Cheers Cameos You Completely Forgot About

The NBC hit show Cheers ran for 11 seasons, from 1982-1993. The premise of the show was explained to audiences through a TV staple that no longer exists: the theme song. Remember those? Gary Portnoy delicately sang "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name." And that was Cheers — a neighborhood bar where the regulars were greeted by name, and comfortably shared their daily life experiences. 

Creators James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles developed zany, interesting characters who provided tons of comedy relief. Ted Danson played Sam Malone, the bar owner who started the series in a back-and-forth romance with Diane Chambers, played by Shelley Long. Rhea Perlman's Carla was the bar's rude yet endearing waitress. John Ratzenberger and George Wendt played Cliff and Norm, two regulars with a daily thirst for a cold beer and mindless chit-chat. Kelsey Grammer played Dr. Fraiser Crane so well that the character got a spinoff show. A young Woody Harrelson popped up as the sweet dimwitted barback Woody Boyd. After Shelley Long left the show, Kirstie Alley joined the cast as Rebecca Howe, a new love interest for Sam who ultimately became more like his sister. 

The appeal of Cheers had a lot to do with that small regular ensemble, but the show's location made it easy for new characters to show up on a regular basis — and some of these non-regulars were well-known celebrities, athletes, and politicians whose surprise appearances you may not remember. Here's a trip down memory lane to revisit some of the best Cheers cameos you completely forgot about.

Best known as the host of the popular TV game show Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek has made history more than once in his career. He's the first person to host three American game shows at once, and in 2014, he broke the record for the person who's hosted the most episodes of any given show when he notched 6,829 episodes of Jeopardy! He's also made a ton of guest appearances on non-game show projects over the years: Trebek has popped up on How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, Baywatch, and the films Finding Forrester and Charlie's Angels, to name a few. In the 1990 Cheers episode "What is...Cliff Clavin?," Trebek played himself when Jeopardy! came to Boston and Cliff was a contestant. At first cocky about his ability to win, Cliff later questioned his chances, afraid he may have bitten off more than he could chew — and, to the horror of everyone back at the bar who watched him respond to a Jeopardy! answer with the timelessly clueless question "Who are three people who've never been in my kitchen?," he had good reason to worry.

The king of late night TV, Johnny Carson paved the way for today's nighttime talk show hosts with his 30-season run at the helm of The Tonight Show. It's estimated that 55 million people watched Carson's final episode in 1992. During his second-to-last show, Bette Midler tearfully bid Carson farewell with a bittersweet rendition of "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)," beautifully underscoring Carson's lasting impact on the hearts of all who watched and appeared on his Tonight Show. During the 1992 Cheers episode "Heeeeeere's...Cliffy," Johnny Carson plays himself when Cliff submits a joke for Carson to use in his opening monologue. The joke is rejected, but Norm doctors the rejection letter to make it look like the joke was accepted. Comedy ensues when Norm, Cliff and Cliff's mother go to Los Angeles — to a taping of The Tonight Show — to hear Cliff's joke.

Trained by jazz greats in his hometown of New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr. was a child piano prodigy whose gifts were unprecedented when he traveled to New York City at 18. By 1988, he was a bona fide star with the success of the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. He won his first Grammy and the album went double platinum, rising to Number One on Billboard's jazz chart. Bitten by the acting bug, Connick appeared in Memphis Belle and Little Man Tate before his guest role as Russell Boyd on the 1992 Cheers episode "A Diminished Rebecca with a Suspended Cliff." In the episode, Russell comes to town to visit his cousin Woody, and ends up with a job singing and playing piano at the bar. Russell develops a crush on Rebecca that grows into a full-on obsession, which results in him painting a semi-nude mural of her on his motel room wall.

Known for his distinctive voice and strong Brooklyn accent, Harvey Fierstein has had a distinguished career, racking up many of his accolades on the stage. He wrote and starred in the groundbreaking Broadway play (and later film) Torch Song Trilogy. He won two Tony Awards for his efforts, and later won several more for his role in the Broadway production of Hairspray and writing the book for La Cage aux Folles, later being inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Fierstein had a busy decade in the 1990s, with roles in major film hits like Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire, and he also dropped by the bar for the 1992 Cheers episode "Rebecca's Lover...Not," playing Mark Newberger, Rebecca's "one that got away." Rebecca is excited to see her high school sweetheart and believes this encounter is her chance to right her wrongs, oblivious to the fact that he's gay. The hopeless romantic pursues Mark, to no avail.

If sports fans decided to crown someone Mr. Football in the late '80s, Mike Ditka would certainly have been in the running for the crown. The former football player, coach, and commentator is one of only two people in NFL history to win titles as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. For such a big guy, wearing three heavy Super Bowl rings is small potatoes. Ditka's fame landed him several guest spots on TV shows like  L.A. Law, Saturday Night Live, and 3rd Rock from the Sun. Like Tom Berenger, he also made a cameo on the series finale of Cheers, episode 271, titled "One for the Road." Playing himself, Ditka is seen announcing the nominees for a CableAce Award. When his old flame Diane wins, Sam is moved to see her and finally rekindle their romance, setting in motion one of the storylines that helps usher this long-running series to its bittersweet conclusion.

John Kerry is another nationally known Massachusetts politician that viewers got to see hanging around outside the Cheers bar. The former U.S. Senator is mistaken for a news anchor by Cliff and Norm in "Bar Wars VI: This Time It's for Real." The two friends are excited to meet the anchor, and even ask for his autograph. When Kerry explains who he is, the barstool buddies are disappointed — for two of our favorite barflies, a senator's autograph isn't half as exciting as a news anchor's. They head into the bar and Kerry shrugs off the crazy encounter. Norm and Cliff might have changed their tune if that chance encounter took place years later: In 2004 Kerry was the Democratic Presidential nominee, running against George W. Bush, and he served as Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. Now that's an autograph worth saving.