Kelsey Grammer

**Allen Kelsey Grammer**[1] (born February 21, 1955) is an "American" actor, voice actor, comedian, singer, producer, director, writer and activist, best known for his two-decade-long portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBCsitcoms *Cheers* and *Frasier*. He has won five Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one Tony Award, and has also worked as a television producer, director, and writer. 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. 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 a Broadway revival of *Othello*, with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. In 1983 he performed in the demo of the Stephen Sondheim–James Lapine production *Sunday in the Park with George*, starring Mandy Patinkin. In 2000, Grammer again played *Macbeth* on Broadway, in a production that closed after only 10 days.[15]

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*, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Grammer originated the roles of Charles Frohman and Captain Hook in the Broadway premiere of the musical *Finding Neverland* in March 2015, continuing with the roles through June 28, 2015.[16] He returned to the stage from January 19 to April 3, 2016. Most recently he made an appearance in the West End production of *Big Fish*.[17]

In 1984, Grammer appeared as Dr. Frasier Crane in the NBC sitcom *Cheers*. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate and Broadway co-star Mandy Patinkin suggested Grammer to the New York casting director, and he got what was supposed to be a six-episode job, but ended up as a regular cast member until May 1993, when the show ended.[18]

In September 1993 the character became the center of the spin-off *Frasier*, one of the most successful spin-offs in TV history. In addition to starring, he also directed more than 30 episodes, especially during the second half of the series, and sang the closing theme "Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs." *Frasier* was nominated for and won many awards during its 11-year run, concluding in May 2004.

Grammer received 11 consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his role in *Frasier*. He won four times, tied with Carrol O'Connor, Michael J. Fox and Jim Parsons for the most wins for Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

In 2001, he negotiated a US$700,000-per-episode salary for *Frasier*. His 20-year run playing Dr. Frasier Crane ties a length set by James Arness in playing Marshal Matt Dillon on *Gunsmoke* from 1955 to 1975[1] but was surpassed by Richard Belzer in playing Det. John Munch on *Homicide: Life on the Street* and *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* since 1993.

Frasier Crane also had a crossover appearance in 1993 *Wings* episode "Planes, Trains, & Visiting Cranes".

In 2005, Grammer returned to television. He produced and appeared in 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, such as the "California Dreamin'", "English Course", and "Sign Language" sketches. Only six episodes of the show were made, and it was cancelled after only 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 attempt, ABC's *Hank*, fared even worse. It was cancelled after only five episodes had aired. Grammer later commented, "Honestly, it just wasn't very funny."[19]

In 2011 and 2012, Grammer found temporary success in the Starz drama series *Boss* as a fictional mayor of Chicago in the mold of Richard J. Daley which premiered in October 2011.[20] It was his first dramatic TV series.[21] At the 2012 Golden Globe Awards Kelsey Grammer won the award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama for his role on *Boss*. The show ran for 18 episodes over two seasons.[22]

In 2010-2012, Grammer guest starred as a comical version of himself in three episodes of the NBC show *30 Rock* alongside Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer.

In 2014 Grammer returned to sitcom television 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.

Grammer has had parts in films such as *Down Periscope* (1996), *Anastasia* (1997), *Toy Story 2* (1999), *A Christmas Carol* (2004), *X-Men: The Last Stand* (2006), *Swing Vote* (2008), *Fame* (2009), *The Expendables 3* (2014), *Transformers: Age of Extinction* (2014), *Best of Enemies* (2015), and most recently the Netflix film *Like Father* with Kristen Bell (2019).

Grammer has provided the voice of Sideshow Bob on *The Simpsons*, winning an Emmy Award for his work in the episode "The Italian Bob", his fifth Emmy win.[23] He has appeared in eighteen episodes from the show's inception in 1989 through 2015's "Treehouse of Horror XXVI". Grammer supplied his voice for many other projects, including Pixar's Golden Globe Award-winning *Toy Story 2* (1999), 20th Century Fox's critically acclaimed animated movie *Anastasia*, as well as *Barbie of Swan Lake*, *Bartok the Magnificent*, the title character in the short-lived animated series *Gary the Rat*, *Disney's Teacher's Pet*, the Mickey Mouse short *Runaway Brain* and the narrator of *Mickey Mouse – Once Upon a Christmas*.

Grammer's voice has been featured in many commercials. One of the earliest was a 1998 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 2015, the voices of Grammer and John Lithgow were used in the critically acclaimed documentary *Best of Enemies* as William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal, respectively.[24]