The graceful Shelley Long delivers a humble speech while accepting her Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in 1983 at the 35th Emmys. www.emmys.com/ / televisionacad / televisionacad
@@Jeweliedear it’s also true she was busting balls on the set of cheers maybe that’s why she’s so gracious now on stage just take a look at Ted dansons face
I am rewatching Cheers and am currently near the end of Season 3. Shelley absolutely owns the show in so many ways. She thoroughly deserved this Emmy and more. I only get sad when I reach the last seasons with her in as I miss Diane so much after 5.
I have every season on dvd and am binging on it. And the show was never really as funny after she left. It had it's moments with Kirsty, but never captured the raw energy as when Shelly was there.
I love my CHEERS family from start to finish. All 11 seasons but I do prefer DIANE to REBECCA. I prefer COACH to WOODY. DIANE & LILITH are my favorite regulars. Don't forget Shelley plays Diane in the series finale at the end of season 11. Diane found success as a writer the 6 years she was away. She did "have a good life".
I absolutely love Shelley Long. She's beautiful, funny, talented, and so gracious. I was so sad to see she had struggled mentally following her divorce, but it appears she's doing well now and I'm so happy because she's wonderful.
Shelly crafted the most entertaining sitcom character ever! I rewatch the first 122 episodes over and over and continually find amusing little things from her that I had missed before. What an amazing actress.
After reading the comments.. I don't really think that was coldness coming from Ted. I honestly think he was in awe of her and taking in her beautiful speech.
I agree. BTW, we both have great taste in TV shows. I love X Files too. Met GA in 2013 and have a pic with her. The only other characters that hold a flame to Sam and Diane is Mulder and Scully.
agreed especially her early years were just some of tv's all time finest moments. Very few tv shows can recapture the sort of magic the 1st 2-3 years had and the big part of it was Long herself and the chemistry between her and Danson. You are right, in the early years-it was very much HER show. Later years were bland.
I LOVE MY CHEERS FAMILY FROM START TO FINISH. ALL 11 SEASONS. BUT I DO LIKE DIANE MORE THAN REBECCA. I LIKE COACH MORE THAN WOODY. DIANE AND LILITH ARE MY FAVORITE CHEERS REGULARS. I THINK AFTER THE FIRST FIVE SEASONS OF THE SERIES THE "SAM & DIANE" ROMANCE WAS WEARING A LITTLE THIN. SHELLEY WANTED TO PURSUE A FILM CAREER IN REAL LIFE. DIANE PROMISED TO COME BACK TO SAM IN SIX MONTHS BUT THE SERIES RAN FOR SIX MORE SEASONS. YOU'LL BE BACK IN SIX YEARS DIANE. YOU FIND SUCCESS AS A WRITER WHILE YOU ARE AWAY. SHELLEY CAME BACK AS DIANE FOR THE SERIES FINALE. TED, RHEA, JOHN, & GEORGE WERE THE ONLY MEMBERS OF MY CHEERS FAMILY THAT WERE REGULARS ON ALL 11 SEASONS.
QUEEN ! she's by far my favorite actress she has really made me laugh and cry .I enjoy watching Cheers because of her acting and the person that she is.
Wow...Clips starts with a Absolutely Gorgeous Lady walking to Podium. Then as she started her speech I got lost in her words conveying her thoughts. Now that is a true blend of mind and beauty, wouldn't you say?
gym shoe As only James Gandolfini or Carroll O’Connor could’ve played Tony Soprano & Archie Bunker (respective), Shelley Long is THE ONLY actress that could’ve pulled off the role of Diane Chambers...end of story.
@@janelmarie321 If I recall, I think Julia Duffy who later was on Newhart was also up for the part of Diane. You can see how Julia could've done the snobby part but probably not the sensitive part. The risk with this character would've been to overplay the snobbiness and make her too unlikable. When you look at the part as written, with so much condescension on the part of Diane to the other characters, you see how important it was that the actress manage to get the warmth on screen to soften the character and make her more likable. That's what Shelley was able to do that was so important.
