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Diane Chambers
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First Appearance
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"Give Me a Ring Sometime"
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Last Appearance
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"One for the Road"
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Episode Count
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123
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Seasons
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1-5, 11 (1982-1987, 1993)
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Occupation
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Waitress, Writer
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Family Members
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Spencer (Father)
Helen (Mother) Elizabeth (Cat, deceased) |
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Portrayed by
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Shelley Long
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Diane Chambers is a waitress at Cheers, portrayed by Shelley Long.
After being left stranded in the bar in the first episode, she is hired by Sam Malone as a cocktail waitress. Initially she loathes the well-meaning Sam, finding his ways with women brutish and direspectfull, but before too long the pair are embroiled in a volatile relationship. The antithesis of the rest of the bar's patrons in practically every way, she is intelligent, witty, snooty and opinionated, often piping up with eloquently put asides that nobody else understands. Sam and Diane decide to break up at the end of season two, putting Diane in a mental institution in the process. At the institution she meets Dr. Frasier Crane and becomes romantically involved with him. She returns to Cheers to help Sam with his alcohol problem, by offering Sam the service of Frasier. At the end of season three, Diane leaves Frasier at the alter. At the end of season four, Sam proposes to her. After many attempts at making the proposal, Sam and Diane finally agree to get married. At the end of season five, Diane is offered a position in California to get her manuscripts published. Originally she declines the offer, but Sam eventually makes her take the opportunity. She is not seen at Cheers from that point on, until the series finale, when she returns to the bar to marry Sam once again.
Her final appearance as a character is in the Cheers spin-off Frasier, where she visits him in the third season (under a different actress). During this visit, it is revealed she was in an accident in which she accidentally set her co-worker's hair on fire with a branding iron. Shortly afterwards, she lost her job, boyfriend, house, and her plays stop selling tickets. Soon afterwards, Frasier backs Diane's play, but soon finds out is a parody of the two's adventures at Cheers (with Woody/Coach unexplainably absent). During this, Frasier reveals his true feelings about being left at the altar, and Diane admits how much he means to her; and the two bid farewell.