NORM
08-24-2003, 07:33 PM
Ok this is an interview with John. I dunno when it took place but its him talking about the show and other things. I know you cant read the questions but you can figure them out from reading his answers . Here you are and enjoy:)
"None of us was surprised when Teddy (Danson, "Sam") took off the hairpiece in the final episode..."
Question?
"No, me and George (Wendt, "Norm") found out about it a while before that, when we were shooting some street scenes in Boston. Teddy and George and me went down to Fenway, and when they found out we were there they let us in the clubhouse, just like that. Teddy just went to town on this kid the Red Sox had, name of Eric Wedge, just kept calling him 'Wedgie' and George and I so nearly pissed our pants its not even funny. Swear to god... Yeah, and we met a couple of the Indians, too. Signed a ball for that guy Steve Olin, the one who died just the next year in that boat in Florida. Jesus, that was awful. Anyhow, yeah the hair. Teddy was just sitting there, with a beer, of course, since because of Cheers they gave us free beer."
Question?
"Yeah, I drank a lot of free beer. Still do. And Teddy's hair just got blown back, like a goddamned lid, in the wind and we started howling, me and George. Luckily we were sitting in the dugout, and just a couple Red Sox guys saw it, but Teddy just got quiet and sort of brooded. Kinda creepy-like, and then finally just said: 'guys, I'd appreciate it if you kept this under your hats.' So to speak, I guess (laughs)"
Forced chuckle. Question?
"Yeah, of course we agreed. You didn't know 'til that episode, did you?"
Answer. Question?
"Yeah I think most of the rest of the cast knew pretty soon after that. Because Rhea (Perlman, "Carla") kept yelling at him to 'take it off!' on the set. Of course the studio audience must've thought she was talking about his clothes, and they all chuckled, because it was Carla, you know? Teddy looked really pissed those times, though."
Question?
"No."
Clarification.
"Really, no. You know how she was on the show? She's just like that. Gross. Absolutely revolting. She and (husband Danny) DeVito always used to hang off each other and make kissy noises and the like. Can you imagine that? It was a horror-show."
Question?
"Used to be, yes. Got a little messy. Actually, she was more keen on Cliff than on me, sort of screwed up. So...when the show ended, there wasn't much left there..."
Profuse apologies. Change of direction.
"Forget about it. I have already. Yeah, so we all knew Teddy would reveal the whole bald-spot thing then and there, in that episode I mean. The writers actually put in a whole slough of random surprises, you know, just to keep the audience gasping, make the whole last-show to-do just that much more 'emotional,' I guess. A lot of them were taken out at the last minute. Like Norm was supposed to reveal that, as a devout Mormon, he'd been pouring every one of his beers on the floor, just wasting them, and the only reason he'd been ordering them was to have a reason to hang out at the bar. Supposed to bring tears to everyone's eyes because here was this poor dip**** just clamouring for attention. Anyhow, they cut that since George was angling for a spinoff and kind of needed the whole drinking thing, since I guess a show about a strict Mormon and his aversion to beer isn't going to sell ads, right? Wasn't even like he could be nuts about coffee like Frasier Crane or something if he was actually a Mormon. Did you know you can't even buy a cup of coffee at a Jazz game?"
Answer.
"And forget about beer, of course. You're not Mormon, are you?"
Answer.
"Good. I sure would have felt like a bastard, if you were, I mean."
Question.
"Yeah, what else... well, in that last scene, you know, where some guy comes to the door, but Sam says 'sorry, we're closed,' and it had that weepy nostalgic overtone that a lot of mindless people who can't stop obsessing about Cheers still come up to me and expect me to shed a tear with them about... Where was I? Oh, right. Anyhow, that anonymous guy at the door was supposed to be Mr. T."
Question?!
"Dead serious. But Mr. T was apparently unable to get to LA on time to film the scene. Probably for the best. Since TV crossovers like that usually come up looking a bit stupid, if you ask me... Did you see Mr. T on Conan O'Brien? A goddamned riot. Just did the same old crap as he did on the A*Team. 'I pity the foo' and all that."
Question?
"Right. If memory serves me, there was also a plan to have none other than Tom Snyder come in and order a martini and get laughed at, a sort of self-deprecating thing on his part, and likely a ploy for promoting CNBC, where he was working at the time."
Question?
"I don't know. Maybe they figured people wouldn't really know who Tom Snyder was... So the show just happened as it did..." (Absolutely inhales a Black Russian).
Question?
"There was a lot of love there. Except with Rhea, like I said. We all kind of left her and DeVito to their weird love. Kirstie (Alley, "Rebecca"), Woody (Harrelson, "Woody"), Teddy, George, Kelsey (Grammer, "Frasier"), me, we all got along real well..."
Question?
"All the time. I saw Teddy just last week. Kelsey keeps pressuring his producers to get me on his show... I guess they're not really responsive. Actually, seems I'm sort of persona non grata over at NBC these days. No idea why..."
Statement.
"Yeah, and with the whole Sideshow Bob thing too he's really filthy. Rich, that is."
Question?
"I don't think that's up to me to say. I think he's cleared that part of his life up..."
Question?
"You bet it was, of course. We all cried when the credits rolled and it kind of hit us. It's just, you spend eleven years with mostly the same people and... I mean, we all knew we'd be in the same town and all, but eleven years. That's a long time. And now here I am, going on eight years A.C. After Cheers. If you'll excuse that...And here I am up on Beacon and Bowdoin here, having a drink with you, Mr. reporter from... where, again?"
Answer.
"Right. And, no offence, but... I kind of thought I'd be somewhere else."