@@jedijones Julia Duffy is actually in the 5th or 6th episode of Cheers. She plays one of DIane's undersexed friends who wants a night of "wild animal passion" with Ted Danson. She's a good actress, so she would have pulled it off, but Shelley Long WAS Diane
Yup. Gotta say tho while ONLY Shelly could've nailed this (like Carroll O Conner as Archie, Larry Hagman as JR, John Ritter as Jack Tripper, Suzanne as Chrissy etc..) Julia Duffy MAY have worked...but not to the level of brilliant perfection of Ms. Long! Dunno if the *chemistry would've been as good between Julia and Ted! Acting and persona wise, yes Julia had the chops but unknown (at best) if the sexual tension would've been there w/ Ted.
Almost ten years ago I bought the first season. I was looking forward to see Rhea Perlman. She was amazing but the character that stole the show and surprised me the most was Shelley Long. In my opinion, one of the best characters ever created, and the most deserved award in this category. It supposed that she won for the pilot, but her favourite episode in the show was the one in which her cat dies, so maybe she submitted that one. Anyway, she deserved the award.
''She was amazing but the character that stole the show and surprised me the most was Shelley Long.'' exactly, for people who are just familiar with long's other work they will not appreciate her until they see her in cheers as Cheers [sadly] is one of the only decent scripts she ever got and one that she really shined in. Breaks my heart to see how her career went post cheers when she proved she was an amazing talent.
I wish she’d venture into social media. She has lots of fans out there who’d love to express that she was and still is so talented and very much appreciated. 💜
Had range: one of many best scenes was her and Sam arguing after she declares he was "Ralph", or the scene she discovers Sam is carefully holding onto all of her love notes and cards she gave him....just brilliant cast and writers.
I still wish Sam and Diane would’ve gotten married at the end of Cheers. Even though the writers were just trying to stay true to the characters...would’ve been a happier ending, considering how deeply sad it was when Shelley’s character left the show: “Have a good life...”
George Costanza gets my vote. While I loved the Diane Chambers character, I believe Shelley left the show at the right time. Once paired with Kelsey Grammer, Shelley was given little more to do than to play a caricature of what she had been the first few seasons.
Cheers is one of my favorite American TV series ever. Even today I rewatch it with pleasure. However, without Nicholas Colasanto (from season 4) and Shelley Long (from season 6) it is not the same thing.
I love my CHEERS family from start to finish. All 11 seasons but I do agree. I prefer DIANE to REBECCA. I prefer COACH to WOODY. DIANE & LILITH are my favorite regulars. Don't forget Shelley plays Diane in the series finale.
I thought the chemistry and interaction between Sam and Diane on the show was flawless. No disrespect to Kirstie Alley, who did a great job, but it just wasn't the same.
Shelly was outstanding in her role. I thought Kirstie did a great job coming in after Shelly's character. Both played different types of characters and both were fantastic. This duo beats just about any other duo in this situation! Loved Cheers!
I'm glad SHELLEY won an emmy for DIANE. SHELLEY is very good at talking in front of a crowd, however it seemed more like SHELLEY's character DIANE was giving the acceptance speech and not SHELLEY herself. SHELLEY (DIANE) and BEBE (LILITH) are my two favorite CHEERS regulars. CHEERS FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!
If you tell me this is a episode from CHEERS where Diane Chambers was the recipient of an Award, I'd believe it. Shelley Long and Diane Chambers are not 2 separate persons. Shelly Long IS Diane Chambers!
Well, being "difficult to work with" paid off artistically, because her performance as Diane Chambers is a five season lecture on and tour de force of sublime acting.
Agreed her performance was just unique especially in the early years and I'll agree with Danson that she alone carried the show in its early days, it was very rare to get such a powerful and memorable performance on a tv sitcom or indeed on any tv show back in the day. Most powerful roles were perserved for cinema. I still stand by my thought that long's performance as diane is possibly 1 of the strongest female performances ever created in the history of tv/film. She nailed it perfectly, she seemed to truly get the character and she just really played the hell out of that role and the range of emotion she howed was flawless and the depths to which she took the character. While I like 'friends' the performances of the females was nowhere near the greatness of long's.
