"One for the Road"...
That was the title of episode #269, the final episode of "Cheers", "where everybody knows your name". Cheers debuted on the night of September 1, 1982 to far less than stellar numbers. The Boston based sitcom rose from a low of #72 in the ratings to #1 by the end of the 11th season. On May 20th, 1993, nearly 150 million or 40% of the population tuned in to watch the series finale...
We may not have known all the real names of the cast that made our Thursday nights, "must-see TV" for real but we sure knew all the characters starting with Sam the bartender, Coach who would be replaced by Woody, Diane (the love of Sam's life) who would be replaced by Rebecca, Carla, Cliffie, NORM, Dr. Frasier Crane and of course, Lilith.
| Cheers was good TV until the end. If you remember, in the last episode Sam tries to woo Diane after a separation of several years. Diane tells Sam she's married with kids, Sam lies back setting up a dinner at Cheers with Rebecca playing Sam's wife and a stand-in as the husband of Diane. During dinner, Rebecca's boy friend proposes with Rebecca accepting, blowing Sam's cover and the would-be husband of Diane's sees his boyfriend in the bar, blowing Diane's cover. Then comes the tease. As Sam and Diane get ready to fly into the California sunset, they both get cold feet and call the whole thing off. Diane flies to California alone and we're left with Sam in a darkened Cheers. The regulars leave the bar and as Sam starts to close up, a man in the shadows comes to the front door. Sam says "sorry, we're closed". Sam straightens a picture on the wall, heads into the back room. Fade to black. Series over... A special "Tonight Show" followed which got fairly rowdy as the cast and crew celebrated with something heavier than Dr. Pepper, followed by Later with Bob Costas as the party continued with an interview with Cheers creators Glen & Les Charles and James Burrows. Most members of the cast were household names when the show finished, most notably Kelsey Grammer who starred in his own series, "Frasier" for 11 seasons. We all know how well Bebe Neuwirth has done as well as Woody Harrelson, Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley. Shelley Long has had her moments and less seen but still recognized are Rhea Perlman, George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. The last line of the Cheers theme song is "where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came". With apologies to Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy who wrote the song, we'll change that to "everybody knows your names and we're always glad you came"... May 19 Memories... 1536] Off with her head...Anne Boleyn, second wife of England's King Henry VIII is beheaded after being convicted of adultery (how come this wasn't mentioned in "I'm Henry the VIIIth" ?)... 1847] The 1st English-style railroad coach rolls out on the Fall River Line in Massachusetts... 1921] Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act, which establishes national quotas for immigrants (HELLO !!!)... 1935] The NFL adopts an annual college draft to begin in 1936 (bringing a smile to Mel Kiper's face)... 1958] Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" is released as the 1st 8-track master recording pressed to a plastic 45-RPM disc... 1960] The Drifters record "Save The Last Dance For Me"... 1960] Alan Freed is arrested along with 7 others on suspicion of commercial bribery. Freed had refused to sign an affidavit in 1959 denying he had accepted payola. Although payola was not yet a crime, Freed is charged with 26 counts of commercial bribery but got off with a fine (at this point his career was ruined)... 1962] Marilyn Monroe performs a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" for President John F. Kennedy (who had Jackie by his side at the time) during a fund raiser at Madison Square Garden... 1965] The Beatles are #1 with their 1st single to feature Paul McCartney on lead guitar. The song is "Ticket To Ride"... 1969] 6-year old Jodie Foster makes her show business debut on "Mayberry R.F.D."... 1973] Secretariat, winner of the Kentucky Derby, wind the Preakness by 2 1/2 lengths (of course "Big Red" will gallop away with the Belmont Stakes to win the triple crown in June)... 1973] Paul Simon releases "Kodachrome"... 1979] Eric Clapton & Patti Boyd (former wife of George Harrison) rock down the aisle. Paul McCartney, George, Ringo Starr and Mick Jagger sing at the reception... 1984] Edmonton ends the Islanders' 4-year Stanley Cup reign by beating the Isles in Game 5... 1992] VP Dan Quayle criticizes "Murphy Brown" because the title character had a baby out of wedlock... 1992] Mary Jo Buttafuoco is shot (in the head) and seriously wounded by her husband Joey's teenager lover, Amy Fisher... 1993] With the Mets at 13-25 Dallas Green replaces Jeff Torborg as manager (if you're thinking this made the team better, you would be thinking wrong)... 1994] Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dies at 64... 1994] We say goodbye to "L.A. Law" which ends with their final episode after an 8-year run... 1998] Beanballs and fights break out at the Yankee-Baltimore game with the main culprits being Armando Benitez who hits Tino Martinez after a Bernie Williams home run, Graeme Lloyd who races in from the bullpen to punch O's closer Alan Mills, who bloodies Darryl Strawberry's face, etc. etc. (just another day at the office)... 1999] "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" premieres, setting a new record for opening day sales at 28.5 million... 2005] 6 years later to the day: "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" almost doubles Episode I's take with 50 million on opening day... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]... Happy Birthday To... 1934] Jim Lehrer ("The Lehrer Report")... 1935] David Hartman... 