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

[Suetully]

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?

Are you SL, OP?

Cheers was Sam, it’s the comedic exploits of Sam.

@Suetully

And the late Lynne Perry (Ivy Tilsley/Brennan if you’re old enough to remember!!) and her screen son Brian (Chris something?!). Both ridiculously egocentric and fell on their arses after huge uk stardom on Corrie

Perrie never left Corrie though, she was fired for her behaviour and booze problems.

Who wouldn’t listen and take direction because she thought she was ‘the star’. The producers had no choice. I think the final straw was the plastic surgery

@LukeEvansWife

Oh don’t mention Lynne Perry - I keep getting flashbacks to The Word 🤮🤮🤮

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Danson and Grammar made money from TV shows.

Long tried to branch out into mainly film which is always more risky.

Long was quirky too though and Weaver had many other big roles outside her action roles in romcoms and dramas etc. I think part of Long's problem was that she tried to headline and sell films all by herself rather than share billing. Her 1st 2 post-cheers films flopped but she was the only known actor in them at the time.
No she wasn't quirky.
She just didn't have the star quality to headline a film.
That's what it comes down to.

The money pit is an absolute classic so YABU based on that alone.

Reg Holdsworth from Corrie springs to mind

Who wouldn’t listen and take direction because she thought she was ‘the star’. The producers had no choice. I think the final straw was the plastic surgery

no she didn't listen because she was an alcoholic, had mental health problems and when it gets to this stage people don't care about their careers. Their next drink or next party is more important. Same with Daniella Westbrook, she just was an addict.
And being an addict in a show like EE or Corrie wouldn't work as the workloads are massive. And back in the 90s there was much less support or empathy.

I imagine her sitting in the dark, wearing a silk turban and smoking a cigarette in a long holder, the light from old Cheers episodes flicker across her face.

“I am big. It’s the sitcoms that got small…”

@Squeakycatflap

I imagine her sitting in the dark, wearing a silk turban and smoking a cigarette in a long holder, the light from old Cheers episodes flicker across her face.

“I am big. It’s the sitcoms that got small…”

Haha that’s a very powerful image

No she wasn't quirky.
She just didn't have the star quality to headline a film.
That's what it comes down to

what is the 'star quality' though?
It's entirely subjective. For Long, I think had she done what Meg Ryan done and starred with leading men in films she might have fared better. Demi Moore was the same, she was successful when she paired with already established actors, it's when she tried to sell films herself that it went tits up.

Only very very few actors like Tom Cruise or Jennifer Aniston have the star quality to sell films by themselves. Even some of the biggest actors in the business like Michelle Pfeiffer rarely sold big films by themselves.

You say what this thread isn't but I'm not sure what it is. You seem very emotionally invested in her being 'humiliated' and devastated. That's odd. Do you know her personally?
Because yy you might have been devastated but she might not have been. All the more positive views and posters might be correct.
All creative industries are fickle. It's easy to fall in and out of favour. And as a PP said, considering Shelley worked during all an era when misogyny, sexism and abuse of power was rife, then there may be other reasons for her decisions, that won't ever make MN.

@Suetully

Who wouldn’t listen and take direction because she thought she was ‘the star’. The producers had no choice. I think the final straw was the plastic surgery

no she didn't listen because she was an alcoholic, had mental health problems and when it gets to this stage people don't care about their careers. Their next drink or next party is more important. Same with Daniella Westbrook, she just was an addict.
And being an addict in a show like EE or Corrie wouldn't work as the workloads are massive. And back in the 90s there was much less support or empathy.

No ego then no? Nor Julie Goodyear??? There we are then

No ego then no? Nor Julie Goodyear??? There we are then

Again Perrie was an addict with a clear mental health problem, it's likely she had bipolar or something as she was erratic both on set and of the set. That's not ego.

With Goodyear, she left in her 50s. And so she knew that at that age in 1995 she was never going to get massive amounts of work by 1995 standards. She claimed she left as she had enough and was exhausted, in her 02 return she had to leave as she claimed she couldn't handle the big workloads anymore.

@Suetully

No ego then no? Nor Julie Goodyear??? There we are then

Again Perrie was an addict with a clear mental health problem, it's likely she had bipolar or something as she was erratic both on set and of the set. That's not ego.

With Goodyear, she left in her 50s. And so she knew that at that age in 1995 she was never going to get massive amounts of work by 1995 standards. She claimed she left as she had enough and was exhausted, in her 02 return she had to leave as she claimed she couldn't handle the big workloads anymore.

So is it only women’s careers that obsess you, OP?

So is it only women’s careers that obsess you, OP

Didn't I talk about Kelsey Grammar, Ted Danson, and Woody Harrelson in other posts?

Ok, is it only Cheers and women’s careers? How do you know how she felt and why does it matter?

Doesn't just happen to actors. Harry and Megan left the RF to make it big.... and..... look at them now....

Haven't Harry and Meghan signed a mega $$$ deal with Netflix?

Didn't they leave the RF because Meghan couldn't breathe for all the criticism she received.

Sure but how 'big' are they for most people, fairly irrelevant I'd say.

Meghan and Harry’s popularity is waning even in America.

@Nancydrawn

People leave hit shows all the time, hoping it will launch them towards something more prestigious, more lucrative, or more famous. Sometimes it works (George Clooney, Steve Carrell, Sandra Oh). Sometimes it doesn't (Katherine Heigl, David Caruso, Jessica Brown Findlay).

Some people don't care, because they get to make work that's more interesting to them (that's one way to look at Dan Stevens, eg). Some of them seem to regret their decisions but try to make the best of them (I suspect Topher Grace and Mischa Barton fall into this camp).

And some leave for personal reasons, both good (Lisa Bonet having a baby) and bad (Kevin Spacey, enough said).

Jessica Brown Findlay has had an amazing career since leaving Downton - theatre, film and tv including a leading role in all 3 series of Harlots. Most actors don't get that much work in a lifetime.

She's great in Modern Family