Interesting Cheers Facts - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

CliffClavin · 07-13-2004, 03:49 PM

Sam was originally to be played by Fred Dryer, Diane by Julia Duffy.

The series was originally to have been set in Barstow, California, and Sam Malone was to originally to have been a retired football player. When Ted Danson was hired for the role, his character was rewritten to be a retired baseball player for the Boston Red Sox to match Danson's body type.

John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin) was originally hired for seven episodes during the 1982-1983 season. Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane) was hired for the same number of episodes during the 1984-1985 season.

Norm Peterson's oft-mentioned wife, Vera, was never shown. In a Thanksgiving Day episode she finally appeared, only to have her face covered with a pie meant for Sam (and thrown by Diane) before the audience can see her face.

An alternate ending was shot before the studio audience of Shelley Long's final episode to hide the fact that Long was leaving the series. That ending, in which Sam and Diane actually go through with the wedding ceremony and get married, was discarded in favor of the real ending, which was filmed without a studio audience, in which Sam and Diane stop the ceremony before they are married.

The stage at Paramount Studios where Cheers was shot became the home of its hit spin-off "Frasier" (1993).

NBC came close to canceling Cheers in its first season, but it was championed by then-NBC entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff.

It was the decision of Ted Danson (Sam Malone) to leave the show at the end of the 1992-1993 season that led to Cheers' cancellation at the end of that season.

The exterior shots of the bar were filmed at "The Bull and Finch Pub" in Boston.

In the final episode, one of the last scenes shows Sam straightening a photo on the side of the bar. The picture is of Geronimo. This is an homage to the late 'Colasanto, Nicholas (I)' , who played "Coach" Ernie Pantusso from 1982-1985. The picture held special meaning to Colasanto and hung in his dressing room, and when he died in 1985, the picture was moved to the bar in his memory.

When star Kirstie Alley became pregnant in the 10th season, the show's writers planned for her character, Rebecca, to have conceived a child with Sam. Sadly, Alley had a miscarriage and the plot was abandoned.

The figure who walks up and knocks on the door in one of the last scenes of the final episode is series co-creator/executive producer James Burrows.

In the first scene of the first episode, Sam enters the main bar from the back room. In the last scene of the final episode, Sam exits the main bar and walks to the back room.

"Cheers" finished 77th, or last, in the Nielsen ratings the week it debuted.

The silhouetted photo of Sam 'Mayday' Malone in his baseball days that hangs in the bar is actually a photo of Jim Lonborg, a Boston Red Sox pitcher in the 1960s and early '70s. Lonborg wore No. 16 for the Red Sox; in one episode, Sam donates one of his jerseys - coincidentally No. 16 - to a PBS auction. (He ends up buying it back when it fails to attract any bids.)

The only character to star in every episode of cheers was Norm Peterson. If you watch the 200th episode you find out that Norm is actually the main character and theme. "Everybody knows your name" When Norm walks in everybody yells his name.

The show ran for eleven seasons, from September 30, 1982 to May 20, 1993.

All ten of the actors who appeared as regulars during the shows run, Ted Danson, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley, Shelly Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Nicholas Colasanto and Bebe Neuwirth received Emmy nominations for their roles.

Early episodes of "Cheers" did not have the familiar "Cheers was Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" announcement spoken by a different cast member at the beginning of each episode. The spoken disclaimer was added in 1983.

A digitally remastered set of episodes was recently donated to the Museum of Television and Radio by creator James Burrows on behalf of Paramount Pictures in the Summer of 2001. Paramount began circulating the digitally remastered episodes in syndication in the fall of 2001, and on Nick at Nite on October 7, 2001.

In the episode 'Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman', advertising agent Sy Flembeck is played by 'Mahoney, John' . Mahoney later went on to star in the 'Cheers' spin off 'Frasier', playing Dr. Frasier Crane's father.

Diane constantly called Norm "Norman". Her pretentious assumption was wrong - his real first name was Hillary!

The episode where Cliff appears on Jeopardy, his final Jeopardy response was "people who have never been in my kitchen. That response became a category on the actual show.

Cliff wasn't in the original script. John Ratzenburger auditioned for the part of Norm, and wasn't thought suitable, but his impassioned rant when he realized the audition hadn't gone well, impressed the producers sufficiently that they created the part of Cliff Clavin for him.

The original set of the Cheer's bar can be found on display in Hollywood, California at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. The display is a walk-on exhibit.

One of only four comedy shows to run 11 seasons; the others are "M*A*S*H" (1972), "Frasier" (1993) and the Simpsons.

