Death of Nicholas Colasanto
Near the end of production for the third season, the writers of Cheers had to deal with the death of one of the main actors. During the third season, Nicholas Colasanto's heart condition (which had been diagnosed in the mid-1970s) had worsened. He had lost weight and was having trouble breathing during filming. Shortly before third season filming wrapped, Colasanto was hospitalized due to water on his lungs. Though he recovered, he was not cleared to return to work. While visiting the set in January 1985 to watch the filming of several episodes, co-star Shelley Long commented, "I think we were all in denial. We were all glad he was there, but he lost a lot of weight." Co-star Rhea Perlman added, "e wanted to be there so badly. He didn't want to be sick. He couldn't breathe well, it was hard; he was laboring all the time." Colasanto died of heart attack in his home on February 12, 1985. While the cast was saddened, they knew he had been very ill.
The Cheers writing staff assembled in June 1985 to discuss how to deal with the absence of Coach. They quickly discarded the idea that he might have moved away, as they felt he would never abandon his friends. In addition, as most viewers were aware of Colasanto's death, they decided to handle the situation more openly. The season four opener, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice", dealt with Coach's death as well as introducing Woody Harrelson, Colasanto's replacement.
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