Coach Pantusso

COACH PANTUSSO

Most of the time referred to as "Coach," Ernie "Coach" Pantusso was slow and forgetful, but always genial, warm, and caring, a marked contrast to the tough, plain-talking Carla Tortelli. He got his nickname from his tenure as a baseball coach; he had coached Sam Malone on the Boston Red Sox before Sam bought "Cheers." However, he once said that he was called "Coach" because he always flew in the coach section of an airplane and never in first class. He claimed his other nickname was "Red", not because he had red hair, but because he had read a book. Quotes like this were characteristic of Coach. While with the St. Louis Browns he led the American League in hits by pitches for two consecutive seasons. It is possible that too many beanballs led to his being slow and forgetful. Despite his kind, affable personality off the field, he could be a tyrannical coach, as found out when he coached a little league team and worked them so hard that they all threatened to quit. Earlier in life, Ernie dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. He then played both minor league baseball, and with the Browns. He later ended up with Boston's farm team, the Pawtucket Red Sox as a coach, and also managed in the minors. He moved back to the Majors as Boston's third base coach when Sam Malone was pitching, and Sam hired him as a bartender when he bought "Cheers." He loved the job so much that he spent his days off working at the bar. Coach's wife Angela had died before the show took place; they had a daughter, Lisa (Allyce Beasley), whom he encouraged to end an engagement to a fiancé he disliked. In season three he became engaged to a widow named Irene Blanchard, but she broke off the engagement after winning the lottery. Colasanto died, shortly after filming the season 3 episode "Cheerio, Cheers". This episode was the 59th to be produced, but was moved following Colasanto's death and shown as the 67th episode. Production was halted for three weeks. After his death, episodes were moved around - in particular the cold openings - so as to make Coach's absence less obvious. For the episodes where Coach did not appear, excuses were often made for his absence. In one instance it was explained he was visiting his sister. In another he re-took his driving test in Vermont. Sam is seen congratulating Coach on the telephone. When Carla asks if Coach passed his test, Sam says that he was congratulating Coach for finding Vermont. In one episode the regulars receive a letter from Coach, who is at his annual family reunion. The photograph attached shows Coach with a black family. Sam explains to Carla and Cliff Clavin that Coach got an invitation by mistake and went so as not to appear rude. He had proceeded to be invited back every year since and was considering hosting next year's gathering at his home. The family, Sam explained, knew him as "Uncle Whitey." Coach's final appearance is in the cold opening to the final episode of season 3, "Rescue Me", which had been cropped from an earlier episode (this is clear as Carla is not pregnant in this clip). The scene involves Coach meeting an old baseball buddy whose nickname was "The Blind Man." Coach sings the man's praises to everyone at the bar, speaking of the enormous skill it took for a blind man to play professional baseball. His friend informs him that he is not blind at all but got his nicknames from selling venetian blinds door to door, but Coach is unswayed and proclaims "My God! How did he find the doorbell?!" The man gives up and leaves, with Coach warning him to watch out for the steps. After he leaves, Carla suggests "Coach, I think he can see as well as we can." In his final line in the series, Coach replies "Carla, in some ways...he can see more." The audience laughter was edited from the end of this scene and the silent screen freezes on Coach for a moment before cutting to the episode's theme song (though this is not always the case in repeat showings). Coach is later referred to in "Thanksgiving Orphans." After each character toasts a loved one(s) not present for the meal, they all toast Coach. In the last scene of the series finale, "One for the Road", after telling a late arriving customer that the bar was closed, Sam walks to the back of the bar. On his way, he pauses to straighten the portrait of Geronimo.

NICHOLAS COLASANTO

Nicholas Colasanto was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended Bryant University, now located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and was a decorated veteran. After being discharged, Colasanto returned to school and continued with his education, then went on to Bryant College, earning money for tuition and board by working construction jobs. He worked as an accountant for an oil company after graduating from Bryant. He saw Henry Fonda perform on Broadway and was infected by the acting bug. He joined a theater company in Phoenix, Arizona before moving back to New York, where he performed in off-Broadway productions and appeared in TV commercials. He relocated to Hollywood and began to appear on TV, where he also made his mark as a TV director. Colasanto directed two episodes of "Columbo": "Étude in Black," starring John Cassavetes as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and "Swan Song", starring Johnny Cash as a murdering country and western singer. Eventually, he directed over 100 episodes of series TV including episodes of "Bonanza," "S.W.A.T." and "Starsky and Hutch." At one point, during the episode, Cash's character refers to his (unseen) colleague "Nick Solacanto." As an actor, he appeared in a number of popular television series, including "Mannix," "Kojak," "Ironside," and "Lou Grant." His two most memorable film roles were playing the boxing manager in John Huston's "Fat City" and the mob boss in Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull." As the lovable Coach on "Cheers," Colasanto earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series each of the three seasons that he appeared on the show. On the final episode of "Cheers," eight years after his death, Colasanto was acknowledged when series star Ted Danson, in the final scene, straightens the Geronimo picture before walking off stage for the last time. His Birthday is January 19th.