Kelsey Grammer on Shelley Long skipping ‘Cheers’ reunion

Everybody knows his name. 

And they were all so glad he came — to the Emmys, that is — even though a few of his iconic castmates were no-shows. 

Kelsey Grammer tells The Post he was “sorry” that “Cheers” co-star Shelley Long was not in attendance during the legendary sitcom’s much-ballyhooed reunion at the 2024 Emmy Awards. 

“What was nice about the Emmys was that when they revealed we were sitting at the bar, there was such a warmth that came at us from the audience,” said Grammer, 68. “It was like [the crowd said], ‘Wow, look who it is.’”

He’s currently hanging out in and around the Big Apple giving fans a taste of his Faith American Brewing Company beers. Grammer even acted as a bartender for booze buffs Thursday in the main lobby of Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center.

Grammer served fans sips of his beer at Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center Thursday. Liberty Science Center

Earlier in the month, the five-time Emmy winner, alongside pop culture giants Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt, gave 1980s TV junkies a thrill with a surprise group appearance set against the unmistakable “Cheers” backdrop midway through the star-studded Jan. 15 fête. 

While stationed at their usual spot around the cozy Boston bar, Grammer and his former colleagues collectively presented Hulu’s “The Bear” with the awards for Best Directing for a Comedy Series and Best Writing in a Comedy Series. 

Fans of the four-decades-old show were tickled to see the old gang back together again. The buzzy homecoming, too, preceded the award ceremony’s in-memoriam tribute, which sweetly honored the cast’s late co-star, Kirstie Alley, who died at age 71 in 2022.

Grammer (center) stood alongside Perlman, Danson, Wendt and Ratzenberger for the viral “Cheers” reunion during the 2024 Emmys. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

However, the striking absence of Long, 74 — who supremely starred as the loquacious, yet lovable barmaid “Diane Chambers” — and Woody Harrelson, 62 — the pub’s endearingly dimwitted barback — was felt by both series buffs and Grammer. 

“Woody’s in England doing a play right now so he couldn’t be there,” said the “Frasier” megastar of Harrelson, who’s currently in the play “Ulster American“ in London’s West End. 

“I was sorry Shelley didn’t make it,” he went on, without further expounding on Long’s nonappearance. “But the other guys, it was great to see them.”

Grammer tells The Post that he loved feeling the “warmth” of the audience during the surprise homecoming moment. Everett Colleciton.
Grammer starred as Dr. Frasier Crane on “Frasier,” which came as a spinoff of “Cheers” in the early 1990s. ©Paramount Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
During the Emmys, “Cheers” fans were concerned by Harrelson’s and Long’s notable absences. Everett Collection

The Post spotted a demure Long walking her chihuahua near her Pacific Palisades, Calif., home just one day after she failed to join her ex-castmates on LA’s Peacock Theater stage.  

At the top of the year, Grammer, who helms Paramount’s acclaimed “Frasier” reboot, told Kelly Clarkson that he hopes Long — whose role as Chambers served as his ever-elusive love interest in both sitcoms — will one day agree to rejoin him on camera. 

Grammer says he hopes Long will consider starring in an episode of the “Frasier” reboot. Getty Images

“I would like to see Diane come back,” he said of his recently resurrected program. 

The Hollywood icon added that it would be good to “put something to bed” between the long-suffering Frasier and his forever paramour — who heart-wrenchingly ditched him at the altar to resume a romance with “Cheers” hunky bartender, played by Danson. 

Grammer said he’d hope the ill-fated pair is able to “end up with a nice thing between them.” 

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