Cheers: Where The Liquor Flowed…And So Did The Drama!

Funeral for Only One

Nicholas Colasanto played the beloved character “Coach” on Cheers for years. From all accounts, the cast and crew adored him. However, when Nicholas Colasanto died in 1985, the cast of Cheers was prohibited from attending the funeral by NBC executives. Instead, NBC sent just one cast member to the funeral, John Ratzenberger, as a representative. NBC wouldn’t give the cast a break from filming the hit series in Los Angeles to fly to Providence, Rhode Island, where the funeral took place. Time is money and apparently NBC wasn’t willing to lose either for a funeral. That just seems completely cruel!