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Cheers stars Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson have led the heartfelt tributes to their costar Kirstie Alley who has died aged 71 following a private battle with cancer.
The actress and devout Scientologist ‘fought with great strength’, her devastated children William True, 30, and Lillie Price, 28, revealed in a statement announcing her death Monday.
Alley’s breakout role as Rebecca Howe in the sixth series of Cheers in 1987 launched her to Hollywood stardom.
Ted Danson, who was a mainstay in the classic NBC sitcom, said he was on a flight yesterday and by chance decided to watch an episode of Cheers starring Alley before he learned of her death, in which she is proposed to by Tom Berenger.
He told People: ‘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.’
Kelsey Grammer added: ‘I always believed grief for a public figure is a private matter, but I will say I loved her.’
Other stars paying tribute to the late icon include Jamie Lee Curtis who said on Instagram that Alley was ‘a great comic foil’ on the show and ‘a beautiful mama bear in her very real life.’
Kirstie Alley (front row, second from left) shot to fame in the sitcom Cheers which she joined in 1987
Last picture: Kirstie Alley has died at the age of 71 following a short cancer battle and was last pictured during an Instagram video on September 8 as she touted for work on Cameo
The star’s family issued a statement on Instagram Monday in the wake of the passing
Lee Curtis said the pair had a ‘mutual respect and connection’.
‘We agreed to disagree about some things but had a mutual respect and connection. Sad news,’ she added.
Another Cheers co-star, Rhea Perlman, recounted how she and Alley became friends almost instantly after she joined the show. She said Alley organized large Easter and Halloween parties and invited everyone.
‘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.’
Friend and confidante John Travolta, who worked with Alley on the Look Who’s Talking films, said: ‘Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.’
Tim Allen, who starred alongside Alley in For Richer or Poorer, added: ‘A sweet soul pass on in Kristie Alley. Sad, sad news. Prayers for all her family.’
Alley’s ex-husband Parker Stevenson, who she was married to from 1983-1997, posted a poignant memorial in which he said she ‘will be missed’
Jamie Lee Curtis called Alley ‘a beautiful mama bear in her very real life’
Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin called her late friend ‘complex, energetic, animated and hilarious’ in a tweet
Carmen Electra called Alley a ‘beautifully talented soul’ in a social media post
TV stalwarts such as William Shatner, Tim Allen and Jason Alexander were among the stars to send condolences following news of the star’s death
Kirstie Alley together with her adopted children William True and Lillie Price in 2010
The children of Kirstie Alley, Lillie and William True, post the tragic news of their mother’s passing
William and Lillie said their mother had only ‘recently discovered’ she had cancer, and that she ‘was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead.’
Alley’s children continued: ‘As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.
‘We are grateful to the incredible team of doctors and nurses at the Moffitt Cancer Center for their care.’
Alley had not been seen in public for some time with her last-known picture seen during a video in early September as she promoted her profile on Cameo on her Instagram page.
In what was to be her final video on social media there did not appear to be any outwardly visible signs that she was ill as she appeared with her signature mane of thick blonde hair.
In the final days of her life, she had been receiving care at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
In April of this year, she performed on the television show The Masked Singer.
Alley’s children said her ‘zest and passion for life, her children, grandchildren and her many animals, not to mention her eternal joy of creating, were unparalleled and leave us inspired to live life to the fullest just as she did.’
They ended the statement by saying, ‘We thank you for your love and prayers and ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time.’
Last TV role: Kirstie appeared on The Masked Singer in April 2022 as the Baby Mammoth
In 2018 Alley was runner-up in the 22nd series of UK Celebrity Big Brother
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Alley attended Kansas State University before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles.
Alley was married to her high school sweetheart from 1970 to 1977, and to Baywatch actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 until 1997.
After suffering a miscarriage she adopted son William True in 1992 and daughter Lillie Price in 1995 with Stevenson.
