I'd spent ten years in London, writing and performing my own comedy shows. They gave me the Cheers [scenes], and I thought it was the springboard for chatting about the show, because in England, that's what you do. So I walk in, and I'm looking around, and Jimmy Burrows said, "What are you looking at? You're not here to have a conversation; you're here to audition."
Shelley LongThe Cheers writers were the finest in television. But I felt like I was repeating myself; it bothered me a little bit. And I was getting movie offers, which made people think, "Oh, she's so snooty. She thinks she's going to do movies."
Shelley LongI can't say I based [Carla] on anybody I knew. She was so foulmouthed and mean, just said what was on her mind. So I guess Carla is somebody I always wished I could be at the right moment, the one who always has the perfect comeback.
Shelley LongI really felt sometimes like I was physically pulling the plot, and it was heavy. I'm sure it didn't look great that I was going into my dressing room at lunch.
Shelley LongHe[Ted Danson] was clearly not a football player, and not only physically. He didn't bring that attitude, that mentality. At the time, there was a [Red Sox] relief pitcher named Bill Lee, the "Spaceman." He was kind of nuts, as we found out a lot of relievers are.
Shelley Long