I'm noticing a hypocrisy wit the way Rhea Perlman and Shelley Long were treated by the cast and writers.

Shelley had her diva moments and was outcasted by the cast.

Rhea Perlman demands that Jay Thomas be removed or that she no longer becomes a grandmothe on the show and it happens.

The producers were annoyed with Woody who always turned up late on set yet when Shelley did it Ted was bursting into her.

Why did Kirstie feel she had to make sly digs at Shelley becuase if it wasn't for Shelley then Kirstie would still be a sturgglig actress with a coke addiction.

Bebe was also a DIva but she got away with it.

Cast members made digs at Shelley yet she kept quiet about them.

Shelley was not perfect but she was the most professional out of the lost when it came to public behaviour

It was acceptable because they stayed with the series. From what I understand, they didn't really start to "hate" Shelley until she announced that she would be leaving. The show could have bombed, and they all would have lost their jobs.

It seemed more like the rest of the cast was about having fun, Shelly wasn't. It's like bringing your parents to a kegger.

I had no idea that Rhea demanded that Jay Thomas be fired. I wonder why?

I had no idea that Rhea demanded that Jay Thomas be fired. I wonder why?

He and everyone else on the show expected him to be added to the perminent cast, but Rhea didn't like the idea of sharing storylines with other characters. She always thought she only got the job because Danny DeVito was her husband (she felt even stronger about her recurring role on Taxi). She wanted "Carla" episodes to revolve around Carla, not her entire family. I guess she always felt that she wasn't hired because she was needed.

It would have been interesting if Jay Thomas had been a full cast member.

That would have terrible. Eddie was boring.

That would have terrible. Eddie was boring.

I agree. I meant interesting in a "how would it work? would it last just as long?" type of way.

I agree. I meant interesting in a "how would it work? would it last just as long?" type of way.

Yeah, I knew how you meant it, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who found Eddie dull.

Come to think of it, pretty much all their recurring love interests were either boring or unfunny... Kelly, Robin Colcord, Margaret...

I thought Kelly was pretty funny.... she was just so stupid you can't help but laugh.

Basically all Shelley did was act more prematurely then the others regarding Diva behaviour.

Atleast Shelley can meet her maker knowing she wasn't a big hypocrite in public.

Kelsey Grammar had a lot of problems which were all self inflicted yet they all rushed around to help him. I don't mean to be insensitive about drug addicts but being a diva on set is no where near as bad. Atleast she was healthy enough to do her lines.

Also what annoyed me about this incident was Kirstie Alley who joined in the berating of Shelley with digs of her own. Kirstie seemed really nasty because if it wasn't for Shelley, Kirstie would be still doing bit parts on Star Trek movies or even back on Cocaine.


I notice that Ted now does regret some things especially in interviews and he credits her with being the only outstanding cast member in the earliest years.

and Shelley defintely gets on well with Kelsey. She appeared on Frasier 3 times Only Bebe out of the former cast did more and Kirstie didn't even bother.

I think Shelley and Ratzenberger are cool. She played his wife on 8 simple rules for one episode.

On Sex and the City both Kim Catrall and Sarah Jessica Parker hated each other but they got the job done for 6 years. Kim never felt she had to leave.

Oh, I loved Maggie, I think she was so sweet and funny. :) Cliff's perfect match, imo.
I also think "Please Mr. Postman" has one of the best endings ever, both writing and performances were just superb in that episode.

Basically all Shelley did was act more prematurely then the others regarding Diva behaviour.

Atleast Shelley can meet her maker knowing she wasn't a big hypocrite in public.

Kelsey Grammar had a lot of problems which were all self inflicted yet they all rushed around to help him. I don't mean to be insensitive about drug addicts but being a diva on set is no where near as bad. Atleast she was healthy enough to do her lines.

Also what annoyed me about this incident was Kirstie Alley who joined in the berating of Shelley with digs of her own. Kirstie seemed really nasty because if it wasn't for Shelley, Kirstie would be still doing bit parts on Star Trek movies or even back on Cocaine.


I notice that Ted now does regret some things especially in interviews and he credits her with being the only outstanding cast member in the earliest years.

and Shelley defintely gets on well with Kelsey. She appeared on Frasier 3 times Only Bebe out of the former cast did more and Kirstie didn't even bother.

I think Shelley and Ratzenberger are cool. She played his wife on 8 simple rules for one episode.

On Sex and the City both Kim Catrall and Sarah Jessica Parker hated each other but they got the job done for 6 years. Kim never felt she had to leave.