When Shelley Long and Rhea Pearlman (Dianne and Carla respectively) both became pregnant in real life during the 1985-1986 season, only Rhea Pearlman's pregnancy was written into the script. Also, for most of that season, Shelley Long was mostly filmed behind the bar or from the neck up.

During the first season, an opening skit involving a guy being nervous about working as a janitor in a biology lab featuring mutant DNA was repeated in the episode "Show Down, Part Two". It's the only time an opening skit was repeated in the series.

Karen Valentine was one of the original choices for the role of Diane.

Bernadette Birkett, the real-life wife of 'George Wendt' (Norm), did the voice of Norm's unseen wife Vera.

In episode (1.21) called "Show Down Part 1", we are introduced to Sam Malone's brother Derek. Played by George Ball we only hear his voice but never see his face, a technique later used for Norm's wife Vera.

The last episode actually filmed was "It's Lonely on the Top". The 90-minute finale was taped in March to accommodate Shelley Long's schedule.

The final episode "One For the Road" is the fourth highest rated series finale of all time, as of 2003.

One special episode was filmed but never aired on TV called "Uncle Sam Malone", in which the gang tries to convince Diane that U.S. savings bonds are a good investment. This is a special episode produced for the U.S. Treasury to be used during savings bonds drives. It was written by Ralph Phillips and directed by James Burrows.

Paramount was so convinced in the potential of the series, the producers were promised that if the show was canceled by NBC, new episodes would be shot for first run syndication in a early version of Paramount's network UPN. This proved unnecessary.

As of 2004, Kelsey Grammer will have played the character of Frasier for 20 consecuive years, a record for an American, non-soap opera actor.

Last words said in the last episode were: "Sorry, we're closed."

The writers often gave Kelsey Grammer deliberately bad lines as a game to see if he could make them funny - and Grammer always did.

Sam's nickname during his pitching days was Mayday.

In the episode "Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses", Cliff has placed his mother in a nursing home but everyone at the bar thinks he has murdered her. Earlier in the day when this episode was to air, a real-life postal worker in California murdered his mother. At first, NBC was not going to air the episode. They aired the show, but pulled all advertising of it because it had everyone talking about the possible murder of Cliff's mother.

In Shelley Long's final regular appearance, Sam's final words to Diane as she was leaving were, "Have a good life."

The actress who does Norm's wife voice is actually glimpsed as "Tinker Bell/Sharon O'Hare" in episode: "Fairy Tales Can Come True" (episode # 3.4) 25 October 1984 as Cliff's Halloween date. So "Vera" actually is seen once. This is before the running gag was introduced of Vera being offscreen.

At the beginning of episode 2.2 entitled, "Little Sister, Don't Cha", Carla (Rhea Perlman) is being carried out of the bar by Sam because she's going into labor. As she's going out the door, she announces she'll be having her baby at St. Eligius Hospital. This is the name of the fictional Boston hospital featured on another NBC series, "St. Elsewhere" (1982).

Rebecca's nickname in college was "Backseat Beckie".

Episode 1.16 "The Boys in the Bar" won a Media Award from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).

Paul Willson's first appearance was a one episode shot in Episode 1.20, "Someone Single, Someone Blue", in which he was introduced by Coach as someone who knew all the lyrics to "The Rawhide Theme".

In "Bar Wars 3: Return of the Tecumseh" Frasier is trying to find a babysitter and says, "I would ask my parents- but they are both dead." In "Frasier" (1993) his father is alive and well and living with him.

In Episode 3.8, Frasier's mother Hester was played by Nancy Marchand. In "Frasier" (1993), she was played by Rita Wilson.

Chambers · 07-13-2004, 04:13 PM

Quote:

One special episode was filmed but never aired on TV called "Uncle Sam Malone", in which the gang tries to convince Diane that U.S. savings bonds are a good investment. This is a special episode produced for the U.S. Treasury to be used during savings bonds drives. It was written by Ralph Phillips and directed by James Burrows.

I wish I could see that...

Moondance · 07-13-2004, 04:20 PM

Wow! That's a lot of interesting facts

In Episode 3.8, Frasier's mother Hester was played by Nancy Marchand. In "Frasier" (1993), she was played by Rita Wilson.

I personally prefered Rita Wilson...[It's a little known fact that] Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are my favorite HOLLYWOOD "married" couple

- 16 years!!!

Feen

tiff7 · 07-14-2004, 11:01 AM

Gr8 info CliffClavin-aka Kevin!

Tiff7 (aka Tiff)

Brian Damage · 07-14-2004, 11:11 AM

Maybe they could include that Uncle Sam episode in a DVD as a special feature.

