Cheers, Star Trek’s actress Kirstie Alley dies

AP :
Kirstie Alley, a two-time Emmy
winner whose roles on the TV mega hit ‘Cheers’ and in the ‘Look Who’s Talking’ films made her one of the biggest stars in American comedy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died Monday. She was 71. Alley died
of cancer that was only recently
discovered, her children True and Lillie Parker said in a post on Twitter. Alley’s manager Donovan Daughtry confirmed the death in an email
to The Associated Press (AP).
“As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother,” her children’s statement said.
She starred opposite Ted Danson as Rebecca Howe on ‘Cheers,’ the beloved NBC sitcom about a Boston bar, from 1987 to 1993. She joined
the show at the height of its popularity after the departure of original star Shelley Long.
Alley would win an Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy series for the role in 1991. She would take a second Emmy for best lead actress in a miniseries or television movie in 1993 for playing the title role in the CBS TV movie ‘David’s Mother.’ She had
her own sitcom on the network, ‘Veronica’s Closet,’ from 1997 to 2000. In the 1989 comedy ‘Look Who’s Talking,’ which gave her a major career boost, she played the mother
of a baby who’s inner thoughts were voiced by Bruce Willis. She would also appear in a 1990 sequel ‘Look Who’s Talking Too,’ and another in 1993, ‘Look Who’s Talking Now.’
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Alley attended Kansas State University before dropping out and moving to Los Angeles. Like Travolta, she would become a longtime member of the Church of Scientology. Her first
television appearances were as a game show contestant, on ‘The Match Game’ in 1979 and ‘Password’ in 1980. She made her film debut in 1982?s ‘Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.’
Other film roles included 1987’s ‘Summer School,’ 1995’s ‘Village of the Damned’ and 1999’s ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous.’ Alley was married to her high school sweetheart from 1970
to 1977, and to actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 until 1997.