Rebecca Howe | |
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Cheers character | |
![]() Rebecca exclaiming, "I'm Doin' It, Babe!", in "Don't Paint Your Chickens" (season 7, episode 15) | |
First appearance | "Home is the Sailor" (season 6, episode 1) |
Last appearance | "One for the Road" (season 11, episode 25) |
Created by | Glen and Les Charles |
Portrayed by | Kirstie Alley |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Female |
Occupation | Bar manager and waitress |
Family | Captain Franklin Howe (father) Susan Howe (sister) Rebecca (aunt) |
Spouse | Don Santry (ex-husband) |
Rebecca Howe is a fictional character of the American television sitcom Cheers, portrayed by Kirstie Alley and created by Glen and Les Charles. Rebecca appeared in 147 episodes of Cheers between 1987 and 1993 and in one episode of Wings. She debuts in the season six episode "Home Is the Sailor" after Shelley Long—who played waitress Diane Chambers—left the show to pursue a movie career. Much of the show's humor in previous seasons had been based around the interaction and sexual tension between the womanizing, working-class main character, bartender Sam Malone, and the high-class, snobbish Diane. Rebecca was intended to fill the gap as Sam's new female foil.[1]
After Sam sells the bar to a corporation, the audience learns Rebecca is the new manager of Cheers. She spars with Sam and frequently rejects his advances. She gradually becomes neurotic and falls in love with almost every rich man in Boston. With the exception of the late Nicholas Colasanto, Alley was the only Cheers regular cast member who never reprised her role in the spin-off series Frasier, even when her character Rebecca is briefly mentioned in the episode, "The Show Where Sam Shows Up".
For her performance as Rebecca, Alley won a Golden Globe Award in 1991 as the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series and an Emmy Award in 1991 as an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.