But that's the point, Shelley did. Shelley's decision to leave could have cost not only the jobs of the rest of the cast, but hundreds of people on crew. A new face could have been brought in for the sixth season and completely bombed (it didn't.... but she still screwed them over). Almost everyone on the show thought they were too big for it (aside from George, John and Rhea), but Shelley was the only one to act on it. Bebe did leave in Season 11, and to an extent so did Woody (he appeared in only half of the seasons episodes).... but they left because Season 10 was said to be the last, they had already made other commitments.

Why is Shelley obliged to be responsible for other people's jobs.

When Michael J Fox ended Spin City was he attacked???

When Firends ended people lost their jobs?

Shelley was picked on immediately and segregated from the group well before Season 5.

The only people who spoke to her off set were Nicholas Collasanto and Jay Thomas.

Nicholas died in before Season 3 ended so there was a whole year before Shelley decided to leave.

and Kirstie's attitude was worst of all because it was years before they met.

Shelley wasn't required to be ebst firends with them but professional courtesy is required.

Why is Shelley obliged to be responsible for other people's jobs.

When Michael J Fox ended Spin City was he attacked???

When Firends ended people lost their jobs?

Shelley was picked on immediately and segregated from the group well before Season 5.

The only people who spoke to her off set were Nicholas Collasanto and Jay Thomas.

Nicholas died in before Season 3 ended so there was a whole year before Shelley decided to leave.

and Kirstie's attitude was worst of all because it was years before they met.

Shelley wasn't required to be ebst firends with them but professional courtesy is required.

This is nothing like Michael J. Fox leaving Spin City was due to Parkinson's disease not because he thought he was too big for the show.

Friends ended after a decade, people were more than ready to move on. And if not, they could stick around for Joey.

Although nothing official was made until later in the series, Shelley let it be known as early as the first season that she didn't plan to stay around past the fifth season.

Most of the Friends crew ended up on Joey. A few writers and directors, but almost the entire (if not the entire) Friends stage crew was invited to join Joey.

The shelly thing is kinda weird, I like shelly i think she is a great actress and diana was realy funny but in a way you cant help but think from what you hear and what is said that she was snubby or rude or what ever, and with her leaving the show i have mixed feelings because yea the show could have failed and people might have lost their jobs so they got lucky with that but also shelly had a right to leave if she was unhappy or wasnt treated right it was her chose to make, Bebe left the show(even if the show was ending) so its really confusing

The Joey team will be gone in a year or two and not all of them are working as its a much cheaper show.


Regarding Shelley. How rude can she actually be when she refuses to speak ill of her former cast members.

I have nothing against Shelley, and I doubt people from the show do either. The show went on to bigger and better success without her.
She was just arrogant. They were all there because to them a sitcom was success, Shelley was there for a stepping stone into movies -- which never worked in her favor.

The Joey team will be gone in a year or two and not all of them are working as its a much cheaper show.

Says who?

I know this is an old thread but I'm going to have to say that I agree with the original poster. Shelley, while leaving the show wasn't the smartest move of her career, had every right to make that decision. At least she honored her contract and didn't pull a Farrah Fawcett. She contributed greatly to the show, and, to me, seems like an extremely nice person. If you look and listen to her interviews she has nothing but good things to say about working on and with the people on Cheers. Her and Ted seem to have an immense amount of respect for each other. I guarantee that if you were to find an interview with the two of them or even watch some "Cheers" bloopers you would see that their interactions were friendly at best. She even attended a premiere of one of his movies with him...."Cousins" I think. Also, it may be just me but I believe that some of the rumors on the Cheers cast etc. are a little over exagerated. I don't necessarily think that Shelley was a diva I just think that she took her work very seriously. Maybe the most seriously out of all the cast members...which may have caused her to become an outcast in that respect. Ted even said that whatever tensions there were between him and Shelley had to do with work only. That's it. At the 200th anniversary when they were rolling the end credits it seemed as though Ted and Shelley were getting along. And if you saw them at the TV Land awards a few years back it seems to me that they were pretty cool with each other at that point. I mean clearly the whole feud between Shelley and Kelsey is obviously over for her to have appeared on Frasier that many times. Hopefully, it is all in the past. Whoo...I am so sorry about this long post! I hope I don't offend anyone! Thanks :)!

I had no idea that Rhea demanded that Jay Thomas be fired. I wonder why?

From what I have heard, from the trivia section of imdb, Rhea wanted Jay Thomas off of the show because she happend to overhear a radio interview, in which Thomas said some very negative things about her physical appearence and having to kiss her. Whether or not this is true, I don't know. I like to believe everything on imdb trivia is true, life is better that way, haha.

Whatever Shelley's process was, she carried the show in the first year while the others were finding their characters.

They all owe her a debt.

Ted is one of the few in the cast that spoke up for her.

Councilwoman Eldridge AKA Kate Mulgrew and Jay Thomas and later on Kelsey Grammar as well.