In addition to his role in "Cheers", Nicholas Colastano is also known for directing episodes of very popular shows such as "Hawaii Five-0, Starsky & Hutch, "Bonanza", "Columbo", and "CHiPs". Colasanto was actually planing on retiring before being offered the his role in "Cheers".During the shows third season, he was getting noticeably more and more ill until he finally passed away on February 12, 1985 at the age of 61.