US actress Kirstie Alley, who starred in the series "Cheers" and the romantic comedy "Look who's talking!" celebrated her greatest successes is dead. According to her children William "True" and Lillie Parker, Alley died at the age of 71 as a result of a recently discovered cancer.
"She was surrounded by her closest family," the actress said in a statement on Monday. Her spokesman Donovan Daughtry confirmed the death at the request of the German Press Agency.
In the film comedy "Look who's talking!" from 1989, Alley played the pregnant Mollie, who goes into labor while on a cab ride. The driver James (John Travolta) not only helps her with the birth, but also becomes a babysitter. In the end, Mollie and James become a couple. The film was a great success and received two sequels, "Look Who's Talking 2" (1990) and "Look Who's Talking Now" (1993).
"He was the greatest love of my life"
"Kirstie was one of the most extraordinary relationships I've ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we'll meet again," Travolta (68) wrote on Instagram. Ten years ago, Alley revealed on a talk show that she had fallen in love with her US colleague on the film set. "He was the love of my life," she told ABC. Because she was still married to "Baywatch" star Parker Stevenson at the time, she suppressed her feelings for Travolta.
Director John Carpenter described her as a "lovely actress", US colleague Jamie Lee Curtis praised Alley as a "great comedian" and wonderful mother. "Whether she was brilliant in 'Cheers' or mesmerizing in 'Look Who's Talking!', her smile and laughter were infectious and her attitude iconic," wrote Beauty and the Beast actor Josh Gad. ) on twitter. Carmen Electra, Tim Allen, Robert Patrick and "Star Trek" star William Shatner also expressed their condolences on social media and highlighted Alley's comic talent.
Drove to Hollywood "on impulse".
She knew as a child that she wanted to be in front of the camera, the Wichita-born artist once told the Los Angeles Times: "I've always wanted to be a star. I come from an ordinary middle-class family in Kansas. With five years ago I announced I wanted to be an actress. They laughed."
But first she went to university, studied art and literature, but dropped out after two years to work as an interior decorator. "Out of an impulse" she finally went to Hollywood in 1981 to try her luck.
Success came after a few years: her role in the popular comedy series "Cheers", where she played the manager of a bar of the same name in Boston from 1987 to 1993 alongside Ted Danson, brought Alley, among other things, a Golden Globe and an Emmy -trophy one. She received another in 1994 for the miniseries "David's Mother" for her role as the single mother of an autistic child.
Cheat sheet in a cigar box
She always forgot her lyrics in "Cheers," Alley told CBS. That's why she always had a cheat sheet in a cigar box, which was one of the props of the hit series. The twice-divorced actress has also had other television appearances in series such as 'The Storm' and in films such as 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982) and 'Love Without a Sickness Certificate' (2015).
In the series "Fat Actress" (2005), Alley made fun of Hollywood's obsession with being thin. Her TV reality show Big Life (2010) was all about her own struggle with the pounds. Otherwise she was rather critical of herself: "I would really like to win an Oscar, just to surprise myself. I don't think I've ever played a role that I would say: "Oh my God, you are a great actress!" she was quoted as saying by the Hollywood Reporter.
