
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993                   TAG: 9305020149
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

`CHEERS' FANS PREFER SAM'S BACHELORHOOD

A respected polling organization has settled a barroom bet over whether most Americans would rather have seen "Cheers" character Sam Malone marry Diane or Rebecca.

The answer: Neither.

Forty-eight percent of those polled by the Times Mirror Center for The People and The Press said Sam should have stayed single in the long-running television sitcom.

Only 21 percent said Sam should have married Diane, played in the sitcom's early years by Shelley Long, and 19 percent said he should have married Rebecca, played by Kirstie Alley.

Incredibly, 12 percent had no opinion on this most pressing issue of the day.

However, all this may be just beer over the dam. The show's final episode will air May 20.

Sam Malone, portrayed throughout the series' 12 years by Ted Danson, was the favorite "Cheers" character of 26 percent of those surveyed. The next most popular character was Woody, the dim assistant bartender, played by Woody Harrelson: 18 percent. And the third most popular character, named by 14 percent, was Norm Peterson, that pudgy, perennial patron played by George Wendt.

And 30 percent said they never watch "Cheers."

by CNB