@@shanefolan I love the episode where she gets obsessed over Sam plagiarizing a poem and starts dressing down and chain-smoking for days. She was able to stretch the character at times when the script called for it.
@@jedijones In her 1st 3 seasons is where she truly shines. Seasons 4 and 5 couldn't even replicate that imho and the writers messed her up a bit in season 5. Long herself said she often questioned and challenged the writers but went unheard so I'm thinking she herself wasn't happy with the direction the writers took her in her last year.
THX you soo much for posting!! Been wanting to see this for years! To this day I'm absolutely baffled by the endless 'rumors and gossip' about how difficult, snotty and 'like Diane' she was. This was a flawless, humble, classy picture perfect speech! Totally authentic and appreciative. Maybe she was just a true professional while most of the cast were overrated and were well known for being very unprofessional and rather juvinile! Sorry I'm ALL about the Shelly/Diane years and think the Rebecca, Frasier and Lilleth years were crap and (again..super overrated).
Shelly Long was the real star of Cheers. She elevated many bad ‘dull’ jokes coming from the other cast members to a level of comical euphoria without having to say a word, often just with her facial expressions. She’s just a comedy genius. Kirsty alley had very big shoes to fill and she did well, a superb job but not even close to Shelly’s level. Frasier’s character was a very good runner up to Diane and Sam’s, Coach, Rebecca, Cliff, Wood, Carla …. … and then Norm dead last, sorry Norm. This is just my choices 😎
She's well spoken, well prepared, and poised, and that's something increasingly rare. Actors so often stammer and dither and cannot complete a sentence at these things. However, several times she says she means things "sincerely" or "and I *mean* that," which is an interesting psychological tell. Danson's stone face suggests there was something to the rumors that she wasn't always a joy to work with for the cast and crew. (I thought it was a much better show with her; I was Team Diane. Just saying.)
Interesting take and again (as much as I seriously praised her speech up above) she and all these people are still ACTORS and one and good as her and others are very, very aware they're in front of a camera and know exactly what and how to say it to fool the public. Regardless, don't really care in this case and not gonna read into it. Fake or not, I was swayed and thought it was a truly heartfelt lovely speech!
he never said he felt bad about what happened-he said he wished he had given her more praise, despite the rumours I have never found any evidence where he admitted to a feud or slagged her, he said in an interview she could be like her character but that's not necessarily an insult-moreso that she was perfectionist.
There were many rumors that there was strife on-set between Diane and the rest of the actors. Brent R explains it below. But yeah, that is an ICE COLD stare from him. Maybe he's jealous that she got all the glory and won. But she deserved the win - she was fantastic in that role.
she didn't have a huge film career but just about everything she did was mesmerizing. loved her in The Money Pit, Night Shift, and Irreconcilable differences especially.
Love the show it’s like you know them they all made the show a hit especially the first cast I don’t drink but I could have sit in with them and laugh 😂
Hmm I dont think Ted looks 'stone cold faced etc.' or whatever at all. Interesting many of you see that. He has a strong, rugged look resting face by default so...that's just his face lol. He looks mesmerized, awe struck and intrigued by her. 'That's what I see in his 'expression'.
back in the good old days when actors/actresses were grateful and humble of the award for their talent and not grandstanding with political garble that nobody cares to or wants to hear......
wooh this seems massive-like the crowd and the response she got, i did not know the emmys were as big-were they bigger then or are they still as big today?
