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Favorite Guest Stars: Well, Look Who Just Stopped In for a Drink

RedZoneTuba

By RedZoneTuba
in Cheers [V]

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RedZoneTuba

RedZoneTuba

The first one that comes to my mind: John Cleese as Frasier's marriage-counselor colleague from "across the pond".  I loved that whole episode and Cleese's slow burn as the ever more desperate Diane tried to convince him that she and Sam were perfect for each other ("I've grown to hate them"), was fantastic.  And the climax with his sarcastic speech of praise for them as a couple, a pause, and Diane's one word response...pure gold.

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BizBuzz

BizBuzz

Ha!  Good one, and that episode was great.

 

I don't know if he is considered a "star", but remember when the Speaker of the House came in?  Tip O'Neill?  He ducked into the bar to escape a woman (who turned out to be Diane) that was tormenting him about politics?  That one was good too!

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

Cleese was, indeed, perfectly cast in that role.  I liked the digs between his character and Frasier as well.

 

Although I was not a big fan of the later seasons, and this particular episode required quite a bit of ret-conning, I must say that Emma Thompson's turn as Nanny G (Frasier's first wife) was hysterically funny.

 

And, of course, Shelley herself returning as a guest-star for the final episodes worked pretty well, too.

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BizBuzz

BizBuzz

Oh yes, Emma Thomson as Nanny G - I loved Woody most of all in that episode.  How much he loved Nanny G and felt he was being snubbed.

 

Remember when Alex Trebek showed up?  The whole Jeopardy arc was funny!

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

Remember when Alex Trebek showed up?  The whole Jeopardy arc was funny!

 

This must have occurred during the period when I was not watching.  I only caught the Nanny G episode in reruns after reading about it online!  And I did tune in for the three-episode series finale.

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BizBuzz

BizBuzz

This must have occurred during the period when I was not watching.  I only caught the Nanny G episode in reruns after reading about it online!  And I did tune in for the three-episode series finale.

 

It's worth a watch, it's one of the funnier ones.

 

Season 8 Episode 14 - if you don't want to watch, you can read the synopsis here.  It's a Cliff heavy episode, but really funny, especially if you also are fond of Jeopardy.

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Bort

Bort

I loved Marcia Cross as Rebecca's estranged sister. Man, it was good casting, and the episode was so entertaining how Rebecca and her sister teamed up to trick Sam.

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BizBuzz

BizBuzz

Remember when Markie Post showed up as Diane's college roommate (I think that is what she was)?  Diane thought she had it bad for Sam.  Was Markie Post even a star then?  Was Night Court on yet?  The 80's are a blur.  ::giggle::

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

Post guest-starred on Cheers in 1983; Night Court began airing in 1984.   Harry Anderson also guest-starred on Cheers before Night Court.

 

I also enjoyed Julia Duffy as Diane's college roommate in S1 (the one who translated Russian poetry), and Carol Kane as Diane's friend from the looney bin in S3.  I think Post's character was supposed to have known Diane earlier, as they used to pull prank phone calls together.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

He was never on Cheers, but I saw Dana Carvey about a year before he hit it big, too!  :-)


Back to topic:  Fred Dryer, who also guest-starred as Sam's friend Dave in S1 and beyond, was a finalist for the role of Sam Malone.  His audition partner was Julia Duffy, whom I mentioned above.  I've read that the other try-out duo was William Devane (ugh -- have always found him repugnant!)  and someone who's made such little impression on me that I can't recall her name...


Just found her:  Lisa Eichhorn.  I can't recall seeing her in ANYthing pre- or post-Cheers.


In the recurring category, you've gotta love Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli, who spawned Diane's line:  I thought he was wearing mohair pyjamas!

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BizBuzz

BizBuzz

Oh yeah, Nick Tortelli!  He was great. 

 

His second wife, the blond, Jean Kasem, was Casey Kasem's (American Top 40) wife.  That was a match I never understood.

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RedZoneTuba

RedZoneTuba

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I just watched the episode where pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards guest starred as a oily slime-ball trying to get the bar from Sam due to an old bet from Sammy's drinking days.  It was fun seeing him just before he became a star, but I was disappointed that he wasn't used very well in the episode.  You have Michael Richards and you don't give him ANY physical humor, instead using him as a heavy/straight-man?  The writer and director didn't seem to recognize his real talents.

 

(I hope they at least sent the "Ted Danson plane" to fly him in for the role. :-)

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

The writer and director didn't seem to recognize his real talents.

 

Or the casting director simply chose someone who had talents beyond what the role as written (and it was minor) called for.  I wouldn't expect the director to rewrite the part because Richards can do physical comedy anymore than I'd expect a song to be inserted because an otherwise low-profile actor had great pipes.  Looking back at his IMDb credits, Richards was a relative unknown at the time.

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ShellSeeker

ShellSeeker

Cleese was, indeed, perfectly cast in that role.  I liked the digs between his character and Frasier as well.

 

That was one of my favorite episodes ever of Cheers. When he threw his window open and was shouting out the window about how Sam and Diane's marriage would be "an epoch-shattering success," I laughed and laughed and laughed. Such a great line -- I have used it once or twice over the years.

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

 

I loved Marcia Cross as Rebecca's estranged sister. Man, it was good casting, and the episode was so entertaining how Rebecca and her sister teamed up to trick Sam.

 

It's one of my favorite episodes and holy crap was she hot in that episode. Also unlike other women's hair and outfits in the 80s her look isn't dated.

 

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cpcathy

cpcathy

I loved Glynis Johns as well, I was disappointed she never came back, not even when Sam and Diane got engaged.

