Long's break as an actress occurred when she began performing in local commercials for Homemakers furniture store in the Chicago area.
Early roles (1977–1982) In Chicago, Long joined
The Second City comedy troupe. In 1975, she began writing, producing, and co-hosting the television program
Sorting It Out on
WMAQ-TV and went on to win three
Regional Emmys for her work on the show. She also appeared in the 1970s in
VO5 shampoo print advertisements and in commercials for
Camay soap as well as more Homemakers furniture commercials. In 1978, she appeared in a vignette on
The Love Boat. Long appeared in the 1979 television film
The Cracker Factory as a psychiatric inmate. In the same year she guest starred on
Family and
Trapper John, M.D., and played Nurse Mendenhall in an episode of
M*A*S*H. In 1980, she appeared in her first feature film role in
A Small Circle of Friends. The film about social unrest at
Harvard University during the 1960s enjoyed a level of critical success. In 1981, she played the role of Tala in
Caveman. In 1982, she starred as Belinda, the
good-natured prostitute neighbor of the character portrayed by
Henry Winkler in
Ron Howard's comedy
Night Shift (also co-starring
Michael Keaton), and starred with
Tom Cruise in ''
Losin' It'' (1983). She was offered the role of Mary, the mother in
Steven Spielberg's
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, but turned it down because she had already signed on to appear in
Night Shift.
Cheers (1982–1987) Although she had already been in feature films, Long became famous for her role in the long-running television sitcom
Cheers as the character
Diane Chambers, who has a tempestuous
on-and-off relationship with
Sam Malone. In the
Cheers biography documentary, co-star
Ted Danson admitted there was tension between them but "never at a personal level and always at a work level" due to their different modes of working. He also stated that Long was much more similar to her TV character than she might have liked to admit, but also said that her performances often "carried the show." Long said in later interviews that it did not occur to her, when deciding to leave, that she was going to "sabotage a show" and she felt confident that the rest of the cast could continue without her. In a 2003 interview with
Graham Norton, Long said she left for a variety of reasons, the most important of which was her desire to spend more time with her daughter. In a 2007 interview on Australian television, Long said Danson was "a delight to work with" and talked of her love for co-star
Nicholas Colasanto ("Coach"), who was "one of my closest friends on set". She said she left the show because she "didn't want to keep doing the same episode over and over again and the same story. I didn't want it to become old and stale." She went on to say that "working at
Cheers was a dream come true...it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. So, yes, I missed it, but I never regretted that decision."
Film and Long in the
Oval Office, February 1984 While appearing on
Cheers, Long continued to appear in motion pictures. In 1984, she was nominated for a Best Leading Actress
Golden Globe for her performance in
Irreconcilable Differences. She also starred in the comedies
The Money Pit and
Outrageous Fortune. She was offered lead roles in
Working Girl, ''
Jumpin' Jack Flash, and My Stepmother Is an Alien'' but did not accept them. On August 12, 1986, Long signed a production agreement with
The Walt Disney Studios through Itsbinso Long Inc. to produce three films for the
Walt Disney Pictures and
Touchstone Films labels.
Post-Cheers projects (1987–1994) Long's first post-
Cheers project was
Hello Again, a comedy about a housewife who is brought back from the dead. This was followed by
Troop Beverly Hills, a comedy about another housewife who takes leadership of a 'Wilderness Girl' troop to bond with her daughter and distract herself from divorce proceedings. Neither film was successful with critics or at the box office. Up to this day, Troop Beverly Hills has since acquired a cult following as a 1980s children's film. In 1990, Long returned to television for the fact-based miniseries
Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase. She received critical praise for the role, which required her to portray nearly 20 personalities. This introduced her to more dramatic roles in TV films, after which she starred in several more throughout the 1990s. Major feature film roles followed such as the romantic comedy ''
Don't Tell Her It's Me with Jami Gertz and Steve Guttenberg and Frozen Assets, a comedy about a sperm bank, which reunited her with Hello Again'' co-star
Corbin Bernsen. In 1992, she starred in
Fatal Memories: The Eileen Franklin Story, a television drama about a woman who remembers the childhood trauma of being raped by her father and his cronies, and witnessing him murder her childhood friend to prevent the child from "telling on him," based on a 1989 case. The still-controversial "
recovered memories" basis for the prosecution resulted in the conviction and sentencing of life imprisonment of George Franklin, a conviction that was later overturned. Long starred in the 1992 film
A Message from Holly with
Lindsay Wagner. Long plays a workaholic who finds out that her best friend has cancer and only six months to live, then stays with her in her last months. In 1993, the actress returned to
Cheers for its
series finale, and picked up another
Emmy nomination for her return as Diane. She also starred in the sitcom
Good Advice with
Treat Williams and
Teri Garr, a show that lasted two seasons. She later resurfaced as Diane in several episodes of the
Kelsey Grammer spinoff series
Frasier, for which she was nominated for another
Emmy Award.
Later work (1995–2022) Long appeared as
Carol Brady in the 1995 film
The Brady Bunch Movie, which is a
campy take on the popular television show. In 1996, she reprised her role in
A Very Brady Sequel, which had modest success, and a 2002 television film sequel—
The Brady Bunch in the White House. Other ventures followed, including the TV remake of
Freaky Friday and the family sitcom
Kelly Kelly, which only lasted for a few episodes. She played the Wicked Witch of the Beanstalk in a 1998 episode of
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. In 2016, Long produced and acted in the feature film
Different Flowers. ==Personal life==