Ted Danson has been working his way around television on and off for at least 30 years now, meaning he’s accumulated a mass of interesting stories to tell on the late night circuit (unless that story involves black face). It always seems to come back to Cheers though and why not, it was a cultural force back then.
The Cheers finale represents one of those final landmark television events that we rarely see these days. Where finales for Breaking Bad and Lost garnered 10 and 13 million viewers respectively, Cheers is still the second most watched finale of all time with 84 million viewers (right behind MASH and ahead of Seinfeld and Friends).
Danson looked back on the finale with David Letterman, talking about the special live episode of The Tonight Show that followed and the drunken fiasco that ensued:
“They brought us to the bar to do press, and after being apart for like six months, the show had been over, and we were all getting to see each other after six months. And they brought us to the bard about five or six hours early, so we were hammered! Hammered beyond belief. I think Kelsey was the straightest of us all.”
I can just imagine the look on Jay Leno’s face at this point. He’d had some hosting under his belt and one year as the main guy on The Tonight Show, but I doubt he was ready to babysit a pack of drunks on live television with 80 million still watching. It certainly makes everyone in this picture have a little more depth, including Danson’s Robert Evans look:
Also in the interview is a funny bit where Danson jokingly looks back at the career of Woody Harrelson and refuses to watch his movies. Instead he runs them through a black and white television in order to keep Woody in check. He must be thrilled and horrified that Harrelson returned to television with True Detective. I could totally see an entire episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm based on Danson’s own jealousy over his former Cheers cast members. Make it happen, Larry David.
(Via The Late Show)