‘Cheers’: Bebe Neuwirth Enjoyed Portraying the ‘Painful Moments’ in Lilith’s Life
Bebe Neuwirth recurred on the NBC comedy Cheers from season 4 through the 11th and final season. She played Lilith, Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer)’s wife and later ex-wife by the time of his spinoff Frasier. When Cheers was ending in 1993, Neuwirth reflected on the major Lilith moments she got to play in the TV comedy.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with the cast of Cheers in an article published May 16, 1993. The series finale would air May 20. In a recurring capacity over 80 total episodes, Neuwirth depicted Lilith’s full life.
‘Cheers’ challenged Bebe Neuwirth with the ups and downs of Lilith
Lilith was Frasier’s love interest after Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) broke his heart. They had a son, Frederick, together. Neuwirth, already a Tony Award winning theater actor, spoke about her Lilith journey in 1993.
“The show has covered a lot of very important moments in Lilith’s life, but I think she has stayed the same person,” Neuwirth told the L.A. Times. “Although this is the same person who has now fallen in love, gotten married, had a baby, has come to a crisis point in her marriage and she has now come back to her husband. Those are enriching, albeit painful, moments in a person’s life. But they expand a person’s consciousness. In that sense, she has evolved, but I like to think she is the same person.”
‘Cheers’ didn’t avoid serious subjects
Lilith wasn’t the only character who had dramatic underpinnings. The show was predicated on Sam Malone (Ted Danson) being a recovering alcoholic. Co-creator and director James Burrows also spoke about resisting the network’s complaints about Diane’s highbrow literary references.
“The one thing I appreciated about Cheers is they aimed high at the audience,” Neuwirth said. “They didn’t aim low. I saw them keep digging for the best joke, not the easiest joke, but the cleverest and most imaginative and most gleeful joke.”
After Cheers, Neuwirth continued to appear in film and television as well as on stage. She considered Cheers a learning experience.
“It has been a really, really great time for me,” Neuwirth said. “I like to feel like I have learned an awful lot about the construction of comedy and the continuing skills of playing comedy. I have had some really wonderful acting partners and learning some more tricks on how to keep a straight face on stage, although the outtakes would believe that.”
Bebe Neuwirth couldn’t pick favorites
Looking back on her 80 episodes, let alone the 273 total episodes of Cheers, Neuwirth couldn’t pick just one.
“I have liked so many of the episodes I have been in, even ones where I just have an entrance and I am done and never seen again,” Neuwirth said. “There have been a lot of things I really have had fun doing. Kelsey Grammer has been a fantastic partner on the show. I really couldn’t ask for anything or anyone better than that. I lucked out.”
