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How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
For the past few months, the Hollywood Reporter has been doing an irregular piece reuniting the cast and crew of famous TV shows to explore what happened behind the scenes that no one ever knew. (So far, they've done Seinfeld, Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, The Bob Newhart Show, MASH and more, and all of them have been incredible for fans of those shows.)
This week, they've chosen to mark the 25th anniversary of the infamous "Cheers" finale, and this article, filled with inside stories from the writers, doesn't disappoint. Among my favourite revelations: how a now notorious person almost ended up as a regular on the show.
"In the early stages, Bill Cosby had a deal at NBC and was unattached to a project. So, he was offered to us as the bartender. But we had two rules. No known names and no characters' name as the title of the show."
Considering what's happened since, that's one lucky break.
One other observation is, to me, equally interesting, especially for this board.
"...we were writing radio. It was all about the dialogue, spoken and unspoken. It was the characters, the relationships. They were so interesting, consistent, and mutable, that we rarely had to leave the bar. One set, 11 years."
Not bad, considering the show was in last place during its first year and was near cancellation. Today, it's considered one of the greatest ever.
You can check out the entire piece here. Trust me, If you were a "Cheers" fan, this is simply a great read.
- cGrant
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
Well, Cheers certainly would be truly different if Cosby was made a regular on it. He'd play the bartender instead of The Coach or Woody, roofie all the ladies' drinks and have a conga line out of the pool table room (fitted with a mattress) of woozy mostly delirious women carried out, possibly pregnant.
- betaylored
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
Wish I had The Hollywood Reporter when I was doing show prep. (Not that Canadian Music Express wasn't helpful)
With all the old television series coming back, from Roseanne to Magnum P.I. I wonder if Bill Cosby, and the rest of the cast could have been convinced to do an updated version of the Cosby Show. If, of course, Cosby was still the Cosby we thought he was.
I can't decide if I'd want them to resurrect W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati. The music rights would be the biggest stumbling block. But good God, think of the fun of recasting it. Make it HBO level production and at least PG-13. Dennis Leary as Fever, John Krasinski would be a great Andy, Pamela Anderson as Jennifer, Philip Seymour Hoffman would have made a great Les, and the guy that plays Louis Litt on Suits was born to play Herb..., okay so I'm just a tad all over the place, but wouldn't it be amazing AF! Bailey...who would make a great Bailey...
Great article on Cheers and Cosby RA. I follow THR on Twitter and their articles are always well done. One of my favorite features they do is to reprint the original review of a now iconic movie. The review of "Casablanca" was a work. of. art. And the review of "Caddyshack" was so good I saved it. 
Last edited by betaylored (May 22, 2018 11:35 pm)
- RadioActive
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
Actually, my all time favourite movie review came from Variety. It was for the movie Jaws 3D, released in 1983. The critique consisted of just two words.
"Lacks depth."
I thought that just about said it all!
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
RadioActive wrote:
Actually, my all time favourite movie review came from Variety. It was for the movie Jaws 3D, released in 1983. The critique consisted of just two words.
"Lacks depth."
I thought that just about said it all!
That is the best review ever RA, very "pun in one" and having seen the movie, I agree. 😀
Last edited by betaylored (May 23, 2018 6:01 am)
- Dale Patterson
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
I loved M*A*S*H, but I thought Kellye Nakahara (Nurse Kellye) should have had a bigger role. I'm nitpicking, it was a great show. My favourite occasional character was Col. Flagg (Edward Winter).
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
Actually, my all time favourite movie review came from Variety. It was for the movie Jaws 3D, released in 1983. The critique consisted of just two words.
"Lacks depth."
I thought that just about said it all!
My favourite review is Leonard Malltin's for the movie "Isn't It Romantic" (1948).
His one-word review?
"No".
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
- betaylored
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
Actually, my all time favourite movie review came from Variety. It was for the movie Jaws 3D, released in 1983. The critique consisted of just two words.
"Lacks depth."
I thought that just about said it all!My favourite review is Leonard Malltin's for the movie "Isn't It Romantic" (1948).
His one-word review?
"No".
OK, so there are two perfect micro movie reviews I love.
One review I remember reading in a Frank Muir* book of collected works went " I have always said that I would love (performer) until the cows came home. Well last night ladies and gentlemen, the cows came home."
Not quite Pauline Kael, or pithy, but humourous nonetheless.
*If you ever get a hold of a copy of the Frank Muir book, it's a delight. My uncle who worked as a writer for the CBC in the 60's and 70's gave me a copy when I was a teenager, it's a perfect book for the cottage or to take on a trip.
- RadioActive
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Re: How Bill Cosby Almost Wound Up As A Regular On "Cheers"
The items listed below aren't reviews, per se. Instead, they're actual memos issued by network program executives to various producers over the years. It's from a book entitled "A Martian Wouldn't Say That," and the excerpt appeared in the U.S. TV Guide on July 30, 1994.
And you have to know as you read the page that every single one of them is 100% real. As they say, you couldn't make this stuff up.
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