“I don't know too many people who would walk away from a mega hit like Cheers voluntarily,” Phil Donahue told Shelley Long in 1987. Long heard that one a lot. In 1995, another interviewer ...

Ted Danson says his penchant for being wrong was on full display ahead of Cheers casting Shelley Long — who he initially thought would not be a good choice for the role of Diane Chambers.

Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, Ted Danson as Sam Malone on “Cheers.” NBCUniversal via Getty Images Shelley was Danson’s love interest on the sitcom before leaving after Season 5 in 1987.