Chambers · 07-14-2004, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Maybe they could include that Uncle Sam episode in a DVD as a special feature.

Yes, that would be perfect!! I hope the people in charge of the season 4 DVD are reading this.

Dannie IsNotHere · 07-14-2004, 11:32 AM

I was thinking... if the first ending, when Shelley and Sam actually went through the marriage, was aried to the audience, weren't they a little surprised that in the next show, a new person came along?

Chambers · 07-14-2004, 11:38 AM

I'm guessing the audience knew two versions of the episode were being shot - a lot of shows do that to keep the season finale a secret. And the fact that Shelley was leaving would have been made public before season 6 began. And I'm sure the people who were part of that live audience had the good sense to watch the actual season finale episode on TV.

Brian Damage · 07-14-2004, 11:44 AM

Everybody knew she was leaving the show because it was all over the news at the time. All they did was keep secret how they were going to end her character.

CliffClavin · 07-14-2004, 11:48 AM

John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin) was originally hired for seven episodes during the 1982-1983 season. Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane) was hired for the same number of episodes during the 1984-1985 season.

Imagine if that really happened.

No 11 years of Frasier the spin-off no lilith, no fredrick,no brother,father,dog,radio show, & daphne

No Cliff oh man then Carla would have no one to pick on but Norm, Rebecca, & Diane.

Frasier'sHairyMan · 07-14-2004, 07:04 PM

I don't think the show would have lasted as long without so many diverse characters.

Chambers · 07-14-2004, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Frasier'sHairyMan
I don't think the show would have lasted as long without so many diverse characters.

I agree. That's why it all worked out when Shelley left.

Frasier'sHairyMan · 07-14-2004, 07:14 PM

Yeah, after Shelley left the writers couldn't rely on the plot always revolving around Sam and Diane. If it wasn't for Woody and Kelly, Frasier and Lilith, Cliff and his mother, and Norm and Vera, the show wouldn't have lasted. It became a great ensemble cast.

tiff7 · 07-15-2004, 10:10 AM

Tiff7 who's sad cause I'm leaving for 8 days in Vancouver tomorrow & won't be online for a while!

http://www.frontiertravelcamp.com
(that's where I'll be)

