Running on NBC between 1982 and 1993, Cheers followed the stories of the staff and customers of the fictional Cheers bar in Boston, Massachusetts. With 28 Emmy Awards and a record 117 nominations across 11 seasons and 275 episodes under its belt, Cheers is one of the best-loved sitcoms of all time. According to estimates from NBC, around 93 million viewers tuned in to watch the final episode, One For The Road, which aired on 20 May 1993.

Cheers also provided a springboard for Hollywood stars including Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley, Kelsey Grammer, and Woody Harrelson. Read on to take a look at the Cheers stars then and now, and discover which cast member is the wealthiest today. 

Nicholas Colasanto played 'Coach' Ernie Pantusso, a retired baseball coach and bartender at Cheers. He starred in the show from its 1982 premiere until 1985, when he unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the age of 61.

Before turning to acting, Colasanto served in the United States Navy during World War II. Prior to his role in Cheers, the soldier-turned-actor appeared in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1976 thriller Family Plot, and 1980's Raging Bull. He was best known, however, for his work behind the camera, and directed episodes of many popular TV shows, including Hawaii Five-O and Starsky & Hutch.

Before landing his role in Cheers, Colasanto had actually planned to retire from acting. It's fortunate that he didn't, however, as it was his brief stint as Coach that established him as a globally recognized star.

Colasanto received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three times, including a posthumous nod in 1985. According to reports, the Cheers star died with a net worth ranging from $1 million to $5 million.

Shelley Long starred as lovable cocktail waitress Diane Chambers, and her character's on-off relationship with womanizing bartender Sam Malone, played by Ted Danson, was a key storyline throughout Cheers.

Although Long had already appeared in feature films like 1981’s Caveman and 1982’s Night Shift, Cheers catapulted her to whole new heights of fame and acclaim. She received five Emmy nominations for her role in Cheers, and won the 1983 award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Her performance as Diane also banked her two Golden Globe Awards.

To the shock of fans, Long left Cheers in 1987 after five seasons on the show. She did reprise the role of Diane in the last-ever episode, however, and also made a guest appearance in the Cheers spin-off Frasier. After Cheers, Long soon found silver screen success, including, most notably, her role as Carol Brady in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie and its sequel. In a nod to her sitcom roots, she also had a recurring role on ABC’s Modern Family between 2009 and 2018.

Today, Long reportedly boasts a wealth of $5 million, although some sources suggest her net worth could be as high as $16 million.

Bebe Neuwirth joined Cheers in season four as Dr. Lilith Sternin, the love interest, and eventual ex-wife, of fan favorite Frasier Crane. A Tony-winning Broadway star, Neuwirth had no real desire to work in television, and her Cheers character was only supposed to appear in one episode.

However, the writers loved Lilith and persuaded Neuwirth to stay on, eventually making her a main star in the final two seasons of the show. Neuwirth went on to win two Emmys for her role as the uptight psychiatrist. 

After Cheers, Neuwirth reprised her iconic character for 12 episodes of Frasier. The multi-talented singer and dancer also returned to her Broadway roots, starring as Velma Kelly, Roxie Hart, and Matron Morton in various LA and Broadway productions of Chicago; she won a Tony Award for her stint as leading lady Velma.

More recently, she appeared in 71 episodes of Madam Secretary between 2014 and 2017. She also starred in the 2019 Hollywood blockbuster Jumanji: The Next Level, as well as in Netflix's Tick, Tick... Boom! in 2021. According to numerous reports, the multi-talented star has an impressive $10 million fortune. 

Following the shock departure of Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley joined the cast of Cheers in 1987. She played Rebecca Howe, the new bar manager and love interest of Ted Danson's character Sam Malone.

Despite having already gained recognition for her role as Saavik in 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it was Cheers that made Alley a household name. She received critical acclaim for her role as Rebecca, as well as an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991.

Alley was the only Cheers alum who didn't reprise her role in the hit spin-off Frasier. She has, however, gone on to one of the most diverse careers of the cast. She starred in multiple mega-buck movies, such as 1989’s Look Who’s Talking alongside John Travolta. She also returned to the small screen, most notably in 2005’s Fat Actress, in which she played a fictionalized version of herself.

Alley has dabbled in the world of reality television, appearing on the 12th and 15th seasons of Dancing with the Stars, as well as being voted runner-up in the UK edition of Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. The veteran actress's varied career is said to have netted her an enviable fortune of $40 million.

A beloved bar regular, George Wendt's Norm Peterson appeared in every episode of Cheers. A favorite with critics and fans alike, Wendt earned six Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his popular role as Norm.

Wendt's comedy career begin with the Chicago-based improv troupe The Second City. He went on to score minor roles on shows such as Hart to Hart, Taxi, and M*A*S*H before landing his big break on Cheers.

Following the end of Cheers, fans yearned for more Norm. To their delight, Wendt briefly reprised the character in Frasier, as well as in episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy. Returning to his comedic origins, he enjoyed hosting stints on Saturday Night Live and even had his own sitcom on CBS, The George Wendt Show, which aired between March and April of 1995. You might also recognize Wendt as the father from the 1991 music video for Michael Jackson's chart-topping single Black or White.

