Yeah. Cancer. Sadly. Good actress.
She was great on Cheers. I think it’s a real rare phenomenon that Cheers basically had two major casting replacements and didn’t miss a beat. When Nicholas Colasanto passed, Woody filled the void and was really endearingly similar to Coach. And when Shelley Long left, Kirstie Alley stepped in with a completely different character and gimmick and was hilarious. While the first change was handled pretty seamlessly, Long leaving probably seemed like a bridge too far as the Sam-Diane element was so integral to the early seasons. The fact that Alley did as awesome as she did was a testament to her and to the writers/showrunners.
