TV and film actress Kirstie Alley, who starred as the vivacious Rebecca Howe on Cheers, has passed away, according to CNN. The Emmy-winning actress’ children announced her death via social media. The two-time Emmy-winning Alley was 71 years old.
According to CNN, the native of Witchita, KS began her career in the 1980s with roles in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Summer School before landing a career breakout opposite Ted Danson (Three Men and a Baby, The Good Place) on NBC’s sitcom, Cheers. Here, Alley embodied the headstrong Rebecca, who replaced Shelly Long’s (Troop Beverly Hills, Modern Family) Diane Chambers after Long surprisingly departed the series. Alley would go on and covet the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. Her tenure lasted from 1987 to the series’ end in 1993.
TV fame came later for Alley as she starred as the lead in another NBC sitcom, Veronica’s Closet. Via CNN, the series ran for four seasons. In between her TV tenure, Alley appeared in a number of hit films including the baby-talking comedy franchise, Look Who’s Talking, with John Travolta (Grease, Be Cool); It Takes Two, opposite Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy, The Big Green); beauty pageant satire Drop Dead Gorgeous, with Ellen Barkin (The New Normal, Animal Kingdom); and, the Disney original Toothless, where she played a bitter tooth fairy needing reforming.
According to CNN, Alley continued working into the latter 2000s, with much success in the reality TV realm. After a short stint in the Showtime series, Fat Actress, which she co-wrote, Alley appeared on the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and a recent season of Fox’s The Masked Singer. She also was the subject of her own short-lived reality series, Kirstie Alley’s Big Life in 2010.
As news of her death spread yesterday evening, many of Alley’s colleagues issued statements about their memories of the actress.
Danson said via Deadline:
“I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of Cheers. “It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes. Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny. She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard. As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died. I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her.”
Travolta posted a photo of Alley on his Instagram in a touching tribute stating,” Kristie was one of the most special relationships I ever had.”
“Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless,” Cheers co-star Rhea Pearlman (Matilda, Poms) told CNN about Alley. “We became friends almost instantly when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved kids and my kids loved her too. We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts that she created. She had massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire crew of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply. I’ve never met anyone remotely like her. I feel so thankful to have known her. I’m going to miss her very, very much.”
As of today, no plans for service have been announced.