Some context: Frasier Winslow Crane is a fictional character on the American television sitcoms Cheers and Frasier, portrayed by Kelsey Grammer. Grammer received award recognitions for portraying this character in these two shows, in addition to a 1992 one-time appearance in Wings. The character debuts in the Cheers third-season premiere, "Rebound (Part 1)" (1984), as Diane Chambers's love interest, part of the Sam and Diane story arc. Intended to appear for only a few episodes, Grammer's performance for the role was praised by producers, prompting them to expand his role and to increase his prominence.
In 1993, after Cheers ended, Frasier and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) divorce offscreen, and Lilith is awarded custody of their son Frederick, with Frasier granted visiting rights. In the pilot "The Good Son", Frasier explains that he left Boston because he felt that his life and career had grown stagnant (and he had been publicly humiliated after climbing onto a ledge and nearly committing suicide before being talked down). Therefore, he returned to his original hometown of Seattle, where his father Martin (John Mahoney) and brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) live, to begin a fresh start. Frasier works for the radio station, KACL, as the host of his psychotherapeutic radio show, The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, produced by his producer and friend, Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), who has many ex-boyfriends. Later, his father Martin, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who was shot in the line of duty, ends up moving in with him. Frasier becomes concerned about his father in his current state as he can barely walk, and requires a cane to move. In Cheers, Frasier says that his father is dead, and that he was a scientist. He also says that he is an only child. This inconsistency is later explained in "The Show Where Sam Shows Up": At Frasier's apartment, Sam Malone tells Martin and Niles what Frasier had said about them, and Frasier explains that he was trying to distance himself from his family at the time. In Cheers, Frasier tells bar patrons that he is an orphan. He confirms in "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (1988) that his mother Hester, portrayed by Nancy Marchand in "Diane Meets Mom" (1984) and then by Rita Wilson in flashbacks in "Mamma Mia" (1999) and "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2" (2001), is dead off-screen. Frasier hires a live-in physical therapist, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), to look after Martin. Daphne is an eccentric, working class Englishwoman who professes to be "a bit psychic". Moreover, Martin brings his beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Eddie, whom Frasier despises. After some initial apprehension, Frasier grows very close to his new family. In "IQ" (season six, episode 19), he is revealed to have been an Oxford University alumnus besides being a Harvard alumnus. In the same episode, he is said to have scored 129 in a school IQ test (his brother Niles scored 156).
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Some context: Edouard Louis Joseph, baron Merckx (Dutch pronunciation: ['merks]; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is widely seen as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours of France, five Tours of Italy, and a Tour of Spain), all of the five Monuments, three World Championships, the hour record, every major one-day race other than Paris-Tours, and extensive victories on the track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem, Brabant, Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling.
Merckx opened the 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna. He followed these successes by entering Paris-Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson, attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into the stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan-San Remo and was seen as a 120-1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won the four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Fleche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour. He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over the team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen, Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached the finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion.
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Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles.