Kirstie Alley: How ‘Cheers’ Made Her ‘Cocky’ and Prepared Her for the Future
The end of the NBC comedy Cheers was emotional for everyone. Some had been on the show for all 11 years. Some joined the cast along the way. For Kirstie Alley, Cheers had been six years but still made a monumental impact on her work. At the time of the Cheers series finale in 1993, Alley said being on Cheers made her feel cocky.
The Los Angeles Times spoke with the cast of Cheers in 1993 ahead of the final episode. Alley shared her thoughts on what a tough act Cheers would be to follow.
Why ‘Cheers’ made Kirstie Alley cocky
Alley joined Cheers in the sixth season, after Shelley Long left. The void left by Diane Chambers (Long) was filled by Rebecca Howe (Alley), the new manager of Cheers after Sam Malone (Ted Danson) sold it.
“There is something very cocky knowing you are on the best-written television series on the air,” Alley told the L.A. Times. “We got to see each other every day and we liked being together, which was unique. I think it was, what would we call it, not a total eclipse of the sun, but it is close.”
That level of writing was often a battle for the creators of Cheers too. James Burrows told the story of the network complaining about the highbrow literary references Diane would make. Fortunately, neither Burrows nor co-creators Glen and Les Charles ever dumbed down Cheers.
Saying goodbye was hard
Alley was one of the newer cast members compared to regulars Danson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. Even Woody Harrelson and Kelsey Grammer joined the cast prior to season 6. Still, most shows don’t even last six seasons total, let alone the six Alley spent on the tail end of Cheers.
“I am in a deep, dark, dismal depression,” Alley said. “It’s a real bizarre, desperate feeling I haven’t experienced yet this lifetime. It’s probably like someone who worked for a company many years and then retired. There’s good news and bad news. You think, “Oh, good. Now I can do whatever I want and have all of this free time.” I like the freedom of being able to take off and make other kinds of plans. But it is so depressing. I miss everyone.”
Kirstie Alley before and after ‘Cheers’
Before Cheers needed a new character, Alley was already in movies like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Blind Date and Runaway. On television, she guest starred on The Love Boat and starred in both North & South miniseries.
During Cheers, Alley starred in the Look Who’s Talking movies and other comedies. She followed Cheers with the series Veronica’s Closet, Fat Actress and Kirstie. She appeared on Scream Queens and The Goldbergs recently. On Dec. 5, Alley died of colon cancer.
