Alan Hamel
Born (1936-06-30) June 30, 1936
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Producer, Writer, Actor, television host
Years active1960–2012
Spouses
Marilyn Shapiro
​
​
(m. 1958; div. 1971)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1977; died 2023)​
    Children2

    Alan Hamel (born June 30, 1936) is a Canadian entertainer, producer, and television host.

    Early life

    Hamel was born in Toronto of Jewish descent.[1] He was in the television arts program at Ryerson Institute of Technology in 1954 but did not graduate.

    Career

    Hamel co-hosted the Canadian children's television series Razzle Dazzle (1961–64). The show featured a talking turtle, Howard. In the late 1960s he hosted two syndicated game shows which aired on all the ABC owned and operated TV stations as well as others: Wedding Party (1968) and Anniversary Game (1969), where he first met Suzanne Somers, whom he later married in 1977.[2] In the late 1970s, he hosted The Alan Hamel Show, a popular daytime talk show on CTV. People magazine considered him "Canada's leading TV talk show host".[1] During that time, he hosted the ill-fated People television series on CBS for a few months in 1978.[3][4] After Hamel stepped down as host in 1980, fellow Canadian Alan Thicke took over and the show was retitled The Alan Thicke Show and, later, Don Harron continued the franchise as host of his own eponymous talk show that aired in the same time slot.

    For several years during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hamel was a commercial pitchman for American Stores, a coast-to-coast chain of supermarkets. Specifically, he did advertisements for Alpha Beta stores in the western United States, and also appeared in occasional spots for Acme Markets in the northeastern United States.

    Hamel eventually became a producer, often working on projects involving his wife.[2] He occasionally performed as an actor as well, also sometimes on Somers' shows.[5]

    Personal life

    Hamel has two children, a son Stephen and a daughter Leslie, from his first marriage to Marilyn Hamel.[6] He met his second wife, actress and author Suzanne Somers while she worked as a prize model on The Anniversary Game, a game show he hosted.[1] Although he was already married, they began a relationship which led to an abortion.[7] Hamel and Somers lived together for about ten years before finally marrying in 1977.[6][8][9] A rabbi and a Catholic priest officiated at their wedding.[1] Hamel is stepfather to Bruce Somers Jr., Suzanne Somers' son from a previous teen marriage.[1] Suzanne Somers died on October 15, 2023.[10]

    Somers and Hamel bought a house in Palm Springs, California, in 1977, and they sold it in 2021 for $8.5 million.[11] In January 2007, a wildfire in Southern California destroyed their home in Malibu, California.[12][2]

    Filmography

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 Windeler, Robert (7 November 1977). "She's Three's Company". People. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
    2. 1 2 3 "Suzanne Somers and Canadian husband lose home to fire". CanWest News Service. 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
    3. ↑ Shepard, Richard F. (1978-05-03). "CBS‐TV Adds 8, Drops". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
    4. ↑ Shepard, Richard F. (1978-11-09). "2 CBS‐TV Shows Are Off". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
    5. ↑ Alan Hamel at IMDb
    6. 1 2 Sporkin, Elizabeth (November 11, 1991). "Back in Step". People. Vol. 36, no. 18. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
    7. ↑ Plaskin, Glenn (May 15, 1992). "Somers first fought her own fright". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023.
    8. ↑ Traub, Alex (October 15, 2023). "Suzanne Somers, Star of 'Three's Company,' Is Dead at 76". The New York Times.
    9. ↑ Massabrook, Nicole (October 15, 2023). "Suzanne Somers and Husband Alan Hamel's Relationship Timeline". Us Weekly.
    10. ↑ Richards, Bailey (October 15, 2023). "Suzanne Somers, Three's Company and Step by Step Actress, Dead at 76". People. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
    11. ↑ Todisco, Eric (May 14, 2021). "Suzanne Somers Has Found a Buyer for Her 'Legendary' $8.5M Palm Springs Compound - See Inside!". People.
    12. ↑ "Malibu Fire Destroys Four Mansions, Including Suzanne Somers' Home". Fox News. January 10, 2007. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
    13. ↑ The Alan Hamel Show Archived 2017-07-20 at the Wayback Machine at TVArchive.ca
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