Kelsey Grammer

**Allen Kelsey Grammer** (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor, comedian and producer. He is the ex-husband of Camille Grammer and is well known for appearing in the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

## Early Life

Grammer was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to parents Frank Allen Jr. and Sally Grammer. He has one younger sister, Karen Grammer.

His personal life has been surrounded by family tragedies. He was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents in New Jersey. The family later relocated to Pompano Beach, Florida and shortly afterwards, when he was twelve years old, his grandfather died of cancer. In 1968, his father was murdered in a home invasion. In 1975, his sister was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Colorado Springs. In 1980, his two half-brothers died in a scuba diving accident.

He attended Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He then won a scholarship to the Juilliard School but was eventually expelled after he failed to attend classes after his sister's murder.

## Career

### Theatre

Grammer, after leaving Juilliard, 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.

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 described by critics as "equally fine", "delivering an assured and charming leading turn".

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 28, 2015. 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. In 2016, Grammer won a Tony Award as a producer of The Color Purple. In 2019, Grammer starred as Don Quixote in a production of Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum.

### Film and Television

In 1984, Grammer first 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. Cheers was created by James Burrows and aired on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show is set in a bar named Cheers in Boston where a group of locals meet to drink, relax and socialise. The character of Frasier first appears in the third season and continues to appear until the final season of the series, which aired in May 1993.

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. He has appeared in twenty-two episodes from the show's beginning in 1989 through 2019's "Bobby, It's Cold Outside".

In September 1993 the character became the center of the spin-off Frasier which became one of the most successful spin-offs in television 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. In the show Frasier has moved from Boston to Seattle and works as a radio psychiatrist alongside his producer Roz (Peri Gilpin). The show also starred David Hyde Pierce as Niles, Frasier's brother, and John Mahoney as his father, Martin Crane. Jane Leeves plays his father's health care worker Daphne Moon. The show was a critical hit and received the most Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. This record has never been broken, with Modern Family tying the record. 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. In February 2021, CBS announced that Grammer would reprise the character in a new reboot of the series set to air on the new streaming service, Paramount+.

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 and voiced Vladimir "Vlad" Vanya Voinitsky Vasilovich in the 20th Century Fox's critically acclaimed animated movie Anastasia. In 1999, Grammer voiced Stinky Pete in Pixar's Golden Globe Award-winning Toy Story 2. 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 Mouse - Once Upon a Christmas. He also voiced Dr. Ivan Krank in the theatrically Disney film Disney's Teacher's Pet.

In 2001, he negotiated a $700,000-per-episode salary for Frasier. The series lasted 11 seasons running from 1993 to 2004. 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 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 1992 Wings episode "Planes, Trains, & Visiting Cranes".

The show featured a variety of guest stars from Cheers including Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. Bebe Neuwirth appears in a recurring role throughout the series as Frasier's ex-wife Lilith. Other guest stars include Laura Linney, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Patrick Stewart, Patrick Macnee, Derek Jacobi, Michael Keaton, Laurie Metcalf, Jean Smart and Eva Marie Saint. One of Frasier 's in-jokes was its use of celebrities as guest stars who were put through on Frasier's radio program as callers seeking advice.

In 2004, he played Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical television film A Christmas Carol.

### Work Post-Frasier

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."

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. It was his first dramatic TV series. 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.

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. Later that same year, Grammer starred in several films such as Bonaparte in The Expendables 3 and as Harold Attinger in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

The following year in 2015, he played Buckley in Best of Enemies and appeared in the National Geographic TV film Killing Jesus as Herod the Great, a film in which he both played a role and narrated. More recent work includes a role as Harry Hamilton in the Netflix film Like Father with Kristen Bell and as a detective opposite Nicolas Cage in Grand Isle. Grammer is rumoured to play Kang the Conqueror in Loki.

### Other Work

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 Grammer and John Lithgow lent their voices to the critically acclaimed documentary Best of Enemies as William F. Buckley, Jr. and Gore Vidal, respectively. 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.

## Personal Life

### Marriages and Children

Grammer has been married four times. He married his first wife, dance instructor Doreen Alderman in 1982 and together they have one daughter, Spencer Karen (born October 9, 1983). The couple divorced in 1990.

He was then in a relationship with makeup stylist Barrie Buckner and together they have one daughter, Kandace Greer (born February 15, 1992). The couple later broke-up.

He married his second wife, Leigh-Ane Csuhany in 1992. Grammer filed for an annulment when she was three months pregnant and evicted her from their home. The pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Grammer claimed she was abusive and fired a gun at hime. The couple divorced in 1992.

Grammer was then engaged to Tammi Baliszewski and around this time he announced he had substance abuse problems.

He married his third wife, model Camille Donatacci in 1997 and together they have two children: Mason Olivia (born October 24, 2001) and Jude Gordon (born August 28, 2004). Both of their children were born via a surrogate mother. The couple divorced in 2011.

He married his fourth wife, Kayte Walsh on February 25, 2011 and together they have three children, one daughter and two sons.

He has one grandson from Spencer, Emmett Emmanuel Hesketh (born October 10, 2011).

### Health Problems

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

Grammer credits his religion for helping him through with his struggles with alcohol and drug use, as well as his personal tragedies.

On May 31, 2008, while paddleboarding with his then-wife Camille in Hawaii, Grammer experienced a heart attack. Their personal assistant, Scott MacLean was essential in saving his life. Grammer was discharged on June 4, 2008, and was said to be "resting comfortably" at his Hawaiian residence. Seven weeks after the attack, Grammer told Entertainment Tonight that, although at the time his spokesman described the attack as mild, it was in fact more severe, almost leading to his death, as his heart had stopped. Grammer thought Fox's decision to cancel his TV sitcom Back to You contributed to his health problems, stating that "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!"

### Legal Problems

In 1995, Grammer was accused of sleeping with his child's underage babysitter. A grand jury chose not to indict the actor saying, "The young woman's delay of more than a year in pressing charges against Mr. Grammer made it difficult to support her claim" according to the County Prosecutor Nicholas L. Bissell Jr. Grammer released a statement saying, "I have said from the outset that there was no basis for the allegations". 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. 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 countersued Grammer, denying it was in possession of such a tape, and Grammer's suit was eventually dropped. 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."

## Family

**Wives and Partners**

* Doreen Alderman (Ex-wife; 1982-1990)
* Barrie Buckner (Ex-girlfriend)
* Leigh-Anne Csuhany (Ex-wife; 1992-1993)
* Tammi Baliszewski (Ex-fiance)
* Camille Grammer (Ex-wife; 1997-2011)
* Kayte Walsh (Wife; 2011-present)

**Children**

* Spencer Grammer
* Kandace Grammer
* Mason Grammer
* Jude Grammer
* 1 Unknown Daughter
* 2 Unknown Sons

**Grandchildren**

* Emmett Emmanuel Hesketh

**Parents**

* Frank Allen Grammer Jr.
* Sally Grammer

**Siblings**

* Karen Grammer

## Awards and Nominations

See Also: Kelsey Grammer Awards and Nominations