As Robert Altman’s newest ensemble comedy, “Dr. T & the Women,” makes its move from the festival circuit to the local multiplex (it opens Friday after a preview at the Chicago International Film Festival), the word “comeback” is going to find its way into a lot of newspaper and magazine articles.
A delightfully assured, yet laid-back performance by Richard Gere, who plays a gynecologist with a woman problem, already has convinced many critics to forgive him the disastrous “Autumn in New York.” Farrah Fawcett’s portrayal of a Texas socialite will quiet at least some of the recent gossip surrounding her, while Laura Dern’s wacky turn as her busybody sister — a champagne addict and mother of terminally spoiled triplets — will remind audiences of her strength as a comedic actor.
But one who is likely to get much of the attention in this cast of nine principal actors and 50 day players is Shelley Long, who plays Dr. T’s overworked nurse and office manager. Perhaps this is because American audiences have never really forgiven the Second City alum for deciding to embark on a life that didn’t include wiping the tables at “Cheers.” Although Long managed to score a small victory with her winning portrayal of Carol Brady in the feature-length “Brady Bunch” spoofs, most of her recent credits have come from made-for-TV movies and guest appearances on established series.
“It came as a major revelation to me that people were upset I was leaving `Cheers,'” she said. “I didn’t expect the resentment I got from fans and some of the cast members.”
On this surprisingly hot early fall afternoon, the Ft. Wayne native doesn’t look noticeably different from the Diane Chambers who will live in our memory forever, thanks to endless reruns of the beloved sitcom. In a few days, Long will travel to Texas to inaugurate Austin’s Women’s Museum, then hop on a plane bound for her old hometown and the Chicago International Film Festival.
Long, who will participate in the festival’s salute to Gere, said she was confused and hurt by much of the hostility that surfaced after she decided to leave “Cheers.” Unlike some of her co-workers, Long said, she was confident those who remained could safely navigate the ship.
Long was right, of course, but few in the media hesitated to add their own “I told you so” when her success opposite Bette Midler in “Outrageous Fortune” wasn’t immediately repeated on the big screen.
“I knew everyone on the show was going to be fine, and told them so, but they were scared,” Long recalled. “The woman I played in `Outrageous Fortune’ was a Diane kind of character and, after that, casting directors were really confused with what to do with me. I had to begin a process in which I could convince people that I could do something besides that one character for the rest of my career.
“Diane was a wonderful character, but not the reason I’d become an actor. If it had been, I would have stayed with `Cheers’ for another six years or more.”
Coincidentally, the night before this interview occurred, Kelsey Grammer was honored by the Museum of Television and Radio for his work on “Cheers” and “Frasier.” Long wasn’t in attendance, but not because there are any hard feelings between the two actors.
“It’s amazing that Kelsey has been able to play Frasier Crane for the last 17 years, and in such a wonderful way,” she said. “All actors are unique, though, and somewhere along the way, he decided this was something he wanted to do. He’s still been able to do Shakespeare, and use other parts of his tremendous talent … although it’s probably become more difficult.”
Long insisted that the primary reason she left “Cheers” was to spend more time with her infant daughter and husband. Working for executive producer James Burrows, and attending to such a prim character, meant existing in a state of constant hyperactivity.
“I felt like the guy on `The Ed Sullivan Show’ who had to keep all those plates spinning at the same time,” Long said. “Even on our breaks, we were going as fast as we could. As the old expression goes, comedy is always, `faster, louder, funnier.’
“I don’t know if louder works anymore, but faster always does … at least for me. And, Jimmie always felt as if a scene could always be done faster.”
In “Dr. T & the Women,” screenwriter Anne Rapp lampoons the same crowd of country-club harridans whom Sue Ellen Ewing ran with, when she wasn’t out scheming against J.R.
“Because I feel so comfortable improvising, it had always made sense for me to be in line for a Robert Altman film, but, somehow, I’d never gotten close enough to that circle to be seriously considered,” Long said. “I have a guardian-angel friend, Ann Ryerson, who got me started in modeling in Chicago, opened up the spot I filled at Second City and introduced me to my husband … on a blind date, thank you very much. Years ago, she did a film with [Altman] and told us all about the experience and his process.
“Nothing comes easy for an artist, but there are certain environments in which you become much more excited to take on the work. Mr. Altman scared me to death, but he also really got me excited.”
According to casting director Pam Dixon, Altman was looking for someone “a little zany, but with good comic timing … and who also could handle drama.
“My character, Carolyn, wasn’t described with much detail at all early in the script, except to say she was a nurse and managed the office,” Long said. “Later on, she’s described as being zaftig, well-endowed, round. Well, I wasn’t any of those things, and that made it difficult to complete one key scene … so, I had to come up with something to make it work.
“Mr. Altman said, `Shelley, just bring your bag of tricks,’ and there was no problem. I knew I could come up with a way to pull it off, because I had such wonderful training and experience at Second City.”
For better or worse, Long will always be remembered by Chicagoans of a certain age as the perky blond who had to glide her way through aisles filled with furniture in Homemakers commercials. And the same time, she co-hosted WMAQ-Ch. 5’s “Sorting It Out” with Bob Smith and did educational and industrial films.
She attended Northwestern University for two years, but, much to the dismay of her parents, decided to make an early leap into the professional world.
After leaving Second City for Hollywood, she tried her hand at writing a sitcom, then appeared in the eminently forgettable comedy “Caveman,” opposite a young Tom Cruise in “Losin’ It” and as a hooker in Ron Howard’s delightful “Night Shift.” Soon, “Cheers” would raise her profile, and, in 1983, result in an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy.
Long, whose 15-year-old daughter is more enthralled with her dance classes than acting, still gets her share of scripts for TV pilots. Having run aground on her last WB project, “Kelly Kelly,” however, she’s wary of the recent trend of rushing talented, young writers into positions of responsibility.
“It’s so sad,” Long said. “They need time to grow and learn different techniques, before joining the rush to riches. Of course, no one’s going to turn down the money and the opportunity to do their own show.
“But what’s sad is that they hurt themselves, along with the business, because, more often than not, they don’t meet the expectations of the studios, the networks and the audiences … or themselves. The damage is spread across the board.”
And, no, just in case you were wondering, Long isn’t nearly as embarrassed about some of her less-successful efforts as some in the media would want her to be.
“`Troop Beverly Hills’ didn’t do well at the box office, but it’s been tremendously successful in video,” she said. “And, for every person who comes up to talk to me about `Cheers,’ someone else will mention loving `Freaky Friday’ or the `Brady Bunch’ movies.”
So, cool all that talk about a comeback.