Shelley Long. The last classical comedian that made CHEERS great. She continued where Lucille Ball had left off with "The Lucy Show" 10 years earlier. They even looked alike. Which was a gamble to do as the comedy "Lucy" did was by 1979 completely outdated. But without Long, the show would probably fall flat and become just another "everyday life" sit com. In fact, her character never fit the show. That`s probably also why it worked. Opposite attraction. Because when you think of it, the main characters are pretty much normal and your everyday life people you meet all the time. "Diane" is weird and possibly also the influence for "Phoebe" in FRIENDS and "Elaine" in SEINFELD. She, in all her snobbyness and arrogance became the connection to the outside world. Us. All great sit coms and movies have that one person the viewers connects with. And she is weirdly enough that person. When she left, the show lost that tie with the audience and even though Kirstie Alley did one hell of a job replacing her, Woody Harrelson was the only one that had some of the same vibe in his character, and that`s also why "Woody" got more lines in the next seasons. He "replaced" the void from "Diane". Rebecca Howe became the "modern" woman and the writers turned the Sam Malone character into a sleazy dinosaur which I remember was not very popular at the time but it was obvious someone behind the scenes wanted the show to be updated with the times and CHEERS got to be the staple for sit coms to come. Just look at Modern Family. It`s based very much on the same vibe CHEERS has and Sofía Vergara is the "Diane Chambers" of the show, old school, slapstick and animated, she makes Modern Family come alive. So even though Shelley Long never really got known for much outside USA after she quit CHEERS. The writers also got a bit over creative with developing the characters after they already had been established and loved by the viewers. You could`nt have pulled that off today. Back then they did some changes for every season and because there was no internet or Netflix we had to wait for the next seasons and forgot details about the show while waiting, so we didn`t notice the changes if they weren`radical. Making Coach smart and Cliff normal was a few of those radical changes that didn`t fit well with the audience. They also did it to "Diane" by making her bat sh!t crazy one season for the next to change her again and again. One season she was into Sam. The next she was not. It had to be difficult for an actor like Shelley Long to having to change her performance so often AND still be funny. The "Diane" character is also suffering from it around season 3 as you can almost tell Shelley Long is uncomfortable being a completely different "Diane" and the changes was coming too fast, too often. It feels like the writers are tired of the old "Diane" which, if that was the case, is very strange as "Diane" was the main character that made the show a success in the first place. But it may have been they saw how the character was very old school and the comedy scene was changing fast in the mid 80s. My guess is Shelley Long got tired of the writers doing too many radical changes to her character, as they did with "Sam" as no one changes THAT much over just a couple of years. CHEERS could have died off in the middle because of losing "Diane" but when the writers went back to the old format, making "Rebecca Howe" more hysterical like "Diane" was, the show got back on their feet again. Because when "Rebecca" was the cold feminist who hated men like Sam, she wasn`t funny at all. She only made the other characters funny by being frustrated with them. So CHEERS was always evolving and experimenting like crazy, even though the red line goes through every season by keeping Norm, Woody and Carla the same. They even tried to make "Cliff Clavin" smarter in one or two seasons. That was probably the weirdest change they ever did, as "Cliff" was so well established as the idiot with no self awareness and just all of a sudden he is self aware and have great points. Watching again today, after almost 20 years, the comedy is pretty dated with the typical 80s humor that young people won`t understand. Comedy changed a lot from the 80s to the 90s. It became more satirical and ironic. Back then, dad joke wasn`t a thing yet and it was simpler jokes, often easy jokes that got a laugh. It was just simpler times. And that`s my rant about what I mean is the best and most influencial Sit Com in modern Tv history. Thanks.
1:32 That woman's eyeroll says what Ted is trying unsuccessfully to hide in his stark expression. If you were alive back then, you knew of the rumors of the cast's friction with Shelly. Between Cheers and all her other popcorn movies in the 80's that I absolutely LOVED, Shelly is my childhood and I love her dearly. Yet, you cannot deny the tension here with her win. Whoever that woman is sitting beside Ted Danson and the man on her other side whom she looks at, clearly aren't afraid of showing their distain in this moment.
Such grace ,dignity and class Not to mention a beautiful woman. Today: women dressed too trashy and scantily Foul mouthed and self absorbed. What happened????
now it's clear these clips should be slightly longer ideally with the introduction of each of the actresses - in addition to getting a clear view of the presenters - in this case, Tom Selleck and Sharon Gless ( who announced the winner)... #TomSelleck #SharonGless #ShelleyLong
This is how you accept an award. You actually talk about what the award was for and who helped you earn it. You don't bring up political issues that have nothing to do with why the event is being held and why you're up there on stage.