 

Also wondered why Allyce Beasley never returned as Coach's daughter Lisa (even though she only had two more seasons to do so), or why Sam's ex wife never returned, even briefly. I'm sure at least one story could have come from her in season five.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

But Boggs did turn up again early in season 3, when he brought Diane home from Goldenbrook.

 

Good point about Sam's ex-wife, although I did find it odd that the two of them were portrayed as being on such good terms in Ep. 1-2.  Later episodes suggested that their divorce was messy.  We also never again saw Sam's brother Derek.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

I don't recall whether Sam said anything, but Coach told Diane in Showdown (the S1 two-part finale) that he'd been with Sam through all the difficult times including his boozing, the end of his career, his divorce.  So I assumed the divorce was tough on him.

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Bort

Bort

Was watching the episode where Anthony and Annie wanted to get married at age 16, much to Carla's objection and at the last minute before she was about to sign the consent form, in walks Annie's cousin to turn Anthony's head and change his mind, prompting this little gem of a pep talk from Carla: "Let me fill you in on something, Annie. There are three things you can say about Tortelli men. One, they draw women like flies. Two, they treat women like flies. Three, their brains are in their flies."

My point? Annie's cousin was played by a VERY young Sherilyn Fenn. I bet she was barely 18, if that.

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CheersEnthusiast

CheersEnthusiast

The wildest people would just drop in for a drink sometimes.  My favorite was Tip O'Neill.  For those who are too young to remember he was Speaker of the House back in the day and had a tremendous amount of pull in D.C.  

 

He is definitely in his element in a Boston bar and he really does seem like a guy you'd want to have a few drinks with.  The stories he could tell!

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M. Darcy

M. Darcy

Aw, that was beautiful. He was everyone's sweet baby. He seems to have been well loved by the theatre community.

Roger was in two of my favorite and IMO two of the best episodes - the ones when him and Sam are in the contest and the episode of his and Rebecca's wedding.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

Recently I rewatched S1, which I still find to be one of the finest first seasons of a comedy ever.  Some interesting guest stars not mentioned above included:

  • Ian Wolfe as WWI vet Buzz Crowder in One for the Book.  Wolfe was born in 1896, so he really was old enough to have fought in The Great War.  I love this episode.  Sam wasn't yet hitting on Diane with regularity but was still trying to impress her.  Lots of nice camaraderie among everyone in the bar.
  • Barbara Babcock as the "dragon lady" agent Lana in Now Pitching, Sam Malone.  After playing Grace Gardner on Hill Street Blues for a couple of seasons, Babcock had pretty much cornered the market on playing sexually forward mature women, and put it to good use here.
  • Derek McGrath as Andy Andy in Diane's Perfect Date.  He would show up again in S2's Homicidal Ham.  These are two of my all-time favorite episodes, so sharply written and acted.
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Gothish520

Gothish520

On 5/1/2014 at 2:41 PM, RedZoneTuba said:

The first one that comes to my mind: John Cleese as Frasier's marriage-counselor colleague from "across the pond".  I loved that whole episode and Cleese's slow burn as the ever more desperate Diane tried to convince him that she and Sam were perfect for each other ("I've grown to hate them"), was fantastic.  And the climax with his sarcastic speech of praise for them as a couple, a pause, and Diane's one word response...pure gold.

I always loved his line when asked how his flight was: "Relatively crash-free", and when asked why he was in the country he gave some reason and said, "Any excuse to pop over the pond".

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Gothish520

Gothish520

On 5/3/2014 at 1:26 PM, Inquisitionist said:

Fred Dryer, who also guest-starred as Sam's friend Dave in S1 and beyond, was a finalist for the role of Sam Malone.  His audition partner was Julia Duffy, whom I mentioned above. 

 

He also had a great line I've always remembered: After witnessing Sam and Diane argue - "My ex-wife and I get along better and we've exchanged gunfire."

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cpcathy

cpcathy

My favorite Fred Dryer line is just a response, actually, Diane is making fun of Dave during Sam's interview, they have to stop the interview. Fred turns around and goes, "Gee, whiz..."

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VCRTracking

VCRTracking

RIP Harry Anderson by Cheers writer/producer Ken Levine in his blog:

Quote

I can't believe this isn't just one of his ingenious hustles. Come on Harry, show yourself.   There's so much that doesn't make sense.  Harry was only 65.  He can't be gone.  This must be a trick.

I first met Harry during pre-production of the first season of CHEERS.  So June or July 1982.  He came into the office wearing the full Harry the Hat outfit.   We were looking to sprinkle in some colorful characters and boy did he fit the bill.  A few weeks later Harry invited us all to the Magic Castle to see his act.  Sure, the magic was dazzling, but what impressed us the most was how FUNNY he was. 

And authentic.  All of the little hustles Harry did that first season were things he contributed.  He was a fun character and the audience loved him, but we worried if we used him too often he wouldn't be as special.   I was so thrilled when he then got the starring role in NIGHT COURT.  He was getting the spotlight he deserved. 

We used Harry again the final season of CHEERS.  David Isaacs and I were assigned to write the final Bar Wars episode.  We thought this would be a perfect time to bring Harry back one last time. In all previous Bar Wars chapters David and I concocted the story.   This time Harry was the mastermind.   We called him and said we really wanted to put a final exclamation point on the Bar Wars saga.  For once we wanted CHEERS to win and we wanted them to win big.  We even thought, "What if somehow Gary's Old Towne tavern gets destroyed?"   Harry came up with the sting.

He was a lovely guy, mischievous as hell, and just naturally hilarious.

Okay, Harry, you had your fun.  Show yourself.   It's too sad otherwise.

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