Shelley Long: The infuriating and endearing Diane Chambers

Shelley Long as Diane Chambers in the sitcom "Cheers".

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One minute she was haughty, snobby and outright infuriating. The next she was funny, endearing and alluring. Through it all, and whatever she did, when Diane Chambers was around Sam Malone, the sparks would fly, whether it was hot love or hostility.

Shelley Long played Diane Chambers opposite Ted Danson as Sam Malone in the venerable sitcom “Cheers”.

It was her birthday today, offering a great opportunity to look back at Diane Chambers and more.

The years before
Long before Diane Chambers happened upon a neighbourhood pub in Boston, Shelley Long had put together a solid body of work.

Her first on-screen appearance was in the television movie “That Thing on ABC” in 1978, followed soon after by guest spots on “The Love Boat”; “Family”; “Trapper John, M.D.”; “M*A*S*H”; and a number of other TV movies.

Long was also on the big screen in “A Small Circle of Friends” in 1980, and “Caveman” in 1981, opposite Ringo Starr, his wife Barbara Bach and Dennis Quaid.

She was then in “Night Shift” in 1982. Long played a hooker with a heart of gold, as Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton started running ladies of the evening out of a downtown morgue after midnight.

I saw “Night Shift” on TV after Long started her turn as Diane Chambers, and the contrast couldn’t be more stark.

Where everybody knows your name…
In the beginning, no one knew Diane Chambers when she walked into a neighbourhood pub called “Cheers” occupied by denizens such as mailman Cliff Clavin, barfly Norm Peterson, bartender Ernie “Coach” Pantusso, and bar owner Sam Malone.

Diane had been abandoned by her fiancé, who returned to his ex-wife. Since she also worked for him, she needed a job and wound up waitressing at “Cheers”.

From the minute she walked through the doors of the bar, there was immediate chemistry with Sam Malone. They were at each other’s throats from the start, but that only fuelled the speculation they would eventually get together – and they did. And they broke up, and got back together again.

Along the way, the academic and haughty Chambers would hook up with a new boyfriend who started coming around the bar too. His name was Frasier Crane, and he too would go down in history as one of the most memorable characters. Not only was he in “Cheers”, but his own spin-off series “Frasier”, which debuted immediately after “Cheers” went off the air.

There were some very interesting moments on and off screen. One that I distinctly remember was when Nicholas Colasanto, who played Coach, died mid-season. Long was on maternity leave, but was pressed back into action. I heard about this on “Entertainment Tonight”, which explained she would have limited screen time. When I watched that episode, Shelley Long essentially stood still behind something to hide her pregnancy.

Shelley Long played Diane Chambers regularly for the first five seasons of “Cheers” then reappeared periodically throughout the rest of the series’ run, which ended in 1993. She was in a total of 122 episodes from 1982 to 1993.

For her efforts, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, and was nominated again in 1984, 1985, and 1986. She was nominated for an Emmy in 1993 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the role of Diane Chambers in an episode of “Cheers”, and again in 1996 for the role of Diane Chambers in an episode of “Frasier”.

Long won a Golden Globe in 1982 for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for “Cheers”. She also won a Golden Globe in 1984 for Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy for “Cheers”, and was nominated in that same category in 1983.

Movie career
While working on “Cheers” Long continued to appear in movies.

In “Irreconcilable Differences” in 1984, she starred with with Ryan O’Neal and Drew Barrymore, about a daughter who divorces her parents. Long was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1984 for the role.

In 1986, Long starred with Tom Hanks in “The Money Pit”, about a couple whose marriage comes apart as renovations to their dream home become a nightmare.

She followed that up in 1987, starring with Bette Midler in “Outrageous Fortune”. They play musicians who start dating the same man, then form an uneasy alliance when he dies. They suspect his death is not all it appears to be, and seek to find the man to make him choose between them.

That same year, Long was in “Hello Again:” as a housewife brought back from the dead. She wrapped up the decade in 1989 with “Troop Beverly Hills”, playing a housewife who agrees to lead a wilderness girl camp to bond with her daughter and forget about her impending divorce.

During this period, she became one of the stable of actors appearing in Disney’s Touchstone Pictures productions, which included “Outrageous Fortune” and “Hello Again”.

The years after
Shelley Long kept on working in both movies and television.

On the big screen, she was in “Don’t Tell Her it’s Me”; “Frozen Assets”; “The Brady Bunch Movie” and “A Very Brady Sequel” as Carol Brady; ”Dr. T and the Women”; “Trust Me”; and much more.

On television, she appeared in the television movie “Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase”, about a woman with multiple personality disorder; the documentary “Memories of M*A*S*H”; 19 episodes of a sitcom called “Good Advice”; a guest spot in “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”; the TV movie “Freaky Friday”; guest appearances in “Murphy Brown”, “Frasier”, “Boston Common” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”; seven episodes of “Kelly Kelly”; guest starring roles in “Diagnosis: Murder” and “Beggars and Choosers”; the TV movie “The Brady Bunch in the White House”, reprising her role as Carol Brady; guest spots in “8 Simple Rules”, “Strong Medicine”, “Joan of Arcadia”, “Boston Legal”, “Yes, Dear”, two episodes of “Complete Savages” , eight episodes of “Modern Family”; and much more.

Parting thoughts
Shelley Long stayed quite active after she left “Cheers”, and appeared in some good movies. Yet, she kept coming back to Diane Chambers, and doing such a great job in the role, that she will forever be the waitress in the bar where everybody knows your name.