Kelsey Grammer

After leaving Juilliard, Grammer had a three-year internship with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in the late 1970s before a stint in 1980 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Grammer acted as the Burglar in the LA production of the George Bernard Shaw play Too True to Be Good in 1977. In 1980 he starred in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of A Month in the Country. He made his Broadway debut in 1981 as "Lennox" in Macbeth, taking the lead role when Philip Anglim withdrew after receiving negative reviews. Grammer then played Michael Cassio in the 1982 Broadway revival of Othello, alongside James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. That same year he portrayed Codename Lazar in the Public Theatre production of the David Hare play Plenty. In 1983, he performed in the demo of the Stephen Sondheim–James Lapine production Sunday in the Park with George, starring Mandy Patinkin.

In 1984, Grammer first appeared as Dr. Frasier Crane in the NBC sitcom Cheers. Grammer's Broadway co-star and former Juilliard classmate, Mandy Patinkin, suggested Grammer to the New York casting director. He was supposed to appear for only six episodes, but ended up as a regular cast member.[16] The character of Frasier first appears in the third season and continues to appear until the final season of the series in May 1993. Frasier Crane also had a crossover appearance in the 1992 Wings episode "Planes, Trains, & Visiting Cranes."

Grammer has provided the voice of Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, starting in the 1990 episode "Krusty Gets Busted." He won a fifth Emmy Award for his work in the episode "The Italian Bob."[17] Bob has appeared in twenty-two episodes of the show, the most recent being 2019's "Bobby, It's Cold Outside." From April to June 1992, he played the title role in Richard II, staged at the Mark Taper Forum at the Los Angeles Music Center.[18]

Grammer as Frasier Crane in 1996

In September 1993, the character became the protagonist of spin-off Frasier. In the show, Frasier has moved from Boston to Seattle and works as a radio psychiatrist alongside his producer Roz (Peri Gilpin). In addition to starring, Grammer also directed more than 30 episodes, and sang the closing theme "Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs." In 2001, he negotiated a $700,000-per-episode salary for Frasier. The show was nominated for, and won, numerous awards during its 11-year run, concluding in May 2004. The show met instant success, and received five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. This record has never been broken, with Modern Family tying the record.[19] Grammer himself received 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his role in Frasier, winning four times, tying him with Carroll O'Connor, Michael J. Fox and Jim Parsons for the most wins for Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. His 20-year run playing Dr. Frasier Crane (in both Cheers and Frasier) ties a length set by James Arness in playing Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1975,[2] but it was surpassed by Richard Belzer in playing Det. John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1993. In February 2021, it was announced that Grammer would reprise the character in a revival set to air on the streaming service Paramount+.[20]

In 1995, Grammer voiced Dr. Frankenollie in the Mickey Mouse short Runaway Brain, and it was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He later starred in the lead role as Lt. Commander Thomas "Tom" Dodge in the film Down Periscope (1996), and voiced Vladimir "Vlad" Vasilovich in the 20th Century Fox's critically acclaimed animated movie Anastasia (1997). In 1999, Grammer voiced the main antagonist Stinky Pete in Pixar's Golden Globe Award-winning Toy Story 2 (1999). He also provided voice work for several other animated television series and direct-to-video films, such as Barbie of Swan Lake, Bartok the Magnificent, the title character in the short-lived animated series Gary the Rat, and the narrator of Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. He also voiced Dr. Ivan Krank in Disney's Teacher's Pet (2004). In 2004, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical television film A Christmas Carol.

Grammer's voice has been featured in many commercials. In 1998, he appeared in a commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios, where he voices the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. Since 2006, Grammer has provided the voice for television commercials advertising Hyundai. In 2008, Grammer reprised his role of Dr. Frasier Crane in a commercial for Dr Pepper (Frasier and Cheers co-star Bebe Neuwirth also reprised her role as Lilith Sternin in the same commercial, albeit in voice only). In 2000, Grammer again played Macbeth on Broadway, in a production that closed after only 10 days.[21]

