he and Somers became close friends while working together, maintaining their connection after Step by Step concluded in 1998.
Long-running television productions can create demanding working environments, with performers repeatedly returning to the same sets and spending substantial periods together. In some cases, the familiarity produces partnerships that endure beyond the production itself. Duffy’s account suggests that his relationship with Somers became one such friendship.
Their on-screen chemistry was especially significant because the series depended on the credibility of their marriage. Viewers needed to believe that Frank and Carol could remain a couple while dealing with the competing personalities and problems within their household. Duffy’s memories of their willingness to improvise offer a window into the trust and ease that supported that portrayal.
It would be speculative to attribute every successful moment in the series to their off-screen friendship alone. Television comedy also depends on writing, direction, editing and the contributions of the wider cast. Nevertheless, Duffy’s description of Somers as his best friend provides personal context for the natural rapport he remembers sharing with her.
Their partnership also linked two different phases of his career. Dallas had established Duffy as a familiar face in prime-time television, while Step by Step gave him an opportunity to work in a family comedy with a different tone and audience. Somers, meanwhile, brought her own history as a television star to the production.
Together, they helped anchor a sitcom that appealed to audiences through its familiar domestic situations and the evolving relationships within its fictional family.
Suzanne Somers’ Career Extended Far Beyond Carol Foster
Although Duffy’s tribute focused on their time together, Somers’ wider career helps explain why her death prompted tributes from admirers who knew her through different periods of entertainment history.
Before joining Step by Step, Somers became widely known for playing Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company, which debuted in 1977. The comedy helped establish her as a prominent television personality and introduced her to an audience that would follow her subsequent work.
Her career later expanded into publishing, business and fitness. Somers wrote books and developed commercial ventures, becoming particularly associated with the ThighMaster exercise device. That work gave her a public profile beyond acting and demonstrated her ability to build a business identity around her celebrity.
Her professional life also included candid public discussions of her health. Somers was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and spoke about living with the disease over the years. Her long experience with cancer became an important part of her public story, alongside her entertainment and business achievements.
She died in October 2023 after a prolonged battle with the illness. According to the original HELLO! report, she was surrounded by loved ones at her Palm Springs home, including her husband, Alan Hamel, and her son, Bruce.
Somers and Hamel had married in 1977 and remained together for 46 years, until her death. Their enduring relationship was another defining element of her personal life, running alongside a career that spanned several decades.
The timing of her death, one day before her 77th birthday, made the anniversary of her passing particularly poignant. Her 80th birthday in October 2026 provided another occasion to reflect on her life and the people who shared important chapters of it.
Remembering Suzanne Somers Three Years Later
Duffy’s appearance at 90s Con came nearly three years after Somers’ death, but his stories showed that memories of their time together remained vivid. Rather than focusing solely on loss, he recalled the humor, spontaneity and friendship that had defined their working relationship.
The setting was fitting for a conversation about a television partnership that began in the early 1990s. Events such as 90s Con bring together performers and audiences connected by the entertainment of that decade, creating opportunities to revisit programs that continue to hold nostalgic significance.
For viewers who remember Step by Step, Duffy’s account adds a personal dimension to the series. The relationship between Frank and Carol was written as the steady center of a busy blended family, but the actor’s recollections reveal how much he valued the performer who helped bring that relationship to life.
His comparison between Somers and Hagman also connects two defining chapters of his career. One was shaped by the drama of Dallas, while the other revolved around the humor and everyday challenges of family life. In both cases, Duffy remembers finding a co-star with whom he could develop a strong creative connection.
Somers’ legacy cannot be reduced to one role or one television partnership. She was an actress, author and entrepreneur whose public life evolved across generations of popular culture. Yet her work on Step by Step remains an important part of the story, particularly for audiences who came to know her as Carol Foster.
Duffy’s tribute brings that chapter into focus. His recollections of improvised scenes and affectionate exchanges reveal the lighter side of their collaboration, while his description of Somers as his best friend underscores the significance the relationship held for him beyond the demands of television production.
As admirers remember Somers on what would have been her 80th birthday, Duffy’s words offer a personal perspective on the woman behind the character. The sitcom may have ended in 1998, but the friendship he described endured long after the final episode.
For Duffy, remembering Somers means recalling not only a talented co-star but also a friend with whom he shared years of laughter and creative partnership. It is that lasting connection, rather than the passage of time alone, that gives his tribute its emotional weight.
The post Patrick Duffy Pays Emotional Tribute to Suzanne Somers on What Would Have Been Her 80th Birthday appeared first on Owink.
Source: Owink
