A CHEERS story I had never heard before

Last Saturday night at UC Santa Barbara there was a discussion of CHEERS by series creators Glen & Les Charles and James Burrows moderated by CHEERS writer/producer Cheri Steinkellner. It was a fun, lively, informative evening filled with clips, tips, and anecdotes.

Later in the program George Wendt joined them on stage and told a story that even I had never heard.

It was Kirstie Alley’s first week. Kirstie is a little uh… out there. On her first day for example, for the table reading, she showed up in a blonde pageboy wig wearing a sweater and apron (a la Shelley Long).

During the week the rest of the cast decided it would be a nice gesture to get Kirstie a welcome gift. Everyone contributed but no one had the time to actually get it. George and John Ratzenberger drew the assignment of picking something out.

George said they drove down Melrose at a complete loss as to what to get. Trashy lingerie? That might be a tad too personal. (But certainly a good impulse.) Conventional gifts just seemed too… conventional.

They finally wound up in Big Five (as does everybody) and there they found the perfect gift. A little wrapping paper and it was ready to go.

And so after Kirstie’s first episode, the cast of CHEERS lovingly gave their new cast member a shotgun. That’s right. What better gift to give someone you’ve only known for four days than a shotgun? (Along with a nice note that said, “You’re going to have to shoot your way off this show.”) The fact that Kirstie found this hysterical it was clear that she was going to fit in perfectly. For the next six years she was as incorrigible as anyone on that show. And you couldn’t really cross her because, well… who knew how accurate she was that thing?

I dearly miss that cast. That infectious spirit of fun came through on the air. And it was always a joy to walk onto the set… although, if I had known one of the stars was heavily armed I might have thought differently.

P.S.

Georgie and John were never asked to go shopping again.