Reassurance. Question?
"Yeah, of course they were. Good times. Good, goddamn times."
Long but sweet.:)
"None of us was surprised when Teddy (Danson, "Sam") took off the hairpiece in the final episode..."
Question?
"No, me and George (Wendt, "Norm") found out about it a while before that, when we were shooting some street scenes in Boston. Teddy and George and me went down to Fenway, and when they found out we were there they let us in the clubhouse, just like that. Teddy just went to town on this kid the Red Sox had, name of Eric Wedge, just kept calling him 'Wedgie' and George and I so nearly pissed our pants its not even funny. Swear to god... Yeah, and we met a couple of the Indians, too. Signed a ball for that guy Steve Olin, the one who died just the next year in that boat in Florida. Jesus, that was awful. Anyhow, yeah the hair. Teddy was just sitting there, with a beer, of course, since because of Cheers they gave us free beer."
Question?
"Yeah, I drank a lot of free beer. Still do. And Teddy's hair just got blown back, like a goddamned lid, in the wind and we started howling, me and George. Luckily we were sitting in the dugout, and just a couple Red Sox guys saw it, but Teddy just got quiet and sort of brooded. Kinda creepy-like, and then finally just said: 'guys, I'd appreciate it if you kept this under your hats.' So to speak, I guess (laughs)"
Forced chuckle. Question?
"Yeah, of course we agreed. You didn't know 'til that episode, did you?"
Answer. Question?
"Yeah I think most of the rest of the cast knew pretty soon after that. Because Rhea (Perlman, "Carla") kept yelling at him to 'take it off!' on the set. Of course the studio audience must've thought she was talking about his clothes, and they all chuckled, because it was Carla, you know? Teddy looked really pissed those times, though."
Question?
"No."
Clarification.
"Really, no. You know how she was on the show? She's just like that. Gross. Absolutely revolting. She and (husband Danny) DeVito always used to hang off each other and make kissy noises and the like. Can you imagine that? It was a horror-show."
Question?
"Used to be, yes. Got a little messy. Actually, she was more keen on Cliff than on me, sort of screwed up. So...when the show ended, there wasn't much left there..."
Profuse apologies. Change of direction.
"Forget about it. I have already. Yeah, so we all knew Teddy would reveal the whole bald-spot thing then and there, in that episode I mean. The writers actually put in a whole slough of random surprises, you know, just to keep the audience gasping, make the whole last-show to-do just that much more 'emotional,' I guess. A lot of them were taken out at the last minute. Like Norm was supposed to reveal that, as a devout Mormon, he'd been pouring every one of his beers on the floor, just wasting them, and the only reason he'd been ordering them was to have a reason to hang out at the bar. Supposed to bring tears to everyone's eyes because here was this poor dip**** just clamouring for attention. Anyhow, they cut that since George was angling for a spinoff and kind of needed the whole drinking thing, since I guess a show about a strict Mormon and his aversion to beer isn't going to sell ads, right? Wasn't even like he could be nuts about coffee like Frasier Crane or something if he was actually a Mormon. Did you know you can't even buy a cup of coffee at a Jazz game?"
Answer.
"And forget about beer, of course. You're not Mormon, are you?"
Answer.
"Good. I sure would have felt like a bastard, if you were, I mean."
Question.
"Yeah, what else... well, in that last scene, you know, where some guy comes to the door, but Sam says 'sorry, we're closed,' and it had that weepy nostalgic overtone that a lot of mindless people who can't stop obsessing about Cheers still come up to me and expect me to shed a tear with them about... Where was I? Oh, right. Anyhow, that anonymous guy at the door was supposed to be Mr. T."
Question?!
"Dead serious. But Mr. T was apparently unable to get to LA on time to film the scene. Probably for the best. Since TV crossovers like that usually come up looking a bit stupid, if you ask me... Did you see Mr. T on Conan O'Brien? A goddamned riot. Just did the same old crap as he did on the A*Team. 'I pity the foo' and all that."
Question?
"Right. If memory serves me, there was also a plan to have none other than Tom Snyder come in and order a martini and get laughed at, a sort of self-deprecating thing on his part, and likely a ploy for promoting CNBC, where he was working at the time."
Question?
"I don't know. Maybe they figured people wouldn't really know who Tom Snyder was... So the show just happened as it did..." (Absolutely inhales a Black Russian).
Question?
"There was a lot of love there. Except with Rhea, like I said. We all kind of left her and DeVito to their weird love. Kirstie (Alley, "Rebecca"), Woody (Harrelson, "Woody"), Teddy, George, Kelsey (Grammer, "Frasier"), me, we all got along real well..."
Question?
"All the time. I saw Teddy just last week. Kelsey keeps pressuring his producers to get me on his show... I guess they're not really responsive. Actually, seems I'm sort of persona non grata over at NBC these days. No idea why..."
Statement.
"Yeah, and with the whole Sideshow Bob thing too he's really filthy. Rich, that is."
Question?
"I don't think that's up to me to say. I think he's cleared that part of his life up..."
Question?
"You bet it was, of course. We all cried when the credits rolled and it kind of hit us. It's just, you spend eleven years with mostly the same people and... I mean, we all knew we'd be in the same town and all, but eleven years. That's a long time. And now here I am, going on eight years A.C. After Cheers. If you'll excuse that...And here I am up on Beacon and Bowdoin here, having a drink with you, Mr. reporter from... where, again?"
Answer.
"Right. And, no offence, but... I kind of thought I'd be somewhere else."
Reassurance. Question?
"Yeah, of course they were. Good times. Good, goddamn times."
Long but sweet.:)