Alley who starred in NBC sitcom Cheers as Rebecca Howe, became a firm favourite in her role alongside womanising bar owner Sam Malone, played by Ted Danson.
"I was on a plane today and did something I rarely do. I watched an old episode of Cheers", Danson said in a statement. "It was the episode where Tom Berenger proposes to Kirstie, who keeps saying no, even though she desperately wants to say yes".
"Kirstie was truly brilliant in it. Her ability to play a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown was both moving and hysterically funny".
Danson also added, "She made me laugh 30 years ago when she shot that scene, and she made me laugh today just as hard. As I got off the plane, I heard that Kirstie had died".
"I am so sad and so grateful for all the times she made me laugh. I send my love to her children. As they well know, their mother had a heart of gold. I will miss her".
Other Cheers co-stars to pay tribute to Kirstie Alley, include co star Rhea Perlman who played head-waitress Carla Tortelli, who hailed Alley as a "unique and wonderful person", who she would miss "very very much".
"Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless", Perlman said. "We became friends almost instantly when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved kids and my kids loved her too".
"We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts that she created. She had massive Halloween and Easter parties, and invited the entire crew of the show, and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply".
"I've never met anyone remotely like her. I feel so thankful to have known her. I'm going to miss her very, very much".
Kelsey Grammer who played psychiatrist Fraser Crane in the sitcom, also paid homage to Alley.
"I always believed grief for a public figure is a private matter, but I will say I loved her", he said in a statement.
Other actors who paid tribute to Kirstie Alley also include Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter.
John Travolta also starred alongside Kirstie Alley in the Look Who's Talking films. He stated that Alley was "one of the most special relationships I've ever had".
