Julie Sommars (born April 15, 1940) is an American actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her role in The Governor & J.J. in 1970, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for Matlock in 1990.[1]
Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
Julie Sommars |
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Sommars in 1970. |
Born | (1940-04-15) April 15, 1940 (age 84)
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Occupation | Actress |
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Years active | 1960–1994 |
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Known for | The Governor & J.J. Matlock |
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Sommars was born in Fremont, Nebraska, on April 15, 1940.[2][3] She was raised in Iowa and South Dakota.[4]
Television
Sommars is best known for her work on television. She made her television debut in 1960, at the age of 18, in an episode of The Loretta Young Show.[4] She later appeared in Gunsmoke; Shirley Temple's Storybook; The Great Adventure; Bonanza; Run, Buddy, Run; Perry Mason; Ben Casey; Death Valley Days; The Fugitive; The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; Get Smart; and Love, American Style.[5]
From 1969 to 1970, Sommars starred as Jennifer Jo "J.J." Drinkwater, the daughter of Dan Dailey's the "Governor" in the CBS comedy series, The Governor & J.J.. In 1970, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her performance on the show.[6] The series was canceled after two seasons.
After The Governor & J.J., Sommars played the leading roles in a number of made-for-television movies and starred in several pilots. She guest-starred on The Rockford Files; Harry O; McCloud; McMillan; Barnaby Jones; Fantasy Island; Magnum, P.I.; and Diagnosis: Murder. In 1984, she was a regular cast member in the short-lived syndicated soap opera, Rituals. From 1987 to 1994, Sommars played Assistant District Attorney Julie March on the NBC legal series, Matlock.[7] This role also garnered her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 1990.[6]
- Letter to Loretta as Laury Barlow (1 episode, 1960)
- Sea Hunt as Betty Crane (season 3, episode 31, 1960)
- Shirley Temple's Storybook as Princess Mary (1 episode, 1960)
- Holiday Lodge as Cecilia (1 episode, 1961)
- The Tall Man as Anna Henry (1 episode, 1961)
- Outlaws as Ellie (1 episode, 1961)
- The Great Adventure as Meg Jethro (1 episode, 1964)
- Memo from Purgatory (1964)
- Bonanza - Episode - The Roper - Emma Hewitt (1964)
- Sex and the College Girl (1964) as Susan
- Slattery's People as Electra Walton (1 episode, 1965)
- Flipper as Tina's Mother (1 episode, 1965)
- Perry Mason as Helen Kendall (1 episode, 1965)
- Mr. Novak as Ellen Cable (1 episode, 1965)
- Ben Casey as Ruth Ann Carmody (1 episode, 1965)
- The Great Sioux Massacre (1965) as Caroline Reno
- Death Valley Days as Tulie in "Peter the Hunter", and as Sister Blandina Segale in "The Fastest Nun in the West" (2 episodes, 1964, 1966)
- Gunsmoke as Bess Campbell (4 episodes, 1964-1966; as Elsie Howell, 1 episode, 1965; as Sara Stone, 1 episode, 1966; as Gert)
- The Pad and How to Use It (1966) as Doreen Marshall
- Run, Buddy, Run as Betsy Jensen (1 episode, 1966)
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre as Maggie Lake (1 episode, 1966)
- The Fugitive as Carla Karac (2 episodes, 1965-1966)
- My Husband Tom...and John unaired pilot film (1966)
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Darlene Sims (2 episodes, 1965-1967)
- The Invaders as Grace Vincent (1 episode, 1967)
- He & She as Rosemary Wallace (1 episode, 1967)
- Dundee and the Culhane as Lela (1 episode, 1967)
- Get Smart as Mimsi Sage (1 episode, 1968)
- European Eye (1968) as Molly
- Felony Squad as Ellen Willis (2 episodes, 1968)
- Judd, for the Defense as Trish Overbaugh (1 episode, 1968)
- The Name of the Game as Barbara Ellis (1 episode, 1968)
- The Virginian as Martha Carson (1 episode, 1968)
- The F.B.I. as Betty Caldwell (3 episodes, 1967-1969)
- Lancer as Catha Cameron (1 episode, 1969)
- The Governor & J.J. as Jennifer Jo Drinkwater (39 episodes, 1969-1970)
- Five Desperate Women (1971) as Mary Grace Brown
- The Harness (1971) as Jennifer Shagaras
- How to Steal an Airplane (1971) as Dorothy
- McCloud as Jennie (1 episode, 1971)
- Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law as Jill Peniman (1 episode, 1972)
- Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love (1974) as Patricia
- Thriller as Ann Rogers (1 episode, 1974)
- Fools, Females and Fun as Alice Shoemaker (1974)
- Harry O as Gertrude Blainey (1 episode, 1974)
- The Rockford Files as Tawnia Baker (1 episode, 1974)
- McCloud as Police Sgt. Mildred Cross (1 episode, 1974)
- Barnaby Jones as Ruby Deems (1 episode, 1974)
- Switch as Lane Cameron (1 episode, 1975)
- The Family Holvak as Kate Gifford (1 episode, 1975)
- Three for the Road as Amy Parsons (1 episode, 1975)
- Ellery Queen as Emmy Reinhart (1 episode, 1975)
- Bronk as Sara (1 episode, 1976)
- Jigsaw John as Carol Chapman (1 episode, 1976)
- McMillan and Wife as Carol Hanover (1 episode, 1977)
- Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) as Diane Darcy
- Fantasy Island as Carmen Drake (1 episode, 1978)
- Centennial as Alice Grebe (1 episode, 1979)
- Sex and the Single Parent as Bonnie (1979)
- Barnaby Jones as Amy Cameron (1 episode, 1979)
- Beyond Westworld as Liz Nicholson (1 episode, 1980)
- Fantasy Island as Laura Crane (1 episode, 1980)
- Magnum, P.I. as Jennie 'JL' Lowry/Texas Lightning (1 episode, 1982)
- Cave-In! (1983) as Liz Johnson
- Emergency Room (1983) as Nina Cole
- Partners in Crime as Nola (1 episode, 1984)
- Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin (1991) as Betty Farmer
- Matlock as ADA Julie March (94 episodes, 1987-1992, 1 episode in 1994)
- Diagnosis: Murder as Regina Baylor (1 episode, 1994)
Nebraska Blue Book. Nebraska Legislative Council. 1998. p. 87. Retrieved 12 February 2023.