Diane Chambers
Diane Chambers
Diane Chambers is a fictional character in the American television situation comedy show Cheers, portrayed by Shelley Long and created by Glen and Les Charles. After her fiancé Sumner Sloan abandons her in the Cheers bar in the pilot episode, Diane works as a bar waitress. She has an on-off relationship with the womanizing bartender Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and a one-year relationship with Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), who later becomes a main character of the series and Frasier. When Long left the series during the fifth season, the producers wrote her character out. After that, they added her permanent replacement Rebecca Howe, a businesswoman played by Kirstie Alley, in the sixth season. Shelley Long made a special guest appearance in the series finale as Diane in the eleventh and final season. Long also appeared in Frasier as Diane's fantasy counterpart in Frasier's dreams and the actual Diane in a crossover episode "The Show Where Diane Comes Back". Other actresses auditioned for the role of Diane Chambers. Producers decided to give Long the role primarily for her scenes with Ted Danson as Sam. Critical reception for the character has been mostly positive. For her performance as Diane, Long won an Emmy Award in 1983 for an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two Golden Globe Awards in 1983 and 1985 for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Television Series, respectively.