"Wanted To Kick His Ass": Honors Star Ted Danson Recalls Cast Challenging Then-Newcomer Woody Harrelson
Cheers star Ted Danson remembers the response of the ensemble toward Woody Harrelson joining the venerable NBC sitcom. Having debuted in 1982, this highly regarded program ran for 11 seasons and 275 episodes. Based on Boston, the show mostly focused on the life of the staff members and regular customers of the Cheers pub. Names like Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Pearlman, George Wendt, and Shelley Long comprised the ensemble cast that drove the show.
Now, in a podcast on the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Danson, who plays Cheers owner Sam Malone, reflects on the show. Particularly remembering the cast's reaction to the then 24-year-old Woody Harrelson's involvement in the Sitcom, the 76-year-old says, "just wanted to kick his ass in anything we could find." The experienced actor also mentioned that they challenged Harrelson in chess and basketball, but he always prevailed. Please find his whole quote below:
Harrelson Went On To Take Center Stage in Cheers
Harrelson was been seen as an uncredited extra in the 1978 comedy Harper Valley PTA, so he was a rather unknown face before taking the stage in Cheers. But his involvement in Cheers shot him to a real celebrity who has turned out to be among the best of his generation. Though he went on to shine as Woody Boyd on Cheers, his introduction was first greeted with a lot of resistance from both viewers and the actors for a number of reasons.
Harrelson boarded the Sitcom in less than ideal conditions. Harrelson was hired to replace Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), who regrettably died in 1985 following a heart attack. Although it was always going to be difficult to replace Colasanto, Harrelson fit his boots with a youthful verve and charisma that eventually boosted the show's success in its latter years.
The Cheers Cast: An Active Collective of Actors
Thirty-seven comes when you realize you are no longer 25 or 24. So it was more like we wanted to kick his ass in whatever we could find, not like hazing him. We started with basketball, and he kicked our asses there since, as you later discovered in life, he's a pretty great basketball player. Then I saw Johnny Ratzenberger, playing Cliff, out on the grass beside the stage doing, you know, the leg wrestling where you're both on your back, and you try to flip the other man with only your leg. John had some thighs on him and was really powerful. Woody knocked his ass. I still have a terrible elbow since I would not give up arm wrestling. He was kicking my butt, so I did at last give up. We then turned to play chess. F--- this, we're going to beat him emotionally; sorry, to heck with this physical stuff. Died at chess. This is therefore all in the first week, actually. From then on, it was like if you had some terrible wicked prank to execute, you wouldn't waste it on anyone else except Woody. And he is, still today, Woody Harrelson.
Harrelson had to convince the viewers on screen, but he also had to do the same behind the cameras. Woody is younger than the other Cheers Cast members, and they also missed Colasanto greatly, hence they did not immediately like him, much as Danson remembers in the preceding chat. With five Emmy nominations for his performance and one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Harrelson had evolved into a mainstay of Cheers by the conclusion.
Cheers: a Beloved Sitcom
Though many consider Cheers to be among the best sitcoms of all time, viewing it now after 41 years reveals some startling insights. Set mostly in Boston at the Cheers bar, Cheers is one of the most well-known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s and boasts a cast including Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Danson's Sam Malone is the owner of the bar; episodes show the life of Cheers' employees and customers during business hours.
The 11-season run of the series produced hit spin-off series like Frasier. Hulu and Paramount+ let you stream Cheers.
