Kirstie Alley Biography Biography
The downward drift in Kirstie Alley's career - some cynics would say, her physiognomy - was never more evident than when she starred in the cable TV series, "Fat Actress" (Showtime, 2005). The one-time sexy starlet, who had skyrocketed to fame by first playing Lt. Saavik in the classic film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), followed by successfully replacing Shelley Long as the neurotic but sympathetic barkeeper Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-1993), was now reduced to playing herself: an overweight, aging actress trying to revive her Hollywood career. It was a bold move on Alley's part to put her all-too-obvious weaknesses on TV for the world to see. The problem was, nobody wanted to see it. "Fat Actress" was panned by critics and cancelled after just one season. To her credit Alley - a convert to the controversial religion of Scientology - did what she always did when faced with adversity - including drug addiction and divorce - she shrugged it off and prospered, signing a lucrative deal to be a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. It was this reliability to the common woman - to say nothing of her incredible self-deprecating humor - which solidified her appeal to fans and a press which now forgave her anything.
Kirstie Louise Alley was born Jan. 12, 1951, in Wichita, KS. She lived a typical Middle American childhood. Her father Robert owned a lumber company and her mother Lillian was a homemaker to her and her two siblings. After finding her niche as cheerleader while in high school, she tried college, dropping out of both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas before deciding what she really wanted to do was act. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, working as an interior decorator, while at the same time, going out on auditions, albeit with little success. Her social life was another story. Alley ran with a fast Hollywood crowd and became addicted to cocaine. Sick and broke, she found salvation in the Church of Scientology, the cultish religion based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction author. Scientology was at this time becoming popular among a group of young Hollywood actors, eventually attracting movie stars like John Travolta and Tom Cruise to its fold. Alley would forever claim the religion got her off drugs and saved her life. Now clean, she just needed to become a movie star.
Wanting to get noticed and hoping to raise extra cash, she auditioned for game shows. She appeared on "Match Game" (CBS, 1973-1982) in 1979 and "Password Plus" (NBC, 1979-1982) in 1980, impressing producers and the audience with her quick wit and dark girl-next-door good looks. Ironically, neither of these was put to good use when she got her first big break, playing Lieutenant Saavik in the feature film, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Makeup artists transformed Alley's wholesome features into the pointy-eared, stone-faced visage of a half-Vulcan, half-Romulan alien, and the director encouraged her to affect the flat Vulcan line readings made famous by Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock. Nevertheless, the movie did well - to the point that Trekkies would consider it the best of the "Star Trek" films - and Kirstie Alley could now legitimately call herself a Hollywood actress.
Following her promising breakout role as Saavik, Alley worked steadily in unspectacular projects through the mid-1980s. Besides her work in the acclaimed Civil War-era TV miniseries "North and South" (ABC, 1985), the highlight of this period was her marriage to actor Parker Stevenson in 1983. Stevenson was a handsome, Princeton-educated actor who had gained fame playing boy detective Frank Hardy in "The Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries" (ABC, 1977-79). If Alley's career had not quite taken off, at least her personal life had. All that would change, however, when she was cast as the new bar owner and love interest in "Cheers," following the departure of the beloved Shelley Long and her character, Diane Chambers.
The downward drift in Kirstie Alley's career - some cynics would say, her physiognomy - was never more evident than when she starred in the cable TV series, "Fat Actress" (Showtime, 2005). The one-time sexy starlet, who had skyrocketed to fame by first playing Lt. Saavik in the classic film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), followed by successfully replacing Shelley Long as the neurotic but sympathetic barkeeper Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-1993), was now reduced to playing herself: an overweight, aging actress trying to revive her Hollywood career. It was a bold move on Alley's part to put her all-too-obvious weaknesses on TV for the world to see. The problem was, nobody wanted to see it. "Fat Actress" was panned by critics and cancelled after just one season. To her credit Alley - a convert to the controversial religion of Scientology - did what she always did when faced with adversity - including drug addiction and divorce - she shrugged it off and prospered, signing a lucrative deal to be a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. It was this reliability to the common woman - to say nothing of her incredible self-deprecating humor - which solidified her appeal to fans and a press which now forgave her anything.
Kirstie Louise Alley was born Jan. 12, 1951, in Wichita, KS. She lived a typical Middle American childhood. Her father Robert owned a lumber company and her mother Lillian was a homemaker to her and her two siblings. After finding her niche as cheerleader while in high school, she tried college, dropping out of both Kansas State University and the University of Kansas before deciding what she really wanted to do was act. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, working as an interior decorator, while at the same time, going out on auditions, albeit with little success. Her social life was another story. Alley ran with a fast Hollywood crowd and became addicted to cocaine. Sick and broke, she found salvation in the Church of Scientology, the cultish religion based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction author. Scientology was at this time becoming popular among a group of young Hollywood actors, eventually attracting movie stars like John Travolta and Tom Cruise to its fold. Alley would forever claim the religion got her off drugs and saved her life. Now clean, she just needed to become a movie star.
Wanting to get noticed and hoping to raise extra cash, she auditioned for game shows. She appeared on "Match Game" (CBS, 1973-1982) in 1979 and "Password Plus" (NBC, 1979-1982) in 1980, impressing producers and the audience with her quick wit and dark girl-next-door good looks. Ironically, neither of these was put to good use when she got her first big break, playing Lieutenant Saavik in the feature film, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Makeup artists transformed Alley's wholesome features into the pointy-eared, stone-faced visage of a half-Vulcan, half-Romulan alien, and the director encouraged her to affect the flat Vulcan line readings made famous by Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock. Nevertheless, the movie did well - to the point that Trekkies would consider it the best of the "Star Trek" films - and Kirstie Alley could now legitimately call herself a Hollywood actress.
Following her promising breakout role as Saavik, Alley worked steadily in unspectacular projects through the mid-1980s. Besides her work in the acclaimed Civil War-era TV miniseries "North and South" (ABC, 1985), the highlight of this period was her marriage to actor Parker Stevenson in 1983. Stevenson was a handsome, Princeton-educated actor who had gained fame playing boy detective Frank Hardy in "The Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew Mysteries" (ABC, 1977-79). If Alley's career had not quite taken off, at least her personal life had. All that would change, however, when she was cast as the new bar owner and love interest in "Cheers," following the departure of the beloved Shelley Long and her character, Diane Chambers.
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
Kirstie Alley Biography
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Kirstie Alley's First Appearance On "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" - 1987
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