Julie Sommars

Life and career

Sommars was born as Juliana Edith Sommars in Fremont, Nebraska, but raised in Iowa and South Dakota. She resides in Los Angeles with her fourth husband, John Karns. She has three children, from her third marriage

Television

Sommars is best known for her work on television. She made her television debut In 1960, at the age of nineteen, in an episode of The Loretta Young Show. 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.

From 1969-70, 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 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her performance on show. 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, 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 ABC legal series, Matlock. This role also garnered her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television in 1990.

Film

During her career, Sommars has appeared in four movies. She played the female lead in the 1965 Columbia Pictures' western The Great Sioux Massacre opposite Joseph Cotten. The following year, she starred with Brian Bedford in the comedy film, The Pad and How to Use It. In 1977, Sommars co-starred opposite Dean Jones and Don Knotts as the beautiful but assertive young race car driver Diane Darcy in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.