Brian Damage · 07-15-2004, 10:50 AM

cya

07-13-2004, 03:49 PM	#1
CliffClavin Yada Yada Yada Senior Member Join Date: May 04, 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,403	Interesting Cheers Facts Sam was originally to be played by Fred Dryer, Diane by Julia Duffy. The series was originally to have been set in Barstow, California, and Sam Malone was to originally to have been a retired football player. When Ted Danson was hired for the role, his character was rewritten to be a retired baseball player for the Boston Red Sox to match Danson's body type. John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin) was originally hired for seven episodes during the 1982-1983 season. Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane) was hired for the same number of episodes during the 1984-1985 season. Norm Peterson's oft-mentioned wife, Vera, was never shown. In a Thanksgiving Day episode she finally appeared, only to have her face covered with a pie meant for Sam (and thrown by Diane) before the audience can see her face. An alternate ending was shot before the studio audience of Shelley Long's final episode to hide the fact that Long was leaving the series. That ending, in which Sam and Diane actually go through with the wedding ceremony and get married, was discarded in favor of the real ending, which was filmed without a studio audience, in which Sam and Diane stop the ceremony before they are married. The stage at Paramount Studios where Cheers was shot became the home of its hit spin-off "Frasier" (1993). NBC came close to canceling Cheers in its first season, but it was championed by then-NBC entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff. It was the decision of Ted Danson (Sam Malone) to leave the show at the end of the 1992-1993 season that led to Cheers' cancellation at the end of that season. The exterior shots of the bar were filmed at "The Bull and Finch Pub" in Boston. In the final episode, one of the last scenes shows Sam straightening a photo on the side of the bar. The picture is of Geronimo. This is an homage to the late 'Colasanto, Nicholas (I)' , who played "Coach" Ernie Pantusso from 1982-1985. The picture held special meaning to Colasanto and hung in his dressing room, and when he died in 1985, the picture was moved to the bar in his memory. When star Kirstie Alley became pregnant in the 10th season, the show's writers planned for her character, Rebecca, to have conceived a child with Sam. Sadly, Alley had a miscarriage and the plot was abandoned. The figure who walks up and knocks on the door in one of the last scenes of the final episode is series co-creator/executive producer James Burrows. In the first scene of the first episode, Sam enters the main bar from the back room. In the last scene of the final episode, Sam exits the main bar and walks to the back room. "Cheers" finished 77th, or last, in the Nielsen ratings the week it debuted. The silhouetted photo of Sam 'Mayday' Malone in his baseball days that hangs in the bar is actually a photo of Jim Lonborg, a Boston Red Sox pitcher in the 1960s and early '70s. Lonborg wore No. 16 for the Red Sox; in one episode, Sam donates one of his jerseys - coincidentally No. 16 - to a PBS auction. (He ends up buying it back when it fails to attract any bids.) The only character to star in every episode of cheers was Norm Peterson. If you watch the 200th episode you find out that Norm is actually the main character and theme. "Everybody knows your name" When Norm walks in everybody yells his name. The show ran for eleven seasons, from September 30, 1982 to May 20, 1993. All ten of the actors who appeared as regulars during the shows run, Ted Danson, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley, Shelly Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Nicholas Colasanto and Bebe Neuwirth received Emmy nominations for their roles. Early episodes of "Cheers" did not have the familiar "Cheers was Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" announcement spoken by a different cast member at the beginning of each episode. The spoken disclaimer was added in 1983. A digitally remastered set of episodes was recently donated to the Museum of Television and Radio by creator James Burrows on behalf of Paramount Pictures in the Summer of 2001. Paramount began circulating the digitally remastered episodes in syndication in the fall of 2001, and on Nick at Nite on October 7, 2001. In the episode 'Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman', advertising agent Sy Flembeck is played by 'Mahoney, John' . Mahoney later went on to star in the 'Cheers' spin off 'Frasier', playing Dr. Frasier Crane's father. Diane constantly called Norm "Norman". Her pretentious assumption was wrong - his real first name was Hillary! The episode where Cliff appears on Jeopardy, his final Jeopardy response was "people who have never been in my kitchen. That response became a category on the actual show. Cliff wasn't in the original script. John Ratzenburger auditioned for the part of Norm, and wasn't thought suitable, but his impassioned rant when he realized the audition hadn't gone well, impressed the producers sufficiently that they created the part of Cliff Clavin for him. The original set of the Cheer's bar can be found on display in Hollywood, California at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. The display is a walk-on exhibit. One of only four comedy shows to run 11 seasons; the others are "MAS*H" (1972), "Frasier" (1993) and the Simpsons. When Shelley Long and Rhea Pearlman (Dianne and Carla respectively) both became pregnant in real life during the 1985-1986 season, only Rhea Pearlman's pregnancy was written into the script. Also, for most of that season, Shelley Long was mostly filmed behind the bar or from the neck up. During the first season, an opening skit involving a guy being nervous about working as a janitor in a biology lab featuring mutant DNA was repeated in the episode "Show Down, Part Two". It's the only time an opening skit was repeated in the series. Karen Valentine was one of the original choices for the role of Diane. Bernadette Birkett, the real-life wife of 'George Wendt' (Norm), did the voice of Norm's unseen wife Vera. In episode (1.21) called "Show Down Part 1", we are introduced to Sam Malone's brother Derek. Played by George Ball we only hear his voice but never see his face, a technique later used for Norm's wife Vera. The last episode actually filmed was "It's Lonely on the Top". The 90-minute finale was taped in March to accommodate Shelley Long's schedule. The final episode "One For the Road" is the fourth highest rated series finale of all time, as of 2003. One special episode was filmed but never aired on TV called "Uncle Sam Malone", in which the gang tries to convince Diane that U.S. savings bonds are a good investment. This is a special episode produced for the U.S. Treasury to be used during savings bonds drives. It was written by Ralph Phillips and directed by James Burrows. Paramount was so convinced in the potential of the series, the producers were promised that if the show was canceled by NBC, new episodes would be shot for first run syndication in a early version of Paramount's network UPN. This proved unnecessary. As of 2004, Kelsey Grammer will have played the character of Frasier for 20 consecuive years, a record for an American, non-soap opera actor. Last words said in the last episode were: "Sorry, we're closed." The writers often gave Kelsey Grammer deliberately bad lines as a game to see if he could make them funny - and Grammer always did. Sam's nickname during his pitching days was Mayday. In the episode "Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses", Cliff has placed his mother in a nursing home but everyone at the bar thinks he has murdered her. Earlier in the day when this episode was to air, a real-life postal worker in California murdered his mother. At first, NBC was not going to air the episode. They aired the show, but pulled all advertising of it because it had everyone talking about the possible murder of Cliff's mother. In Shelley Long's final regular appearance, Sam's final words to Diane as she was leaving were, "Have a good life." The actress who does Norm's wife voice is actually glimpsed as "Tinker Bell/Sharon O'Hare" in episode: "Fairy Tales Can Come True" (episode # 3.4) 25 October 1984 as Cliff's Halloween date. So "Vera" actually is seen once. This is before the running gag was introduced of Vera being offscreen. At the beginning of episode 2.2 entitled, "Little Sister, Don't Cha", Carla (Rhea Perlman) is being carried out of the bar by Sam because she's going into labor. As she's going out the door, she announces she'll be having her baby at St. Eligius Hospital. This is the name of the fictional Boston hospital featured on another NBC series, "St. Elsewhere" (1982). Rebecca's nickname in college was "Backseat Beckie". Episode 1.16 "The Boys in the Bar" won a Media Award from GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). Paul Willson's first appearance was a one episode shot in Episode 1.20, "Someone Single, Someone Blue", in which he was introduced by Coach as someone who knew all the lyrics to "The Rawhide Theme". In "Bar Wars 3: Return of the Tecumseh" Frasier is trying to find a babysitter and says, "I would ask my parents- but they are both dead." In "Frasier" (1993) his father is alive and well and living with him. In Episode 3.8, Frasier's mother Hester was played by Nancy Marchand. In "Frasier" (1993), she was played by Rita Wilson.
	__________________ We owe a lot to Thomas Edison - if it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight. - Milton Berle Last edited by CliffClavin; 07-14-2004 at 11:14 AM.

