by THE ANGELS — Kirstie Alley, who won an Emmy for her role on “Cheers” and starred in films including “Look Who’s Talking,” died Monday. She was 71 years old.
Alley died of recently discovered cancer, her children True and Lillie Parker said in a post on Twitter. Alley’s manager, Donovan Daughtry, confirmed the death in an email to The Associated Press.
“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more incredible mother and grandmother,” her children’s statement said.
She starred opposite Ted Danson as Rebecca Howe on “Cheers,” NBC’s beloved Boston bar sitcom, from 1987 to 1993. She joined the show at the height of its popularity after the departure of original star Shelley. Long.
Alley would win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 1991.
“I just thank God I didn’t have to wait as long as Ted did,” Alley said in her acceptance, gently mocking her “Cheers” co-star Ted Danson, who ultimately won an Emmy for his role as Sam Malone in his eighth nomination on last year.
She won a second Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Made for Television in 1993 for playing the title role in the CBS made-for-TV movie “David’s Mother.”
She had her own network sitcom, “Veronica’s Closet,” from 1997 to 2000.
In the 1989 comedy “Look Who’s Talking,” which gave her a huge boost to her career, she played the mother of a baby whose inner thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. She would also appear in a 1990 sequel, “Look Who’s Talking Too”, and another in 1993, “Look Who’s Talking Now”.
John Travolta, her co-star in the trilogy, paid tribute to her in an Instagram post.
“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” Travolta said, along with a photo of Alley. “I love you, Kirstie. I know we’ll see each other again.”
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 of her weight gain and loss.
He dealt with the same subject in the 2010 A&E reality series “Kirstie Alley’s Big Life,” which chronicles 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 misinformation about her that had become a tabloid staple.
“Anything bad you can say about me, they say,” Alley told the AP at the time. “I never broke down, blacked out, blacked out. she got fat.”
In recent years, he has appeared on several other reality shows, including a runner-up on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2011. Earlier this year, he appeared on the competition series “The Masked Singer” in a baby mammoth costume. .
He appeared in Ryan Murphy’s dark comedy series “Scream Queens” on Fox in 2015 and 2016.
One of her co-stars on the show, Jamie Lee Curtis, said on Instagram Monday that Alley was “a great comedic foil” on the show and “a beautiful mama bear in her real life.”
Alley’s “Cheers” co-star Kelsey Grammar said in a statement that she “always believed that grief over a public figure is a private matter, but I will say that I loved her.”
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Alley attended Kansas State University before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles.
His first television appearances were as a game show contestant, on “The Match Game” in 1979 and “Password” in 1980.
He made his film debut in 1982’s “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.”
Alley was married to her high school sweetheart from 1970 to 1977, and to actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 to 1997.
She told the AP in 2010 that if she remarried, “I would leave the boy in 24 hours because I’m sure he would tell me not to do something.”
