Kirstie Alley’s final television appearance was just over seven months before her death when she appeared on “The Masked Singer” in April.
Alley, who died at 71 after a battle with colon cancer, had a short stint in the singing competition as the Baby Mammoth.
The “Cheers” star, dressed in the fuzzy costume, came out singing “Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline during Week 7 of the show’s 7th season — getting a standing ovation from the four panelists.
The following week, Alley competed in a duel competition against Space Bunny — later revealed to be Shaggy — in order to stay in the competition.
She sang “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor, and ultimately received the lowest number of votes from the panelists — but they had trouble guessing who was behind the Baby Mammoth mask.
Ken Jeong guessed it was Reese Witherspoon, Robin Thicke thought it was Kirsten Dunst and Nicole Scherzinger guessed Rachael Ray. Jenny McCarthy was the only one to get it right based on the clues.
One clue to the Baby Mammoth’s true identity was a bird cage that said “danger wild animals” on it, which confused some panelists — but the hint represented Alley’s love for animals. The Emmy-award-winning actress had 15 lemurs, dogs, cats, birds and squirrels.
“You are wickedly talented and funny,” McCarthy said after Alley revealed her identity.
“There is nobody like Kirstie Alley,” Thicke said. “It’s really a blessing and an honor to have you here. Thank you for coming out.”
Earlier in the competition, Alley’s Baby Mammoth sang “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” by Cher.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my career, but I’ve never gotten to be in the circus,” Alley joked after she unmasked.
When host Nick Cannon asked the “Veronica’s Closet” star what her favorite part of being on the show was, she responded that she did it for her grandchildren.
“I have grandchildren and they’re really young, so they are going to think this is good,” she shared.
It appears her time on “The Masked Singer” occurred before she was diagnosed with cancer — which her children said was “only recently discovered.”
While her last TV appearance had her behind a mask, Alley’s final moment on camera was on September 8 in an Instagram post announcing she was on the Cameo app.
“A bunch of you have asked me to do these greetings, and I always do what you ask me to do,” she said in the video.
“If you want something funny or you want something sincere — I would really try to be sincere,” she joked. “Like sort of like ‘Hi, I love you’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘I want a divorce.’ Whatever you need, I’ll do it.”
Her passing was announced Monday evening on Twitter through a statement put out by her children.
“We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered,” the statement said. “She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother.”
Alley rose to fame during her time on “Cheers” as Rebecca Howe, starring opposite Ted Danson from 1987 to 1993.
