The Only Cheers Actor That Never Appeared In Frasier

When NBC closed shop on "Cheers" in 1993, it felt like the right time to bid farewell to our favorite broadcast barflies and a death in the family. For 11 consistently great seasons, viewers knew that every Thursday evening, they could drop by the neighborhood tavern where everybody knows their name. We couldn't begrudge the actors for wanting to move on to other opportunities, but their characters were so rich and relatable that we wanted to grow old with them.

"Cheers" fans were more than happy to settle for "Frasier," which transplanted Kelsey Grammer's neurotic psychiatrist to Seattle, where he had to contend/coexist with his equally neurotic brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and his retired cop father Martin (John Mahoney). Under the aegis of creators David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee, "Frasier" quickly established itself as the wittiest, most erudite sitcom on network television. It was the perfect spinoff. The ensemble raucousness of "Cheers" was transmogrified into Noel Coward-esque farce. It filled the comedic void left by the end of the show that spawned it.

But we still missed "Cheers." We still wondered what the Boston crew was up to. Fortunately, "Frasier" wasn't above the occasional cameo from our old drinking buddies. Just about every living cast member found their way onto at least one episode of the series. There was just one holdout.

Sam Malone (Ted Danson), Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), Norm Peterson (George Wendt), and Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) all made a return trip through Frasier's orbit at one point during the series' 11-season run. The most important cameo came courtesy of Shelly Long, whose fussy barmaid Diane Chambers infamously jilted Frasier at the altar. The producers were careful not to force these reunions, and, in every case (especially Frasier's unexpected Boston hook-up with Carla, Norm, and Cliff), they felt fully earned.

As for Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe, the businesswoman who bought "Cheers" in the show's sixth season (as Danson's sparring partner replacement for Long), the actor allegedly wanted no part of the series.

Alley never went on the record about her reluctance to guest star on "Frasier," but it is believed that, as a practicing Scientologist, she could not participate in a series built around a psychiatrist (the L. Ron Hubbard-rounded church preaches that the science is an absolute evil). Perhaps this is true. All we know is that, when asked why Alley never appeared on the show, producer David Lee responded, "I don't recall asking."

In fairness to Alley, who passed away in 2022 from colon cancer, she is no longer present to dispute this take. And, really, of the core characters from "Cheers," she had the least compelling reason to reunite with Frasier. So let her rest in peace.