She said in 2010 if she married again, ‘Id leave the guy within 24 hours because I’m sure he’d tell me not to do something.’
Stevenson posted a brief tribute to his ex-wife on Facebook.
‘Dear Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed. With love, Parker,’ he wrote.
Her very first television appearances were as a game show contestant, on The Match Game in 1979 and Password in 1980.
The actress continued to work regularly on both the small and big screen, guest-starring in a 1983 episode of The Love Boat alongside her husband Parker Stevenson, and a slew of movies in 1984 including Runaway with Tom Selleck and Blind Date
Parker Stevenson posted a brief tribute to his ex-wife on Facebook on Monday night
Kirstie Alley and her second husband Parker Stevenson are photographed at a party in 1979
William True Stevenson, son of Kirstie Alley, cuddles with his new son in 2017
Lillie Price Stevenson, the daughter of Kirstie Alley, is seen here. She lives in Los Angeles
Alley’s big breakout role came in 1987 when she was cast as Rebecca Howe on the NBC hit Cheers, replacing the outgoing Shelley Long.
She joined the show at the height of its popularity after the departure of Long.
Alley would win an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy series for the role in 1991.
‘I only thank God I didn´t have to wait as long as Ted,’ Alley said in her acceptance, gently ribbing her ‘Cheers’ co-star Ted Danson, who had finally won an Emmy for his role as Sam Malone in his eighth nomination the previous year.
She would take a second Emmy for best lead actress in a miniseries or television movie in 1993 for playing the title role in the CBS TV movie David’s Mother.
) Kirstie Alley Star Trek II – The Wrath Of Khan – her 1982 film debut
Patrick Dempsey, left, and Kirstie Alley are seen in the 1989 comedy Loverboy
Alley starred in the hit 1987 movie Look Who’s Talking alongside John Travolta, which was the 5th highest grossing movie of the year
She starred alongside Steve Guttenberg and Full House stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson in the 1995 family rom-com It Takes Two
Alley appeared in various films throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
These included the Look Who’s Talking film series, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) which was her film debut, Summer School (1987) Sibling Rivalry (1990),It Takes Two (1995), For Richer or Poorer (1997), and Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).
Horror director John Carpenter described Alley as a ‘delightful actress’.
‘Kirstie Alley was a delightful actress I had the pleasure to work with on VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED. She will be missed,’ he wrote.
Alley starred in the 1995 US science fiction-horror film alongside Christopher Reeve, Linda Kozlowski, Michael Pare and Mark Hamill.
She won her second Emmy Award in 1994 for the television film David’s Mother and received a further Emmy nomination in 1997 for her work in the crime drama series The Last Don.
She also had her own sitcom, Veronica’s Closet, from 1997 to 2000 but it was the 1989 comedy Look Who’s Talking, which gave her a major career boost, as she played the mother of a baby whose inner thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. She would also appear in the 1990 sequel Look Who’s Talking Too.
Trvaolta said: ‘Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie’
She would play a fictionalized version of herself in the 2005 Showtime series Fat Actress, a show that drew comedy from her public and media treatment over her weight gain and loss.
Alley is pictured in Scream Queens (2015) – one of the final projects
She dealt with the same subject matter in the 2010 A&E reality series Kirstie Alley’s Big Life, which chronicled her attempt to lose weight and launch a weight-loss program while working as a single mother in an unconventional household that included pet lemurs.
Alley said she agreed to do the show in part because of the misinformation about her that had become a tabloid staple.
‘Anything bad you can say about me, they say I’ve never collapsed, fainted, passed out. Basically, anything they’ve said, I never. The only true thing is I got fat.’
Alley co-created the series and played a version of herself – an actress who struggles to lose weight so she can revive her career, although the show only lasted one seven-episode season.
The actress was also a spokesperson for the weight-loss company Jenny Craig between 2004 and 2007, losing 75 pounds during her time there
Two years later, in 2009, Alley revealed that she gained 83 pounds after leaving Jenny Craig and weighed as much as 228 pounds.
