Gary Portnoy

Songwriter Gary Portnoy earned his greatest renown for composing the theme to the television series Cheers, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” a track that later charted after its release as a standalone single. Ahead of that solitary success, he had already placed a little-noticed solo album bearing his own name with Columbia Records in 1980. Additional songwriting assignments followed, including the opening themes for Punky Brewster and Mr. Belvedere plus the number “I Still Believe in Me” featured in Fame. Further solo albums appeared from his hand in the 2000s, yet tangible evidence of enduring regard surfaced in 2001 when a vintage bar stool inscribed with the Cheers theme’s lyrics and Portnoy’s signature turned up at an online auction.