Shocking Secrets and Scandals Behind 'Cheers' Revealed After George Wendt's Death

Hit TV sitcom Cheers served as a happy half hour for 11 seasons on NBC, but on-screen laughs masked scandals and secrets — including lies, deadly insults and boozy sorrow!

Created by James Burrows and brothers Glen and Les Charles, the party was almost over before it started because of poor ratings. The show finished a disastrous 74th out of 77 shows following its premiere in 1982.

But it quickly gathered steam and became part of the network's Thursday night Must See TV lineup.

Series star Ted Danson served up drinks throughout the show's entire run at the fictional Boston bar Cheers and won two Emmy Awards for his iconic role as Sam Malone.

But he admitted, "I hate getting behind a bar!"

Danson,77, who starred on The Good Place, said, "It took me a year on Cheers to not be embarrassed or shy. I was so not a bar person or a confident Romeo. I was a backwards, shy kind of kid. Took me almost a year to get that Sam Malone relief-pitcher, bartender arrogance. So having stopped that, I seriously have anxiety stepping behind a bar."

Rhea Perlman's barbhurling barmaid, Carla Tortelli, had a soft spot for hockey star Eddie LeBec, played by Jay Thomas.

Though the characters wed, the actors' relationship turned frosty after Thomas' unflattering radio comments about having to kiss Perlman on the show. The insult appeared to have deadly results for Eddie — a few weeks later, he was killed in a Zamboni accident!

George Wendt and John Ratzenberger played beloved barflies Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. But Wendt's suds-loving accountant, Norm, never actually drank beer while filming. His mug was filled with "near beer," with a low alcohol content of 3.2 percent. But in order to keep the beverage's foamy head intact under the hot studio lights, a pinch of salt was added to his drink, which Wendt had to occasionally sip!

Ratzenberger had originally auditioned to play minor character George — which morphed into Norm as the series evolved during preproduction. But he suggested producers create a know-it-all patron, which led to him scoring the role as mail carrier Cliff. Though Ratzenberger was originally signed for only seven episodes, he ended up appearing in all but one during the first season — and then every episode for the next ten years.

Unbeknownst to viewers, Cliff's odd, long-winded tangents were often invented on the spot by Ratzenberger, who was able to effortlessly lie onscreen and present total falsehoods as fact!

"After a couple of years on the show they realized they could trust me not to mess it up," he said. Yet he warned, "It's easy to improvise comedy. It really is. But the art is knowing when to shut up and let other people talk."

Veteran actor Nicholas Colasanto was best known for his role as Coach Ernie Pantusso, who tended bar with Sam. But the actor himself had a booze-soaked past. Twenty years of alcoholism had reportedly contributed to his heart disease diagnosis, but in 1976, he decided to get sober.

However, after appearing in 70 episodes of Cheers, Colasanto died of a heart attack in 1985 at age 61.

Another member of the cast also struggled with alcohol — Kelsey Grammer, whose character, Frasier Crane, would earn his own successful spinoff, Frasier.

Grammer admitted the heartbreaking murders of his father when he was 13 and his sister when he was 20, as well as the deaths of his two half-brothers in a scuba diving accident in 1980, led him to numb himself with booze and drugs.

In 1990, he even served time in jail after a drunk-driving arrest and later entered rehab. Though he quit Alcoholics Anonymous, Grammer said he no longer has a problem with booze and called himself a "reformed drinker."

Following the Season 3 death of Colasanto — and his character — Woody Harrelson joined the show as dimwitted Woody Boyd in 1985. But Harrelson harbored a dark secret — his estranged father was a remorseless hit man!

Charles Harrelson disappeared from his young family's life in 1968 — the same year he accepted $2,000 to kill a Texas grain dealer and got slammed with a 15-year sentence. But he got out of jail in 1978 for good behavior — and gunned down federal judge John H. Wood Jr. on the orders of a drug dealer!

The elder Harrelson was sentenced to two life terms for murdering the judge but briefly escaped from prison in 1995. After his breakout, he was transferred to a maximum-security lockup in Colorado, where he died of a heart attack in 2007.

Kirstie Alley, who died in 2022 at the age of 71, was an up-and-coming actress when she replaced Shelley Long's Diane Chambers on Cheers in 1987. The gig as Rebecca Howe propelled Alley to stardom — but sparked a jealous feud with Long!

"Kirstie was furious when she starred on Cheers and producers decided to bring Shelley back as a guest star," said an insider, who added Long didn't appear too fond of Alley either. "Kirstie hated playing second fiddle to Shelley and never forgave her for treating her rudely when she returned to the set."