Kirstie Alley’s memory is two-fold: as both a celebrated figure in comedy and a peddler of dangerous political conspiracies. She is the ultimate personification of needing to hold multiple truths at the same time, understanding her brilliant contributions to women characters in sitcoms while simultaneously not allowing her groundbreaking efforts to excuse her unacceptable treatment of others. Her performances in films like “Drop Dead Gorgeous” and “It Takes Two” are seminal for a generation of millennials, with many still using her character Diane Barrows’ analogy of “can’t-eat, can’t-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over-the-fence, World Series kind of stuff,” to describe the sensation of falling in love.

It was her turn as Rebecca Howe in “Cheers,” however, that completely changed the game. Introduced after Shelley Long left the series to focus on films, Alley played Rebecca as the “lovable loser” with a hard exterior, putting on a façade of being tough-as-nails while in reality, being totally neurotic and ridiculously clumsy. She portrayed the character with a relatable authenticity that she’d repeat as Mollie Ubriacco in the “Look Who’s Talking” trilogy, with an absolutely electric on-screen chemistry with John Travolta. And for an entire generation of science fiction fans, she will be remembered for her memorable role as a Vulcan Starfleet officer in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

But this does not erase her history of treating people terribly on Twitter, hurling insults, and giving a platform to hateful ideologies. It’s very clear that Kirstie Alley was someone looking for answers on a perpetual path of soul-searching, and I can only hope that before she left this mortal plane, she managed to find some semblance of tranquility. May her lemurs also find good, loving homes in the wake of her passing.

You had a good go at it, Kirstie. Thanks for your input.