She founded the weight loss company Organic Liaison in 2010, though she faced a class-action lawsuit alleging false advertising that was ultimately settled in 2013.
The company was acquired by Jenny Craig in 2014 and she returned once again as a spokesperson, revealing in 2015 that she had lost 50 pounds on the program.
After Veronica’s Closet went off the air, she appeared in a few guest-starring roles in the early 2000s before returning in the 2005 Showtime series Fat Actress
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Alley also made several appearances on reality television, first as a contestant on the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars, where she finished in second place.
She appeared on the competition series The Masked Singer in April this year wearing a baby mammoth costume.
During her stint on Big Brother she shared the house with other famous faces including Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas and Dan Osbourne from The Only Way Is Essex, who finished in first and third place respectively.
Alley appeared in the Ryan Murphy black comedy series Scream Queens on Fox in 2015 and 2016.
Kirstie Alley is at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1994
Kirstie Alley poses for a photograph on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 1995
Alley was brought up as a Methodist but became a Scientologist in 1979 after moving to Los Angeles, where she used the church’s affiliated drug treatment program Narconon in response to her self-admitted cocaine addiction.
She had most recently been living semi-permanently in Clearwater, Florida after purchasing a waterfront property just a stone’s throw from the church’s global headquarters in 2000.
In 2018 she participated in the 22nd series of UK Celebrity Big Brother, in which she finished as runner-up.
In recent years her conservative political views put her at odds with most stars in woke Hollywood.
Alley told Tucker Carlson that she was first warned to keep quiet about her interest in Donald Trump back in 2015, with a producer telling her that she would stop getting roles if she came out as a conservative.
In 2021 Kirstie Alley spoke out about the backlash she faced for supporting Donald Trump, saying it felt like she has been living ‘in The Twilight Zone’
Alley – who had not starred in a movie since 2015 – told Tucker Carlson that her Hollywood peers could behave in illegal or unethical ways and still not receive the type of ostracization that she had received
The Cheers star claimed the unidentified producer was also a Trump fan, but chose to keep quiet for fear they’d ‘never work again’.
Alley, however, chose to speak up.
‘People go, ‘You’re so brave.’ I go, ‘No, I think I’m stupid’. Because honestly… it is a real blackballing situation,’ she stated.
‘It’s so strange to me because artists are free-thinkers for the most part.’
Alley – who had not starred in a movie since 2015 – claimed that her Hollywood peers can behave in illegal or unethical ways and still not receive the same type of ostracization that she had to deal with.
‘You can be cooking meth and sleeping with hookers but as long as you didn’t vote for Trump [you’re fine],’ she told Carlson.
‘I feel like I’m in the ‘Twilight Zone’ a bit with the whole concept of it.’
‘I’m voting for Donald Trump because he’s NOT a politician,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘I voted for him 4 years ago for this reason and shall vote for him again for this reason.
‘He gets things done quickly and he will turn the economy around quickly. There you have it folks there you have it’.
Alley, who was a high profile follower of the Church of Scientology, quickly faced high profile backlash for her tweet in October 2020
She revealed that she voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012 but threw her support in 2016 after criticizing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Despite previously being a moderate liberal, Alley has also hit headlines for her other controversial opinions in recent years.
In 2020 she claimed claiming CNN was ‘terrorizing viewers’ with its constant coronavirus coverage.
She also blasted the Academy Awards after organizers announced that they would update diversity rules in order for films to be eligible for best picture nominations.
‘Can you imagine telling Picasso what had to be in his … paintings,’ Alley wrote on Twitter.
‘You people have lost your minds. Control artists, control individual thought .. OSCAR ORWELL’ she tweeted.
The 71-year-old devout Scientologist ditched the makeup and was seen dressed comfortably in a green checkered shirt, leggings and orange flats in Florida in 2021
Inside Kirstie Alley’s love life: How the Hollywood actress ‘almost ran off’ with married John Travolta and considered an affair with Patrick Swayze but never remarried after her second divorce
Kirstie Alley wasn’t shy about the love she shared for some of her leading men, though she claimed that she stayed faithful to her marriage.
