As Ken Levine mentioned, Coach Pantusso had indeed taken several hits to the head during his illustrious baseball career — something which the character liked to point out on a frequent basis, if only to account for his often lackluster manner. The kindly old gent was typically one step behind his colleagues and the Cheers bar patrons, as evidenced by the opening of season 1, episode 4, in which Harry “The Hat” Gittes (Harry Anderson) easily cons Coach into giving him far more change than he’s owed. But Coach’s cognitive failings only served to add to his lovable aura. Not only that, Pantusso was capable of real wisdom, often providing other characters with sound advice without even realizing how he stumbled upon it. All of which is to say that Coach was an irreplaceable part of the “Cheers” ensemble. But when season 4 kicked off in 1985, suddenly the bar’s father figure was gone and he had, in fact, been replaced.
In a 2015 interview with Yahoo!, long-time “Cheers” director and executive producer James Burrows explained how he and the show’s other producers were aware that Nick Colasanto had a heart problem, but claimed that none of the team knew “how dire it was.” He added, “Nick had trouble remembering lines. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the blood getting to the head. But we always compensated for it, because he was such an integral part of the show.”
According to Burrows, who last year returned to direct a couple of episodes of the recently renewed “Frasier” revival show, Colasanto started writing down his lines on the scenery, and the producers would often make the lines simpler to help him get them out. Sadly, things would get worse from there.
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