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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think it must have been so humiliating and depressing for Shelley Long

244 replies

Suetully · 19/09/2021 12:47

I caught Cheers reruns flicking through tv last night. Having not seen or thought of it in well over 25 years, I forgot how good Shelley Long was in it as Diane and her brilliant chemistry with Ted Danson.

I did some research after and she'd after 5 years left for a movie career but her career tanked and within 3 years of leaving, she was another jobbing tv actress whilst the show went strong for another 6 years and that was the show she'd deserted as the main star.

Like I can't imagine her anguish and humiliation that Danson went on to become the biggest tv star of that time, the show went to number 1 and her co-stars who were support to her reign like Kelsey Grammar and Woody Harrison became much bigger stars than she did.
She even returned to be a guest star on Frasier and he became the highest tv star in the world whilst at a time he was only brought into Cheers as her love interest.

That and her replacement Kirstie Alley became even bigger than Long was both in her carer and in general fame. It seems her name now is synonymous with a bad career move if you google her. AIBU to think that would be a pretty hard pill to swallow?

OP posts:

SleepingStandingUp · 20/09/2021 16:42

It's not like she never worked again, just wiki her filmography. Maybe she just never had it in her to be that big but also didn't want to sit in one place forever hoping it would last.

rhonddacynontaf · 20/09/2021 16:56

@CustardySergeant

I Googled to see how old she is now (72) and came across these articles which claim she wasn't popular with some people, although she was an excellent actress. Maybe that's why her career didn't go so well after Cheers.

She was very very unpopular on set, with everyone, but she really didn't get along with Ted Danson.

DreamTheMoors · 20/09/2021 18:59

Kirstie Alley might be famous, but she’s a famous Scientology MAGA assh*le who spouts garbage on social media
She frittered away any goodwill she may have had a long time ago.
Same goes for James Woods, Roseanne Barr, Jon Voight, Randy & Dennis Quaid, Gary Busey, Kid Rock and several others. I would say they can’t even get arrested in Hollywood, but lol a few have.

Amaksy · 20/09/2021 19:27

Had to look her up as the name didn’t ring any bells - She’s the number in Modern family and even there she was killed off.

Harford · 20/09/2021 20:27

*I'm sure she's crying all the way to the bank

Shelley Long Net Worth:$10 Million*

celeb net worths are all made up.

Fluffmum · 20/09/2021 20:56

She was in modern family.

Bella43 · 20/09/2021 21:13

I think a lot of actors worry about being typecast. This can mess up their chances of getting other roles. I guess it's a risk they have to take whatever they do. Should they stay in a show but end up struggling to get other parts later on? Or should they leave and see what, if any, other opportunities are out there?

Harford · 20/09/2021 21:41

*Then people respond saying 'OMG why would anyone discuss this?!You're over invested, OP' (IMO, people's minds are made to wonder, scanning is fine, trivialities are as much a part of life as profound thoughts)...

Then people respond saying OP is wanting to do women down, why else would he post*

Ha yes, I found it bonkers when people tried to say he was against women for generally talking about female celebs careers. I don't get why it's offensive for a man to discuss that or am I missing something? It's no different to men talking about footballer's careers really.

It's not like he said anything derogatory.

Also, I never get why people who have no interest in a thread come on to say it's not interesting.

Snoozer11 · 20/09/2021 21:41

@Artonthefridge @roopy770
Yes, thank you! What great information, I'm loving it. It's so good to know there are others who love The Comeback.

I knew there was some connection between MPK and Shelley Long but I had no idea it was so deep. That's much more on the nose than I ever expected.

I think the initial idea was to make Valerie a lot more unlikable - a reflection on Long, perhaps, given the rumours that she was difficult - but she naturally evolved into a much more sympathetic character.

Watching interviews with Long on YouTube I think the influence she had on Lisa Kudrow's performance is easy to see. Sometimes it's like watching Valerie herself!

Harford · 20/09/2021 21:53

*Those who are saying that Sam was the main character, are, in my opinion, wrong. The reason I say this is because as soon as Shelley left, the series pretty much became very much an ensemble show rather than a show with a lead actor.

I just don't think, at that point in the series, Sam's character was strong enough to be the most important part of the show

Agreed with this, it was Romeo and Juliet's story for the 1st 5 years, I never saw it either as Sam's story but more like the Sam Diane Story. The writers said after season 6 they wanted to make the bar the main focus/character and no character.

I also think there would have been a real issue having a character today who is as much of a bully as Carla was. There were times when the character was just plain nasty

True but many of the jokes/characters from Cheers and Friends etc have not aged well in our PC world of today. Sam's behavior towards women wouldn't go down well these days.

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 09:37

Anyone remember ‘Night Shift’ ? Micheal Keaton and Henry Winkler running a brothel out of a morgue - SL played a prostitute and the love interest for Henry Winkler. Sticks in my mind as one of her better films.

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 09:44

@confessionsOfa. Jane Leeves had an entire Frasier storyline written around her pregnancy, which was picked up again when she returned to the show after having her baby.

SuperStarRose · 21/09/2021 12:08

[quote Rosscameasdoody]@confessionsOfa. Jane Leeves had an entire Frasier storyline written around her pregnancy, which was picked up again when she returned to the show after having her baby.[/quote]
That's not my point at all. Do read posts properly

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 12:55

Just making an observation was all.

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 13:01

We mustn't forget that in those days having a child and being pregnant were not as accepted as now. It's only the last 15-20 years a TV / news / weather could carry on in her job pregnant. That never used to happen. Filming would not have been flexible around her childcare needs etc.

And not sure how I could have misread this - it was pretty clear.

ChequerBoard · 21/09/2021 13:10

@Rosscameasdoody

And not sure how I could have misread this - it was pretty clear.

Yes the poster was very clear - she was highlighting that female TV, news and weather reporters would not have continued to be used on air as reporters when pregnant in those days.

Your example, Jane Leeves was not a TV, news or weather reporter. She was a key cast member of a highly successful TV show and could not have been easily replaced.

It's a totally different situation.

LukeEvansWife · 21/09/2021 13:13

No she said TV/News/Weather implying she meant tv shows as well as news and weather.

But if it helps to believe that pregnant women weren’t allowed to be on anything until about 20 years ago, crack on

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 13:29

@LukeEvansWife. Thank you - I read this the same way, meaning as on TV, so not exclusively reporting.

Rosscameasdoody · 21/09/2021 13:35

And @ChequerBoard. The word ‘reporter’ didn’t appear in that post, so no, not so clear - particularly as the thread is discussing actors.

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