Fox’s The Masked Singer will pay tribute to late actress Kirstie Alley on Wednesday night’s (Dec. 7) holiday-themed Masked Singer Seasonal Sing-a-Long Spectacular! special. According to Deadline, the homage will come just two days after the Emmy-winning star died after a private battle with colon cancer.
Alley, 71, starred in season 7 of Masked Singer — also known as The Masked Singer: The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly — which aired in the spring of this year. The Cheers and Fat Actress alum only lasted on episode, performing Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” and Betty Everett/Cher’s “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” as well as a “cuddle duel” with teammate Space Bunny (Shaggy) on Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too.”
Tonight’s tribute will come with a card that will flash on-screen during the episode, which airs at 9 p.m. ET. The Masked run was Alley’s final TV appearance and after host Nick Cannon revealed her identity, the Dancing With the Stars and Celebrity Big Brother veteran told him why it was the perfect final reality TV run for her.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my career, but I’ve never gotten to be in the circus,” Alley said in her exit interview. “I have grandchildren, and they’re really young, so they are going to think this is good… I came on Masked Singer because about 10 years ago I realized I always had to keep mixing my career, mixing my life up, or it was going to get really mundane, it was going to get really boring fast. So I finally got up the nerve to do it.”
In addition to the many celebrity tributes to the beloved actress, Masked Singer panelist Ken Jeong offered some kind words, tweeting, “Rest in peace, Kirstie. #TheMaskedSinger.”