I’d have to say that of all of the celebrity encounters during my California visit on Saturday, October 9, 2010, perhaps none of them thrilled me as much as meeting Diane Chambers herself, Shelley Long. For the last 25 years, Cheers has been one of my all-time favorite shows. I used to video tape every episode that was broadcast and watch them repeatedly on the VCR in my bedroom. A day without Cheers just wasn’t a day at all. Shelley Long, of course, held the pivotal role of Diane for the first five season of the show and then returned for a special appearance in the final episode.
During her tenure with Cheers, she took home one Emmy and three nominations, plus nominations for her guest appearance in the final episode and a guest appearance on the Cheers spin-off Frasier.
Shelley Long has a moderately successful career after she left Cheers, starring in such films as The Money Pit, Irreconcilable Differences, and Outrageous Fortune. Later roles in the mid-90’s in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel brought her additional acclaim.
I was fortunate enough to meet Shelley after her performance with the California Radio Artists Theatre performance at the Beverly Garland Theatre in Burbank. I didn’t get to see the show, but made my way in the front door along with my friends Jimmy, David, and Steve, after the show had ended.
I quickly noticed that she was insisting on personalizing the photos that she signed (I had just picked mine up at the Hollywood Show hours earlier), so I made no bones about telling her my name when she asked. I told her how good she looked, which was the first thought that I had after seeing her up on the stage. From a distance, she really hadn’t changed at all. She didn’t seem overly thrilled about posing for photos, but was kind enough to oblige me and many other fans.
Getting to meet Shelley Long was a complete bonus, as I had only found out about her appearance at this show a few days earlier. But with her being a star of one of my very favorite shows, it is a thrill that I will never forget.
Celebrities I met at the CART show will continue…
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