The late Kirstie Alley’s legendary performance in Cheers will be honoured in the Frasier revival, according to Kelsey Grammer.
In a sorrowful message, the actress’ children announced her death on Monday, December 6, 2022.
Her agent also told People Magazine that she was battling colon cancer previous to this, but provided no other specifics.
Alley’s loved ones, son William ‘True’ Stevenson and daughter Lillie Price Stevenson confirmed their loss in a long tribute, describing their mother as ‘fierce and loving’.
Alley co-starred with Grammer in six seasons of Cheers as manager Rebecca Howe (Frasier Crane).
‘When Kirstie died, I was pretty upset about it because I really loved her. She was a magnificent person (and gave) a wonderful performance in ‘Cheers.’ She was remarkable – I mean, the stuff she could pull off,’ she told USA Today.
‘So I did say to the writers of this incarnation of Frasier, I said, “if we find a character that can do what Kirstie Alley did in ‘Cheers, we will be a very lucky group of people.” So it is in the back of our minds.’
Grammer will resume his role as everyone’s favourite radio psychiatrist in the series, which was commissioned by Paramount Plus over 20 years after the hit comedy ended.
Frasier, a Cheers spin-off, premiered in 1993 and was an instant smash with fans and reviewers alike.
It followed the doctor as he returned to Seattle for employment, reuniting with his father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney), and brother.
Last year, Grammer disclosed the extent of his preparations, revealing that he sobbed while going through the first episode.
‘There are a couple of other things coming up,’ he said while appearing on The View. ‘We’ve developed a couple of other projects that look like they’re going to shoot first.’
‘We’re in the final stages of the final script for the first episode of the Frasier reboot. It looks pretty good.
‘I’ve had a couple of runs through it, and I’ve cried, so you know, I’m happy.’