Kelsey Grammer at the Drama League Awards in 2010

In 2005, Grammer produced an American adaptation of the British show The Sketch Show, which aired on Fox. The main cast consisted of Malcolm Barrett, Kaitlin Olson, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Paul F. Tompkins, as well as Lee Mack from the British version of the show. Grammer appeared in only short opening and closing segments in each episode. Many of the sketches from the British version were re-created. Only six episodes of the show were made, and it was cancelled after just four of them had aired. In 2007, Grammer starred with Patricia Heaton in the American sitcom Back to You, which Fox cancelled after its first season. His next lead role, ABC's Hank, was cancelled after only five episodes had aired. Grammer later commented, "Honestly, it just wasn't very funny."[22]

On April 18, 2010, Grammer made his Broadway musical debut playing the role of Georges in a revival of the Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical La Cage aux Folles at the Longacre Theatre. Grammer starred alongside Douglas Hodge for which they both were nominated for Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Grammer was said to have been "delivering an assured and charming leading turn."[23] In 2011 and 2012, Grammer found temporary success in the Starz drama series Boss as a fictional mayor of Chicago, based on former mayor Richard J. Daley. It premiered in October 2011.[24] It was his first dramatic TV series.[25] At the 2012 Golden Globe Awards Grammer won the award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama for his role. The show ran for 18 episodes over two seasons.[26] From 2010 to 2012, Grammer guest starred as a comical version of himself in three episodes of the NBC show 30 Rock alongside Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer.

Grammer in 2016

In 2014, Grammer came back to sitcom television when he appeared in Partners with comedian Martin Lawrence. The Lionsgate-produced show was written and executive produced by Robert L. Boyett and Robert Horn, known for writing hit shows like Family Matters, Living Single, Full House, Designing Women, and Perfect Strangers. Despite this, the show was cancelled after its first season. Later that same year, Grammer starred in several films such as Bonaparte in The Expendables 3 (2014) and as Harold Attinger in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014). He appeared as both the narrator and Herod the Great, in the National Geographic TV film Killing Jesus. In 2015 Grammer and John Lithgow lent their voices to the critically acclaimed documentary Best of Enemies as William F. Buckley, Jr. and Gore Vidal, respectively.[27] The documentary surrounds the events around the televised debates between intellectuals Vidal and Buckley during the 1968 United States presidential election. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary but did not make the final cut.[28]

In March 2015, Grammer originated the roles of Charles Frohman and Captain Hook in the Broadway premiere of the musical Finding Neverland, continuing with the roles through June.[29] In February 2016 he made an appearance in the West End production of Big Fish.[30] In 2016, Grammer won a Tony Award as a producer of The Color Purple.[31] In 2019, Grammer starred as Don Quixote in a production of Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum. That same year he starred as Harry Hamilton in the Netflix film Like Father (2018), alongside Kristen Bell, and as a detective opposite Nicolas Cage in Grand Isle (2019).

Grammer reprised his role as Frasier Crane in the 2023 reboot of Frasier on CBS.[32]

On July 1, 1975, Grammer's younger sister, 18-year-old Karen Grammer, was raped and murdered by the spree killer Freddie Glenn and two other men. Grammer identified his sister's body and informed their mother shortly after. According to Grammer, his bouts of alcoholism and drug abuse were fueled, in part, by guilt and depression due to his sister's death, as the pair had been close in childhood.[54]

In a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Grammer said he would be willing to forgive the perpetrators if they would take responsibility for the crime, though they all claimed innocence. In the same interview, Grammer expressed his loss of faith for several years after Karen's death.[55] He subsequently forgave Glenn in a 2014 parole hearing after being convinced of Glenn's contrition, but refused to support his release, saying that it would "be a betrayal of my sister's life".[54] He named his daughter Spencer Karen Grammer in part for his sister.[36]

Karen Grammer's murder and the investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department was the subject of the episode "Animal Nature" of the Investigation Discovery series Homicide Hunter.[56]

Grammer during Fleet Week in New York City, in May 2006

Grammer is a supporter of the Republican Party, and endorsed the Tea Party movement on economic issues such as small government and lower taxes;[57] City A.M. described him as "one of Hollywood's best-known Republicans, a rare spark of red in a blue sea of Democrats".[58]

A New York magazine profile published in 2010 described Grammer as pro-choice.[59] In 2015, however, his wife posted an Instagram photo of Grammer wearing a T-shirt from the Prolife group Abort73.[60]