1939] Nancy Kwan... 1941] Nora Ephron... 1945] The Who's Pete Townshend... 1948] Grace Jones... [Today is the 139th day of 2006 with 226 days remaining in the year and 10 days until Memorial Day]... Saturday, May 20, 2006 (Armed Forces Day)... Let's remember our troops today, Armed Forces Day. They deserve everyone's support. For those who don't have a member of the family serving, call someone who does just to let them know you're thinking of them and their loved ones... May 20 Memories... 1830] The fountain pen is patented by H.D. Hyde (who runs out of ink when someone asks for his autograph)... 1874] Levi Strauss begins marketing blue jeans with copper rivets... 1899] Jacob German of New York City becomes the 1st driver to be arrested for speeding, going faster than the 12 MPH speed limit (are you kidding me ?)... 1916] Norman Rockwell's artwork appears on the 1st cover of "The Saturday Evening Post"... 1927] Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris aboard the "Spirit of St. Louis"... 1932] Amelia Earhart takes off to fly solo across the Atlantic becoming the 1st woman to achieve the feat... 1939] Pam Am begins regular passenger service when a "Yankee Clipper" takes off from the harbor in Port Washington... 1961] Federal marshals are sent into Montgomery, Alabama when a white mob attacks a busload of "Freedom Riders"... 1967] Jimi Hendrix signs his 1st contract with Reprise Records... 1970] Some 100,000 demonstrate in New York's Wall Street district in support of the war in Vietnam and Cambodia... 1971] Marvin Gaye releases his "What's Going On" LP... 1976] Carl Yastrzemski hits 2 homers (giving him 5 in 2 games, tying a ML record) in an 8-2 Red Sox win over the Yankees as a melee breaks out resulting in Bill Lee injuring his pitching arm. The fight starts when Piniella barrels into catcher Carlton Fisk. Lee never fully recovers from the injury... 1977] "Beatlemania" opens at the Winter Garden Theater... 1989] Comedian Gilda Radner dies of cancer at 42... 1989] Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence wins the Preakness (but will fail to win the triple crown at Belmont)... 1993] Cheers closes its doors for the last time (earlier feature story)... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline]... Happy Birthday To... 1944] Joe Cocker... 1946] Cher... 1949] SCTV's Dave Thomas... 1963] David Wells... [Today is the 140th day of 2006 with 225 days remaining in the year and 9 days until Memorial Day]... Sunday, May 21, 2006... May 21 Memories... 1819] Bicycles are 1st seen in New York City. They were originally known as "swift walkers" (by those with IQ's below 50)... 1832] The 1st Democratic National Convention gets under way in Baltimore (Ted Kennedy gives the opening address)... 1881] Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross... 1891] Peter Jackson and Jim Corbett fight to a 61-round draw (both fighters complain of fatigue after the 60th round)... 1924] Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, 2 students at the University of Chicago, kill a 14-year old boy in a "thrill killing"... 1927] Charles A. Lindbergh lands his "Spirit of St. Louis" near Paris completing the 1st solo flight across the Atlantic... 1934] Oskaloosa, Iowa becomes the 1st U.S. city to fingerprint all of its citizens (all 35 of them)... 1945] 46-year old Humphrey Bogart marries Lauren Bacall, less than half his age (they co-starred in "To Have and Have Not")... 1955] Chess Records new artist Chuck Berry records his 1st single "Ida Red" (during the session Leonard Chess renames it "Maybelline"... 1956] The U.S. explodes the 1st airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Packfic... 1968] The nuclear powered U.S. submarine Scorpion with 99 men aboard is heard from for the last time (the remains of the sub are later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores)... 1969] John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin a 10-day "bed-in" in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel... 1971] Paul McCartney releases his "Ram" LP... 1977] Seattle Slew wins the Preakness and will become the 1st of 2 consecutive triple crown winners when he wins the Belmont (Affirmed will follow in 1978 but we haven't seen a triple crown winner since)... 1979] Montreal wins their 4th straight Stanley Cup when their defeat the Rangers in 5 games... 1979] Former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White is convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk (White uses the "Twinkie defense" claiming that junk food fueled his rampage) (it's a good thing I don't eat Twinkies anymore)... 1981] The Islanders win their 2nd straight Stanley Cup, thanks to Butch Goring's 2 goals that help beat Minnesota... 1981] In what's billed as the greatest college pitching duel ever, in the 1st round of the NCAA playoffs, Yale's Ron Darling and St. John's Frank Viola match zeroes through 11 innings. Darling allows no hits while striking out 16 but Yale loses the game 1-0 on a scratch single, 2 steals and an error in the 12th... 1988] The Red Sox retire Bobby Doerr's #1 uniform at Fenway Park... 1990] Bob Newhart closes out his "Newhart" series by waking up with Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) and realizing that his new series about his life as an inkeeper was a dream. It's the final 1st run episode of "Newhart" after 8 years... 1999] After 19 years of futility, Susan Lucci, star of "All My Children" finally wins a Daytime Emmy Award for "Best Actress"... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]... Happy Birthday To... 1941] Ronnie Isley... 1948] Leo Sayer... 1951] Al Franken (d'ya get your card from President Bush ?)... 1952] Mr. T (a.k.a. Lawrence Tero Tureaud)... 1957] Judge Reinhold... 1967] Lisa (Cuddy on "House") Edelstein... [Today is the 141st day of 2006 with 224 days remaining in the year and 8 days until Memorial Day] ... |
