Kirstie Alley Refused To Appear On ‘Frasier’ Due To Her Scientologist Beliefs Against Psychiatry

The late Kirstie Alley joined the church of Scientology many years after starring as Rebecca Howe on Cheers. In light of the tenets of her religion, which oppose psychology and psychiatry, she would refuse to appear in the spin-off series Frasier. The head of Scientology, David Miscavige, once said, “A woman is safer in a park at midnight than on a psychiatrist’s couch.”

To make it worse, Dr. Frasier Crane stole one of their slogans, which reads, “I’m listening,” which he used as his catchphrase, and thought the hypothetical “woman” quoted by Miscavige was better off with a glass of sherry in hand and a radio star on her arm.

Howe was the exception

When Alley learned about the making of Frasier, she reached out to the co-creator David Lee, who also wrote and produced Cheers, to inform him of her decision to steer clear of the new series. “My response was, ‘I don’t recall asking,'” Lee recounted in an interview.

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Howe was the only major character from the classic not to appear in the spin-off; however, she got a mention in the episode titled “The Show Where Sam Shows Up,” with an explanation that plumber Don Santry left her after she quit work to focus on family. Sam Malone reveals that Howe is “back at the bar and not to work.”

No hard feelings

The reboot’s co-creator, Kelsey Grammer, confirmed after Kirstie Alley’s death that he had nothing but awe for her despite her creating a gap to be filled in the plot. “She was a magnificent person and gave a wonderful performance in Cheers. She was remarkable,” he told USA Today.

Kelsey also expressed his intention to honor her, but there has been no one to take her place so far. “I did say to the writers of this incarnation of Frasier, ‘If we find a character that can do what Kirstie Alley did in Cheers, we will be a very lucky group of people,'” he added.