Sam Malone (Ted Danson), Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), Norm Peterson (George Wendt), and Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) all made a return trip through Frasier’s orbit at one point during the series’ 11-season run. The most important cameo came courtesy of Shelly Long, whose fussy barmaid Diane Chambers infamously jilted Frasier at the altar. The producers were careful not to force these reunions, and, in every case (especially Frasier’s unexpected Boston hook-up with Carla, Norm, and Cliff), they felt fully earned.
As for Kirstie Alley’s Rebecca Howe, the businesswoman who bought “Cheers” in the show’s sixth season (as Danson’s sparring partner replacement for Long), the actor allegedly wanted no part of the series.
Alley never went on the record about her reluctance to guest star on “Frasier,” but it is believed that, as a practicing Scientologist, she could not participate in a series built around a psychiatrist (the L. Ron Hubbard-rounded church preaches that the science is an absolute evil). Perhaps this is true. All we know is that, when asked why Alley never appeared on the show, producer David Lee responded, “I don’t recall asking.”
In fairness to Alley, who passed away in 2022 from colon cancer, she is no longer present to dispute this take. And, really, of the core characters from “Cheers,” she had the least compelling reason to reunite with Frasier. So let her rest in peace.