Ted Danson reveals he was ‘dead wrong' in thinking Shelley Long would be ‘terrible' for ‘Cheers'

New York Post

18-06-2025

Ted Danson's predictions weren't in a good place.
The actor, 77, got candid on having a history of being wrong while starring on the NBC sitcom 'Cheers' from 1982 to 1993.
'I had the reputation on 'Cheers' where if I said, suggested something, pretty much—this is not self-deprecating humor or false humility—I was dead wrong,' Danson said while on the Wednesday episode of his SiriusXM podcast with Woody Harrelson, 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name,' adding, 'And if they did the opposite, it would work brilliantly.'
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8 Ted Danson on his podcast.
Team Coco/YouTube
His guest, Andy Richter, asked the comedian if things ever changed over the course of 11 seasons.
'No, I know,' Danson continued. 'I will tell Mary [Steenburgen], I'll say, 'Turn right here,' and she'll say, 'Thank you, but I know it's left.' Yeah. I'm sorry. You were right. It was right. I love being able to have an opinion, and I don't really have that much at stake because it's wrong. I'm okay to be wrong.'
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'The Good Place' alum's history of being wrong dates all the way back to 'Cheers,' the show set in a Boston bar, which also starred Harrelson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer, and late stars George Wendt and Kirstie Alley.
8 Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone.
NBCUniversal via Getty Images
'One of my first obvious ones was 'Cheers' casting Shelley Long. And I'm going, 'Oh, no, not Shelley Long. That'd be, that's all wrong. She'd be terrible for that,'' Danson recalled. 'And she, right out of the shoot, she became this instant, brilliant character actor doing a brilliant job. Serving the entire thing perfectly. It sounds like I'm discounting all the other actors, but that first year she put us on the map. Yeah, she really did.'
Long, 75, portrayed Diane Chambers in the sitcom and earned five Emmy nominations. She took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983. Long also won two Golden Globe Awards for her role.
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This isn't the first time Danson, who played bar owner Sam Malone, has acknowledged his faux pas — and he's pretty certain the actress knows.
8 Ted Danson and Shelley Long onstage at the 2006 TV Land Awards.
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'Yeah, I've said it enough that yeah,' he said about Long knowing. 'But she may not. Maybe she never listened to anything I've ever said. I say it as a form of compliment, 'cause my God, she is astounding.'
At the 2024 Emmys, the cast of 'Cheers' reunited on stage with Danson, Grammer, Perlman, Ratzenberger and Wendt.
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Long and Harrelson were not in attendance.
'I'm sorry Shelley [wasn't there] and Woody was off doing a play in London — which I saw, and he was amazing,' Danson said at the time. 'But it was lovely.'
8 Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone on 'Cheers.'
NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Shelley was Danson's love interest on the sitcom before leaving after Season 5 in 1987. Alley joined the show as Rebecca Howe in Season 6.
Rumors of a feud between Danson and Long surfaced for years, but the pair chalked it up to different acting styles.
'I ain't gonna say anything bad about my partner. I mean, my wife and I have terrible arguments sometimes, and they're kind of our business. Our relationship, Shelley's and mine, has included not being happy with each other and being happy with each other,' Danson told People in 1987.
8 Shelley Long.
Getty Images
Long added that same year, 'Terrible teasing went on in the relationship and outside the relationship, but our energy went into our work, and it paid off.'
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In May, the 'Cheers' family lost another one of their own when Wendt, who played Norm Peterson, died at age 76. Alley had already passed away in December 2022 at 71 after a brief battle with colon cancer.
His family rep confirmed the news to The Post, saying Wendt 'died peacefully in his sleep while at home' on May 20.
'George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,' the statement read. 'He will be missed forever. The family has requested privacy during this time.'
8 'Cheers' cast.
©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
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Danson shared his heartfelt sentiments after the news broke.
'I am devastated to hear that Georgie is no longer with us,' a rep for Danson shared with The Post. 'I am sending all my love to Bernadette and the children. It is going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie.'
Perlman, 77, who played cocktail waitress Carla Tortelli on the show, also addressed Wendt's sudden death.
'George Wendt was the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him,' she told The Post. 'As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn't hurt. What a guy! I'll miss him more than words can say.'
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8 Shelley Long, Ted Danson, George Wendt on 'Cheers.'
©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Before the actor's passing, he reunited with his 'Cheers' co-stars, Danson and Harrelson, 63, on an August 2024 episode of their podcast.
During the episode, Wendt reminisced on how he landed the role of Norm Peterson on the series.
'My agent called and said, 'You know, honey, they want you to do this 'Cheers,'' he said. ''Now you're not available,' because I had this other show ['Making the Grade'] at Paramount for CBS. Then they go, 'But they want you to come in anyway, and it's really small, though.' I go, 'Oh, okay.''
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8 George Wendt, Shelley Long, Ted Danson in the NBC sitcom.
Courtesy Everett Collection
'I read it,' he went on, 'and then they decided they were going to try to make it work out where I could do both shows, and then the other show got canceled.'
Wendt quickly became a fan favorite, earning six Emmy nominations for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
The show's creators Glen Charles, Les Charles and James Burrows shared about the comedian after his death: 'George Wendt was as lovable as the character he played on 'Cheers'. It was the perfect marriage of actor and character.'
'George was a gentleman and a gentle man. Norm was America's favorite barfly, and as the theme song said, everybody knew his name. And shouted it when he walked through the door. We were blessed to have him in our lives.'