Under-appreciated Kirstie Alley deserves better
Actress Kirstie Alley has had fame and controversy, but the one thing she isn’t without is talent. Jettisoned to fame with a great character performance in the TV Sitcom “Cheers,” she has meandered through acting opportunities since. But one of her best efforts, Fat Actress, deserves a second chance.
By Ray Hanania
Kirstie Alley is talented. We all loved her in Cheers, the 275-episode 11-year TV sitcom that reinforced and launched a dozen memorable Hollywood personalities from a simple comedy format at a neighborhood bar from its ratings domination of the 1980s.
Alley entered the series in Season 6, as Rebecca Howe, taking the place of Diane, played by Shelley Long. Alley was a placeholder to keep a great series alive. And she did it, helping to keep Cheers alive for another 6 years.
She played in 22 movies, starting with a memorable character in Star Trek as the sexy Lt. Saavik in The Wrath of Khan, and in 45 TV appearances and shows.
Her second big TV break came in 1997 with the four-year, 67-episode series Veronica’s Closet, a play on Victoria’s Secret, the story of the owner of a New York lingerie company. Risque. But funny. And, Kirstie won several awards for her performances. Deservedly.
But when I look back at everything, one series of seven half-hour episodes, stands out above all in terms of her raw talent, and a no-holds-barred subject matter and wildly funny characters and dialogues. Fat Actress.
The series only lasted seven episodes in 2005. It was one of the first scripted reality shows, the story about Kirstie Alley dealing with her excessive weight gain. Obesity is not something to make fun of, but by making herself the focus of the series, she was able to present the reality of the challenges overweight people faced.
Yes, the name says it all. The story about a Hollywood actress on the lam from “film industry demand” trying to get back on TV or in a movie while pretending to deal with her weight problems by eating everything in sight.
The uniqueness of the show was the ability to take a serious physical issue and turn it upside down in a humorous way so the public could see the truth about the pain of obesity that many people, the rich and the poor suffer, in a way that they can understand. She made it possible to talk about obesity.
Of course, in 2005, it pushed the envelop way past the line of acceptability for most people. Unfortunately, it was never renewed.
The problem, I think, had more to do with Alley’s private life. Alley is a major activist defending the indefensible, the Church of Scientology. The series included many appearances by her Scientology Hollywood colleagues including John Travolta, Kelly Preston, and Leah Remini.
Of course, Leah Remini broke from the “church” and has led a campaign to expose what many called was really a “cult.” Remini’s series offers convincing evidence that Scientology abuses its members, bullies its critics, and oppresses anyone who tries to challenge its policies.
Alley had been very close friends with Remini until Remini broke with Scientology in 2013 and then produced the series, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Some people think that the Scientology curse overshadowed Alley’s success.
I like Kirstie Alley. I’d really like to see her make a comeback. Fat Actress was a great example of great talent taken to the extreme, which is what the public wants.
But I’m not sure if a Scientologist who can’t speak to the documented grievances, abuses and hatred that has come from their cult, is worthy of embracing the hearts and minds of the American people.
Leah Remini was the best performer in that 2005 Fact Actress series. The episode with the “little people” is hilarious, although all seven episodes were phenomenal. It was seeing Remini on the show that made me think. In 2005, it meant nothing, but in the aftermath of so much that has been exposed about Scientology by Remini, it was hard not to see why Kirstie has vanished from Hollywood success.
That episode with Leah Remini was the best in the 7-series season.
While you have to shake your head over Kirstie Alley’s failed career, Remini, on the other hand, deserves enormous praise for fighting to expose an important truth. Remini is one courageous person. Her series, Troublemaker, has raised so many questions its imperative that something must be done.
In a world where everything is fair, Kirstie Alley should pick up the telephone and call Leah Remini and break from Scientology by talking about the truth of the cult.
Break from the cult, Kirstie. You’re a far better actress without it. There’s so much that you could have given us. Fat Actress should have been an ongoing series. But many viewers stayed away from it because of the lingering concerns about Scientology. How could someone be so good and yet be part of a cult that is so bad? It haunted Kirstie Alley, and maybe she doesn’t understand how her career has been harmed by it.
Maybe she should consider a new show, Fat Scientologist, although my guess is that would certainly do far worse.
Watching past episodes of Fat Actress on Showtime reminded of what could have been done by an actress freed from the ugly Scientology smudge.
Kirstie Alley deserves better. But losing the weight of her physical body is not the problem. What she needs to do is lose the burden of Scientology.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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She is a Scientologist fruitcake with serious emotional problems.
I can’t stand this obnoxious cow anymore, but Fat Actress was her best work.
Here’s more information on Leah Remini’s expose of Scientology and the abuse of its members by the leadership.
http://www.aetv.com/shows/leah-remini-scientology-and-the-aftermath
Great article! However, it appears that you were not aware that Kirstie already took it upon herself to create her own version of Fat Scientologist over on her Twitter @kirstiealley . On a daily basis, she not only tweets about the foods she loves and her yo-yo battle with losing weight and keeping it off, but is nearly compulsive with constant tweet attacks against A&E and Leah Remini (personally and professionally) but also regularly tweets out pretty nasty propaganda and hate videos the Church of Scientology has been creating to try and thwart people from watching the series or listening to the claims made about Scientology on the show by Leah and others she spotlights for the experiences they had while members. The Fat Scientologist show also includes tweets and responses to them, justifying her attacks, just like the Scientology policies say to do with someone who speaks publicly about their disagreements with the church. We should call it the Prat Scientologist Show,
Thanks for your thoughts. You are right. It only reinforces my belief that Kirstie Alley’s ties to Scientology have destroyed her career and will continue to destroy her career, fat or not. It’s horrible what the Scientologists do. They refuse to appear on Leah’s phenomenal documentary series and then make all kinds of threats. Horrible people. Terrible PR. Bullying is not a successful PR strategy. All they know how to do is make enemies. Remini, on the other hand, is fantastic and her popularity is growing. Can’t wait to see her on Keven James’ series Kevin Can Wait …
You are quite welcome! Thanks for your insights, your article and your
support helping to expose this crazy stuff. BTW, do visit
http://narcononreviews.net if you haven’t already. We help educate the
public, the media, rehab industry and legal professionals on the dangers
of Narconon, a Scientology front group and deceptively using the
internet to lure people into their Scientology based practices program.
The lawsuits and agency complaints are hair raising!
I would prefer she just die from Scientology related quackery.
I have attempted to get Kirstie and her managers to read a great sit com which which I wrote especially for her but couldn’t get any of them to read it. Still waiting. Would love to send you the script and see if you agree that it fits her like a glove. Most sincerely, David Creps. (boogie.woogie.prods@gmail.com)