Legendary TV Director James Burrows Looks Back on "Cheers"

[JamesG]

Legendary TV Director James Burrows Reveals Secrets Behind "Cheers"
by Kate Stanhope
February 18, 2016


You co-created "Cheers". What are your favorite memories from its run?

I remember when George [Wendt] entered the first time: After everybody went, "Norm!" Teddy [Danson] said, "What do you know?" And Norm said, "Not enough," which got a huge laugh.

That was never intended as a joke. I looked at [co-creator] Glen Charles, and my look said, "Oh my God, they're laughing at a character." I knew then that we had something special. It became daunting after that because every time George entered, you had to come up with a new joke.



I have other fond memories. When we originally thought about the show, we intended for Sam to be working for a woman. But then the Charles brothers come back with this character of Diane Chambers [a waitress played by Shelley Long], which was extraordinary.

When Shelley decided to leave, we decided to go back to the old way, and we cast Kirstie Alley as Sam's boss. In rehearsal, we wrote her like a strict disciplinarian who was very tough with Sam. But in the run-through, that didn't work.

So at one point, Kirstie had to go into the office, and for some reason the door handle didn't work. She turned it again, and then she became flustered. I looked at Glen and Les [Charles], and I said, "Oh my God, this is what this character is. This is a character who thinks she's a strong woman, pretends to be a strong woman, but underneath there's this bundle of nerves."







Amid much controversy, Shelley Long left after season five. How difficult was that transition?

We were scared ****less because Sam and Diane were the propeller that drove that show. The other characters in the bar were just tubing behind the show.

But we began to find out how incredibly skilled the other actors were. Lilith [Bebe Neuwirth] and Frasier [Kelsey Grammer] got a lot of stories. George got stories. Woody [Harrelson] got stories.







You turned a lot of heads when you had Sam and Diane kiss. Was there any hesitation?

We got raked over the coals by a lot of critics who said, "You've killed the show." Because "Moonlighting" was on, and they never got together. But I kept saying, "Sam Malone is supposed to be this incredible stud, this lothario, and if he can't bed a woman after a year, then he's not."

So we made that choice. We couldn't write that flirting anymore. We got a lot of people upset till they saw what these two kids could do.







Is there one actor who showed the most improvement over time?

Sam Malone was originally a wide receiver for the Patriots when it was written. Then we cast Ted, and we made him a pitcher. We had an audition for the Sam and Diane characters. There were three couples who auditioned in front of the network:

We had Fred Dryer and Julia Duffy, Billy Devane and Lisa Eichhorn and Ted and Shelley. Fred Dryer was a famous football player, but Ted and Shelley were clearly the best suited. So we hired Dryer to play one of Sam's friends who was a sports guy.

I said to Teddy, "Watch Fred because that's who Sam Malone is. He's a peacock. He's always spreading his feathers. Watch how he grabs his groin." Ted is not a jock. Ted's a farceur from Carnegie Mellon. But he's a good enough actor to learn how to do that. He improved a lot over the first couple of shows.

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