American actress, comedienne, talk show hostess, and head of her own production company, best known for the TV series “Cheers.” She received local Emmy awards for her TV magazine show, two Golden Globes, and an Emmy.
The only child of schoolteacher parents, raised in the Presbyterian Church, Shelley, with her pretty speaking voice and personal dignity, won the National Title in an original oratory contest her senior year in high school. She attended Northwestern University majoring in theater, leaving after two years for a job in modeling and commercials and moving on to industrial and educational films. Beginning in 1973 as writer, associate producer and co-host for the unique Chicago TV talk show “Sorting It Out,” her format was copied by several other stations and she won three local Emmy awards between 1974-76. An audition with the Second City improvisational troupe lured her out of TV and into the theater. After exploring her opportunities in New York and Los Angeles, she realized she needed the Second City experience. Honing her talent for comedy, she became a master of it. In 1978 she went to Hollywood for a TV pilot, signing a five-year contract with ABC. Intimidated by Beverly Hills, she knew it only as a place to shop, and not having money at first, she felt she was still a little girl from Indiana. Part waif, part gamin and part utter sophisticate, she is perky and young looking. Subtlety is her natural mode and competence is something she is proud of. A hard working performer, she is determined to do better every day, as she balances home, family and career in an equal mix, feeling she has it all. A perfectionist, worried and anxious, she brings a tape recorder to interviews so she can analyze her answers afterward. She is adept at giving an interview where she talks but doesn’t tell a lot. Nothing is as perfect as she would like it to be even though she leaves very little to chance. When she identifies something she doesn’t like, she responds instantaneously, from mind to mouth. Her film debut was in 1980 in “A Small Circle of Friends.” Playing the part of a hooker in 1982’s “Night Shift” she received wonderful reviews.
Although there were rumors that she was involved in backstage ego battles, she claims that her role as the overqualified barmaid Diane on “Cheers,” 1982-’87, was a dream job, making her a major personality. Her performances earned her an Emmy in 1983 and two Golden Globe awards. There was a dispute over top billing when Long and Bette Midler filmed “Outrageous Fortune” in 1986. Attorneys and agents had to work things out. Always career oriented, running her own production company, Itzbinso Long, Inc., she has the creative control she feels she needs. She is always looking for a happy ending, particular about her leading men and wants to play characters who are good hearted. Long played the part of Carol Brady in “The Brady Bunch Movie,” 1995 and “A Very Brady Sequel,” in 1996. After a short lived “Good Advice” TV series, she began “Kelly Kelly” for TV’s WB network on 4/20/1998.
Long’s first marriage of five years is not a subject open for discussion. Having met two years prior on a blind date, her second marriage, to Bruce Tyson, a Los Angeles financial analyst, took place in 1981. He is tall, funny, very intelligent, sensitive, extremely good looking, a calming influence and very patient according to Long. Their most heated discussions before their marriage were about having a family. He wanted kids; she did not. They timed the arrival of their child, Juliana, born 1985, to fit in with the shooting schedule of “Cheers.” Two weeks after her delivery, during summer hiatus, Long started work on “The Money Pit, taking her newborn with her.
When looking for a home near Los Angeles, she looked at fault line maps, checked the data, tuned in to her intuition and decided on a home in Pacific Palisades. Spirituality is now very important to her; after TM and psychotherapy she read “A Course In Miracles” everyday for two years. She doesn’t do cleaning or laundry, but does cook occasionally.
Shelley was suffering with a bad back in 1993 and broke a finger in early 1998.
The actress was hospitalized on November 17, 2004 for what some media reports labeled a drug overdose. Her publicist denied that drugs are an issue and denied that she had made suicide attempt, stating that a long-time back injury had become so painful that she took one extra pill and had a bad reaction. Long and her husband ended their 22-year marriage in July 2004 and sold their home, and she has openly lamented her inability to get work, although she has recently filmed guest appearances on two sitcoms.
Link to Wikipedia biography