Grammer supports same-sex marriage, saying: "I think marriage is up to two people who love each other."[57] He has expressed disbelief on the scientific consensus on climate change, comparing the California wildfires to alleged global cooling from his youth and criticized the 2011 and 2018 climate meetings.[61][62][63] Additionally, he stated in a 2016 interview with The Guardian that the person he admired most was Vladimir Putin "because he is so comfortably who he is".[64] In 2019, he issued a statement in support of Brexit.[65]

Grammer has criticised Washington politicians, stating: "I don’t think Washington did us any favors for the last 50, 60 years, I think they’ve all been sort of the same party, the same bunch of clowns"[66] He has expressed an interest in some day running for United States Congress,[67] Mayor of New York City,[68] and the presidency.[58] In an interview with radio talk show host Frank Morano in August 2021, he indicated that he was no longer interested in running for office.[69] Grammer was a guest at President George W. Bush's first inauguration.[59] Grammer endorsed Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential primary and later campaigned for John McCain in the general election.[70][71] Grammer also promoted RightNetwork, a conservative start-up American television network.[72] He endorsed Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.[73] Grammer later endorsed Mitt Romney, after he had won the nomination.[74] He supported Ben Carson's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, although voiced support for Donald Trump's policies while describing him as a "brat".[58]

Grammer has a history of substance abuse.[35] In 1988, he was charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession and sentenced to 30 days in jail.[75] In August 1990, Grammer was charged again with cocaine possession and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $500, and required to perform 300 hours of community service.[75] In January 1991, Grammer was given an additional two years' probation for violating his original probation through additional cocaine use.[75] In September 1996, he crashed his Dodge Viper while intoxicated, and subsequently checked into the Betty Ford Center for 30 days.[75] Grammer's personal problems affected his work. The cast and producers of both Frasier and Cheers held interventions to help him; co-star Bebe Neuwirth and writer Ken Levine cited delays with rehearsals and filming due to his erratic behavior.[76] The writer Dan O'Shannon recalled:[76]

He would ooze into the studio, his life all out of sorts. Jimmy would say "Action," and he would snap into Frasier and expound in this very erudite dialogue and be pitch-perfect. And Jimmy would yell "Cut!" and he would ooze back into Kelsey—glazed-over eyes, half asleep, going through whatever he was going through. It was the most amazing transformation I'd ever seen.[76]

Grammer credits his religion for helping him confront his personal problems.[77]

On May 31, 2008, while paddleboarding with his then-wife Camille in Hawaii, Grammer had a heart attack. Their personal assistant, Scott MacLean, was essential in saving his life.[78] Grammer was discharged on June 4, 2008, and was said to be "resting comfortably" at his Hawaiian residence.[79] Seven weeks after the attack, Grammer told Entertainment Tonight that, although his spokesman described the attack as mild, it was more severe as his heart had stopped.[80] Grammer thought Fox's decision to cancel his TV sitcom Back to You contributed to his health problems, saying: "It was a very stressful time for me, and a surprise that it was cancelled. But you know, everything that doesn't kill us—which it almost did—makes us stronger!"[81]

In 1988, Grammer was arrested for possession of one-quarter gram of cocaine, after being pulled over in a traffic stop for driving with expired plates in North Hollywood. A year earlier, he had been arrested for a DUI in Van Nuys, and would go on to serve 14 days of a 30-day sentence. Grammer later served 10 days of community service after failing to comply with the requirements of his parole in 1990. Later in the same year, Grammer was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest, ordered to pay a $500 fine, underwent drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and performed 300 hours of community service for his 1988 cocaine possession case.[82]

In 1995, Grammer was accused of sleeping with his child's underage babysitter. A grand jury chose not to indict the actor, stating: "The young woman's delay of more than a year in pressing charges against Mr. Grammer made it difficult to support her claim." Grammer released a statement shortly afterwards, saying: "I have said from the outset that there was no basis for the allegations."[83] In 1996, Grammer's ex-girlfriend, Cerlette Lamme, sued him for defamation of character and invasion of privacy over content he included in his autobiography So Far....[84] In 1998, Grammer filed a lawsuit against Internet Entertainment Group (IEG), which Grammer claimed had stolen from his home a videotape of him sleeping with a woman. IEG counter-sued Grammer, denying it was in possession of such a tape, and Grammer's suit was dropped.[85] IEG President Seth Warshavsky later said, "We have been presented with another Kelsey Grammer tape. But we have no plans to air it. We are still evaluating it at this time."[86]