‘Cheers’: Ted Danson Sam Malone Role Almost Went to Another Future NBC Star
NBC’s original must see TV comedy lineup in the ‘80s included Cheers. The show made Ted Danson a star, but another NBC star came very close to getting the role of Sam Malone. Cheers director James Burrows told the story in a recent interview.
Burrows was a guest on Rob Lowe’s Literally! Podcast on Sept. 14 to discuss his new book, Directed By James Burrows. Lowe got some of Burrows’ classic stories, including the original casting of Cheers.
‘Hunter’ Fred Dryer auditioned for Sam Malone on ‘Cheers’
Cheers premiered in 1982. Danson beat out the likes of Fred Dryer, but don’t cry for Dryer. Dryer got his own NBC show years later. His cop drama Hunter ran from 1984 to 1991. That’s not Cheers’ 11 season run, but seven seasons of an hour-long drama isn’t bad.
“One of the finalists for the character of Sam Malone was Fred Dryer who later became Hunter,” Burrows said on Literally. “Fred was a defensive end for the L.A. Rams.”
Ted Danson changed Sam Malone’s name and career on ‘Cheers’
Sam was a former pitcher and recovering alcoholic who opened the bar Cheers. Malone had no athletic background, so that part was all acting. Burrows even described brushing Danson up on the game. Had Dryer played the role, he would’ve been a football player, with a different name. In fact, the original script made Sam a retired NFL star. That changed when they passed on Dryer.
“I don’t think Teddy ever went to a game,” Burrows said. “Sam Malone was originally a character called Sam Harrison who was a wide receiver for the Patriots. When we cast Teddy he didn’t look like a football player. He looked like a baseball pitcher so we based it on Bill Lee the famous reliever. So Teddy was a farceur from Carnegie Mellon. He was not a sports guy. I took him to his first baseball game.”
Fred Dryer still influenced the character
Danson’s comedic chops proved to be what Cheers needed. Still, Dryer had a hand in shaping the Sam Malone character. Burrows still had a role for him. When Dryer played a sportscaster, Burrows told Danson to pay attention to the real Dryer.
“We hired Fred to do a couple shows to play Sam’s buddy, Dave, who did sports at 11 o’clock for a television station,” Burrows said. “It was called ‘I’ on Sports. I said to Teddy, ‘Watch this guy. This is who Sam Malone is. He’s a peacock.’ And that’s what Sam Malone is.”
A season 6 episode had Dave looking for his replacement. Sam himself tries to fill in and makes a fool of himself on the air rapping about groin injuries and speaking through a ventriloquist dummy.
