In 2006, one of the "Cheers" writers, Ken Levine, explained the behind the scenes drama of Thomas' departure from the series in a blog post. The post, titled "The kiss of death for Eddie LeBec" reports that Jay Thomas made some negative comments about the show — and about Perlman — on his radio show: A caller asked him what his experience working on "Cheers" was like, Levine explained in the post, and Thomas "said something to the effect of 'It's brutal. I have to kiss Rhea Perlman.'
"Well," Levine wrote, "guess who happened to be listening."
Naturally, Perlman didn't react well to Thomas' comments, and the writers decided to get rid of Eddie by killing him off. His departure ended up being a bit more complicated, however, as viewers were a fan of Carla and Eddie as a couple. Levine continues, "we needed (a) some comic spin for the story, and (b) something to discredit Eddie so the audience would ultimately be glad he was out of Carla's life. The answer was at the funeral Carla learned that he was a polygamist, and had a second wife (who looked just like Carla)."
Levine also notes that this episode ended up earning them an Emmy nod, making the whole situation a win for everyone involved — except Thomas, of course.