The actress, whose death at 71 was announced on Monday, previously delved into her romantic history in 2018 during a stint on Celebrity Big Brother UK, in which she confessed that she ‘almost ran off’ with John Travolta, 68.
The twice-divorced star also spoke elsewhere about the feelings she shared for another costar, the late Patrick Swayze, although both opted not to pursue an affair to focus on their marriages.
Special relationship: Kirstie Alley considered John Travolta the ‘greatest love’ of her life, even though they never had a romantic relationship. They are pictured here in 1989’s Look Who’s Talking
![Love at a distance: Kirstie was candid about her feelings for the actor. '[It was] the hardest decision I've ever made [to not have an affair] because I was madly in love with him ¿ we were fun and funny together,' she once said. 'It wasn't a sexual relationship because I'm not going to cheat on my husband'; (pictured with the actor in 1992)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/12/06/09/65280063-11506869-Love_at_a_distance_Kirstie_was_candid_about_her_feelings_for_the-m-42_1670317362945.jpg)
Love at a distance: Kirstie was candid about her feelings for the actor. ‘[It was] the hardest decision I’ve ever made [to not have an affair] because I was madly in love with him — we were fun and funny together,’ she once said. ‘It wasn’t a sexual relationship because I’m not going to cheat on my husband’; (pictured with the actor in 1992)
While regaling her Celebrity Big Brother costars with some of her past romantic efforts, Kirstie devoted special attention to Travolta.
‘I think I kissed Travolta,’ she confessed. ‘I almost ran off and married John. I did love him, I still love him.’
However her marriage at the time prevented her from trying to strike up a relationship with the Saturday Night Fever star.
‘If I hadn’t been married I would’ve gone and married him and I would’ve been in an airplane because he has his own plane,’ she said.
Costar: ‘I think I kissed Travolta,’ she confessed on Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2018. ‘I almost ran off and married John. I did love him, I still love him’; publicity still for Look Who’s Talking Too in 1990
Held back: ‘If I hadn’t been married I would’ve gone and married him and I would’ve been in an airplane because he has his own plane,’ she said; seen in 2007
Though she didn’t specify when her infatuation with Travolta was at its zenith, the two appeared together in the comedy Look Who’s Talking in 1989, and they returned for the sequels Look Who’s Talking Too (1990) and Look Who’s Talking Now (1993).
The first film was a monster hit and starred Kirstie as a single pregnant woman who falls in love with a taxi driver (Travolta) after he takes her to the hospital to give birth.
Her infant son’s voice was played in the film by John’s friend Bruce Willis.
In 1991, Travolta married Kelly Preston, who died in 2020, two years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Kirstie and John stayed lifelong friends, and they were both high-profile Scientologists.
She was even more open about her Travolta during a 2013 Howard Stern interview, calling the Blow Out star ‘the greatest love of my life,’ and adding that ‘It took me years to not look at John as a romantic interest.’
In 2018, Kirstie confessed on the Dan Wootton Interview podcast that not carrying on an affair with John was ‘one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.’
Hit series: The two appeared together in the comedy Look Who’s Talking in 1989, and they returned for the sequels Look Who’s Talking Too (1990) and Look Who’s Talking Now (1993); seen in 1989
‘[It was] the hardest decision I’ve ever made because I was madly in love with him — we were fun and funny together,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t a sexual relationship because I’m not going to cheat on my husband.
‘But, you know, I think there are things that are way worse than sexual relationships, than cheating on someone that way,’ she added. ‘I consider what I did even worse because I actually let myself fall in love with him and stay in love with him for a long time.’
In the same interview, she admitted that her infatuation with Travolta continued after his 1991 marriage to Preston, who eventually put a stop to the flirtations.
