Kirstie Alley, the actress whose breakout role as Rebecca Howe in the sitcom “Cheers” catapulted her career and earned her an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe, died on Monday of cancer at the age of 71.
Ms. Alley quickly became a fan favorite for millions of viewers while playing Rebecca in “Cheers,” the timeless NBC show that ran for 11 seasons in the 1980s and ’90s and is still being run in syndication today.
Critics noted how Ms. Alley had brought a refreshing new dynamic to the character, with scripts giving her a more fun arc that helped create a “denser joke machine,” as one writer noted. In an interview with “Entertainment Tonight” in 2019, Ms. Alley looked back on her “Cheers” years as a somewhat chaotic time, with all kinds of misbehavior being the norm on a set that included co-stars like Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. “We never paid attention, we were always in trouble,” she said. “We never showed up on time.”
In addition to her 1991 Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for “Cheers,” Ms. Alley also won the 1994 Emmy for lead actress in a mini-series for the title role in “David’s Mother,” a drama about a mother who raises her autistic son alone.
Ms. Alley, who acted regularly for about four decades, also starred in the NBC sitcom “Veronica’s Closet,” which ran from 1997 to 2000. Her character was the successful head of a lingerie company. Marta Kauffman, a creator and an executive producer of “Veronica’s Closet,” said of Ms. Alley in 1997: “She is crazy most of the time, and I mean that in the best sense of the word.”
Kirstie Alley was also in the tabloid magazines on a regular basis even after her sitcom successes, where her frequent and extreme weight gain and loss was a popular subject that resonated with her fans. Indeed, she became a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight loss brand which built a publicity campaign around her, “Kirstie Alley and Real Success Stories, Showcasing Importance of Personal, Dedicated Consultants and Simplicity of its Program for Weight Loss Success” and at one point she lost 50 pounds.
For many people this is the most recent and relatable and familiar memory of the actress and television personality who in the commercial addresses the audience with, “You’re chubby too. Let’s lose weight together.”
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