In more recent times, the actor has starred in several Broadway shows. His stage roles have included Santa in Elf the Musical in 2010, as well as Edna Turnblad in various productions of Hairspray. Much like Kirstie Alley, Wendt has reaped the benefits of a diverse career and today boasts a reported fortune of $45 million.

John Ratzenberger played Cliff Clavin, a postal worker and bar regular. Despite appearing in every episode of Cheers, Cliff's role didn't originally exist. Ratzenberger had auditioned for Norm Peterson and, on learning that he hadn't got the part, pitched the concept of a know-it-all character. Producers loved the idea and the rest, as they say, is history.

Like his co-stars, Ratzenberger received critical acclaim for his stint as Cliff, earning two Primetime Emmy nominations. However, most of Ratzenberg’s sizable net worth comes from a lucrative partnership with a major Hollywood production company...

While you might not have seen Ratzenberger's face on screen much over the years, you will have undoubtedly heard his voice. Ratzenberger has voiced a character in every single Pixar movie, bar its two most recent releases, Soul and Luca; interestingly, a non-speaking character with a striking likeness to the actor appears in the former.

Ratzenberger's vocal performances as the porcine Hamm in the Toy Story series and Mack in the Cars series are two of his most beloved non-Cheers roles. He has also appeared in sitcoms including That ‘70s Show and Melissa & Joey, and presented the Travel Channel's Made in America docuseries between 2004 and 2008. Today, he is reportedly worth $50 million, although some sources suggest his fortune could be closer to $80 million.

Rhea Perlman played the role of head waitress Carla Tortelli throughout all 11 seasons of Cheers. Her career started out on Broadway and she had various small roles in movies and TV shows. This included a recurring slot in the sitcom Taxi, in which she played the girlfriend of her real-life husband Danny DeVito.

Cheers, however, became a defining role for Perlman. She was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for her performance in the sitcom, and won four. She also received a record seven nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series at the Golden Globe Awards.

Following in the footsteps of her co-stars, Perlman reprised the character of Carla for one episode of Frasier. She has worked on a wide range of TV and movie projects since hanging up the waitress's apron. She had the lead role in the CBS series Pearl between 1996 and 1997, for example, and also starred alongside DeVito in the iconic 1996 adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl novel Matilda.

In recent years, Perlman had a recurring role in The Mindy Project, and voiced a character in the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch in 2021. Today, Perlman boasts a reported net worth of $60 million.

Following Nicholas Colasanto's tragic death, 21-year-old Woody Harrelson joined the Cheers cast in 1985. He played Woody Boyd, the dim but likeable bartender, and would go on to star in 200 episodes of the sitcom.

While Harrelson is now a bona fide Hollywood star with a glittering career and a slew of awards to his name, it was Cheers that first put him on the map. In fact, he scored his first major accolade, the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series, in 1989, for his role as Woody.

While Harrelson got to flex his comedic chops in Cheers, he has since shown he can also sink his teeth into more dramatic roles. He has received Oscar nods for his roles in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), The Messenger (2009), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). He also received another Emmy nomination for his work in the 2014 crime series True Detective.

Harrelson continues to shine as a comedic actor too, and one of his most popular roles was the Twinkie-loving Tallahassee in the 2009 horror-comedy flick Zombieland, and its 2019 sequel. As well as critical acclaim, Harrelson's diverse acting range has banked him a reported net worth of $70 million.

Ted Danson scored both fame and fortune playing Sam Malone, the lady-loving owner of the Cheers bar. He starred in the show for all 11 seasons.

Danson won two Emmys and two Golden Globes for his performance, and was nominated for a plethora of other accolades. In later seasons of the show, he was reportedly paid an incredible $500,000 per episode; adjusted for inflation, that's around $978,000 per episode in today's money.

Outside of Cheers, Danson has enjoyed a varied and successful career. His major movie roles include 1987's Three Men and a Baby, as well as its 1990 sequel Three Men and a Little Lady, and the critically-acclaimed war epic Saving Private Ryan.

However, he has had most of his success on the small screen, starring in a slew of popular series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fargo, and The Good Place. With 18 Primetime Emmy nominations and 11 Golden Globe nods, Danson is considered one of today's greatest TV stars – so it’s hardly surprising that he boasts an envy-inducing $80 million net worth.

Kelsey Grammer joined the Cheers cast in season three as Dr. Frasier Crane. The role of the quirky psychiatrist won Grammer four Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, as well as an army of fans.

In fact, audiences loved Frasier so much that when Cheers wrapped up in 1993, the character was given his own self-titled spin-off show. Frasier ran from 1993 until 2004, and Grammer was paid a fortune to reprise the beloved character. By the final two seasons of Frasier, Grammer was taking home a whopping $1.6 million per episode, which is $2.4 million in today's money. 

And Frasier isn’t the only iconic character Grammer has played. He voices the diabolical Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons, as well as the equally evil Stinky Pete in Toy Story 2, and has also shown his acting range by appearing in action flicks such as 2014's The Expendables 3 and Transformers: Age of Extinction.

The ever-versatile actor has also worked extensively on Broadway, starring in Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and My Fair Lady. In 2016, Grammer won a Tony Award for co-producing a Broadway adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 novel The Color Purple. With his eye-watering Frasier paycheck and extensive list of accolades, it's hardly surprising that Grammer's illustrious entertainment resume has netted him a reported $80 million. Cheers!

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