‘Kelly came up to me, and they were married then, and she said, “Erm, why are you flirting with my husband?”‘ she recalled. ‘And that was sort of when I had to make a decision and that was pretty much the end of that.’
But she stressed that it was best for the two of them not to have pursued a relationship because they were ‘so alike.’
‘It would be like two blazing stars that just fizzled out,’ she said.
In a moving post remembering his late friend, Travolta wrote that Kirstie was ‘one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had.’
He added a sweet photo of the two longtime pals gazing affectionately into each other’s eyes while beaming.
‘I love you Kirstie,’ he added. ‘I know we will see each other again.’
Sweet: In a moving post remember his late friend, Travolta wrote that Kirstie was ‘one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had’
Loss: He added a sweet photo of the two longtime pals gazing affectionately into each other’s eyes while beaming. ‘I love you Kirstie,’ he added. ‘I know we will see each other again’
Kirstie also opened up in the past about how she fell in love with her former costar Patrick Swayze, who died in 2009 at age 57, years before working with Travolta.
The two shared the screen when they appeared in the 1985 miniseries North And South.
‘I would’ve loved to have an affair with Patrick Swayze but we were both married so I wouldn’t have gone off [with him],’ she revealed on Celebrity Big Brother UK.
‘I kissed him and I wish I could’ve had an affair but I’m a strong believer in fidelity and he was married,’ she explained. ‘When you get on the road and you do a movie, it’s very easy to fall in love with your leading man. Very, very easy.’
Part of what made it so difficult to not fall for the leading man was how much time they were forced to spend together for work.
‘Think about it. We shot North And South for a year. So, for a year you’re around this person and it’s just hard, I think,’ she said.
Kirstie also opened up in the past about how she fell in love with her former costar Patrick Swayze, who died in 2009 at age 57, when they worked on the miniseries North And South (1985)
Kirstie was twice married, first to Bob Alley from 1970 to 1977, though the union fizzled out when she realized the spark had faded between the two.
She tied the knot again in 1983 to the actor Parker Stevenson, 70, with whom she shares her son William, 30, and daughter Lillie, 28.
The couple later divorced in 1997.
Two years after their divorce was finalized, Parker confessed to People that he and Kirstie were ‘not friends now,’ though they still kept in regular touch at the time to help parent their children.
‘Kirstie and I are exact opposites,’ he claimed. ‘That’s what made it so interesting,’ though being opposites ‘makes for not a good marriage.’
There were no hints of that tension in a tribute Parker shared for his late ex-wife on Instagram after her death was announced.
‘Dear Kirstie,’ he began, ‘I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have.
He added, ‘You will be missed,’ before sending his ‘love.’
‘You will be missed’: Kirstie was married to Parker Stevenson from 1983 to 1997. He shared a sweet message for her after her death was announced; seen in 1988
Family: Kirstie adopted her son William, 30, and daughter Lillie, 28, with Stevenson during the marriage, which lasted from 1983 to 1997; seen with William and Lillie in 2000
Kirstie’s last major public relationship following her marriage to Parker was with her Nevada costar James Wilder, 54, who was 17 years her junior.
The two met on the set of the film, which was released in 1997. They were quickly engaged, but the two parted ways after two years together.
While speaking with Dateline in 2004, Kirstie seemed to suggest that the relationship was a mistake while implying that her judgment was impaired when it came to romance.
‘I just did some real soul searching. And I didn’t like myself. I didn’t like what I’d become. I’d sort of become something I wasn’t,’ she said. ‘I didn’t like the way I was in relationships. I didn’t like who I was choosing. I was making a lot of mistakes. So what I decided was to really prioritize my life into what was important to me and what I wanted to be known for by myself.’
Kirstie’s last major public relationship following her marriage to Parker was with her Nevada costar James Wilder, 54, who was 17 years her junior. They got engaged after appearing in the 1997 film, but they parted ways after two years together; seen in 1998 in LA
