Shelley Long - Cheers
How she left: Shelley Long’s departure from Cheers at the height of its critical and ratings success is one of the most storied (for being boneheaded) exits in TV history. Her character, Diane, accepts an advance payment to run off and write a novel but second-guesses the decision to stay behind and marry Sam instead. He doesn’t allow her, and she vows to return six months later. “Have a nice life,” he mutters, unconvinced, as the door shuts behind her. (She did return for the finale.)
What happened next: Unless you consider Troop Beverly Hills A-list comedy, Long’s film career didn’t take off as she probably would have imagined. Worse (for her), Kirstie Alley as her replacement on Cheers reinvigorated the show creatively and helped it maintain its top-of-the-ratings success. Long returned for the series finale, but since has only mustered scattered, though high-profile, guest stints on shows like Frasier and Modern Family.
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