07-14-2004, 11:32 AM	#7
Dannie IsNotHere Riiight Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 15, 2003 Location: A tiny place that no one knows about Posts: 937	I was thinking... if the first ending, when Shelley and Sam actually went through the marriage, was aried to the audience, weren't they a little surprised that in the next show, a new person came along?
	__________________ "Word to the wordiness of the word." Proud EO shipper. sigh How did that happen? Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?

07-14-2004, 07:04 PM	#11
Frasier'sHairyMan Three Cheers Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 27, 2004 Location: New York Posts: 140	I don't think the show would have lasted as long without so many diverse characters.
	__________________ Member of the "God, Lilith is so ****ing cool" Fan Club Sternin/Crane '04

07-13-2004, 04:20 PM	#3
Moondance MCR Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Posts: 4,008	Wow! That's a lot of interesting facts In Episode 3.8, Frasier's mother Hester was played by Nancy Marchand. In "Frasier" (1993), she was played by Rita Wilson. I personally prefered Rita Wilson...[It's a little known fact that] Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are my favorite HOLLYWOOD "married" couple - 16 years!!! Feen

07-14-2004, 11:01 AM	#4
tiff7 wdwdisneylandnut4life Senior Member Join Date: Jul 26, 2001 Location: Erie, IL Posts: 2,012	Gr8 info CliffClavin-aka Kevin! Tiff7 (aka Tiff)

07-14-2004, 11:11 AM	#5
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Maybe they could include that Uncle Sam episode in a DVD as a special feature.

07-14-2004, 11:38 AM	#8
Chambers The Crane Trinity Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 27, 2004 Location: Where everybody knows a Crane. Posts: 5,427	I'm guessing the audience knew two versions of the episode were being shot - a lot of shows do that to keep the season finale a secret. And the fact that Shelley was leaving would have been made public before season 6 began. And I'm sure the people who were part of that live audience had the good sense to watch the actual season finale episode on TV.

07-14-2004, 11:44 AM	#9
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Everybody knew she was leaving the show because it was all over the news at the time. All they did was keep secret how they were going to end her character.

07-14-2004, 11:48 AM	#10
CliffClavin Yada Yada Yada Senior Member Join Date: May 04, 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,403	John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin) was originally hired for seven episodes during the 1982-1983 season. Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane) was hired for the same number of episodes during the 1984-1985 season. Imagine if that really happened. No 11 years of Frasier the spin-off no lilith, no fredrick,no brother,father,dog,radio show, & daphne No Cliff oh man then Carla would have no one to pick on but Norm, Rebecca, & Diane.

07-14-2004, 07:14 PM	#13
Frasier'sHairyMan Three Cheers Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 27, 2004 Location: New York Posts: 140	Yeah, after Shelley left the writers couldn't rely on the plot always revolving around Sam and Diane. If it wasn't for Woody and Kelly, Frasier and Lilith, Cliff and his mother, and Norm and Vera, the show wouldn't have lasted. It became a great ensemble cast.

07-15-2004, 10:10 AM	#14
tiff7 wdwdisneylandnut4life Senior Member Join Date: Jul 26, 2001 Location: Erie, IL Posts: 2,012	Tiff7 who's sad cause I'm leaving for 8 days in Vancouver tomorrow & won't be online for a while! http://www.frontiertravelcamp.com (that's where I'll be)

07-15-2004, 10:50 AM	#15
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	cya