Coach Ernie Pantusso - Death

Death

Following Colasanto's death by heart attack on February 12, 1985, the show's creators decided not to recast Coach's role, so Coach is written out of the show as deceased without explanation of a cause and has been referenced frequently since his death in the fourth season premiere episode, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice" (1985), which also introduces his replacement, co-bartender Woody Boyd, portrayed by Woody Harrelson. In the premiere of the fourth season, Diane, who has been working in a nunnery, expresses grief since she heard about Coach's death from afar.

I don't think anything will happen this season. There's a great deal of talking to be done, and nothing is definite. But we're a realistic show, and we will deal with what happened to the coach in a realistic manner. —James Burrows, February 14, 1985

In "Fools and Their Money" (1985), Sam ends up costing Woody a lot of money. To resolve their differences over the matter, Sam and Woody sing "Home on the Range" together for a half-hour straight, which Coach sang for the same reasons while he was still alive. The rest of the bar hears them singing and, aware that it was Coach's method, join in. Sam also mentions to Woody that he was protecting him, as Coach used to do for Sam.

In the ending of the 1993 series finale, "One for the Road", Sam straightens a photograph of Geronimo, which posthumously pays tribute to Colasanto and Coach. It was used by the late Colasanto as part of his dressing room at the studio set of Cheers and was left hanging at the bar wall of the Cheers production set since his death.