Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Eddie Doyle - Do you know his name?


Eddie Doyle, the bartender who inspired the "Cheers" tv show, recently became one of the latest hits of the economic turndown. He was laid off after 35 years at the bar Cheers in Boston. For nearly 35 years, or almost half of his life, Doyle has been the smiling face behind the bar at Cheers - the Beacon Hill pub that inspired the TV show with the same name in the early 1980s. As one of Boston's last fabled bartenders, he served drinks and advice for five decades. During that time, his charitable deeds became the stuff of legend. Along the way he got to know thousands, introduced dozens of singles who would eventually marry, and held numerous fund-raisers that attracted everybody from the glitterati to the near-homeless.

When Hollywood was scoping Boston for the perfect "Cheers," the directors came face-to-face with Eddie Doyle, a grinning bartender who embodied the phrase, "sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name." An avid fan of all Boston sports teams and quick witted, Eddie soon became famous with Bostonians and Cheers fans alike.

But a few weeks ago he was told by Tom Kershaw, owner of the Cheers bar, that the recession had hit his industry and he was being laid off. Doyle, who is in his late 60s, said he's surprised but not bitter.
"I'm a casualty of the economic situation that we're in," said Doyle, who spent part of this week cleaning out his office.
Kershaw acknowledged that it was a difficult decision. "Business is way off," he said, adding that he would continue to send Doyle a weekly paycheck until the end of the year. "It was very tough. Personally, for me, it was a disaster. Eddie and I have been friends for 40 years."

Here's some links where I found this information: boston.com and cheersboston.com
Yeah, I don't always just have disc golf stuff on here. I'll throw in something else from time to time.

No comments: