Difference between revisions of "Kelsey Grammer"

Revision as of 01:21, December 11, 2007

Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane in the NBC sitcoms Cheers (in whom he played for nine years) and Frasier (then for another 11 years). He was nominated for Emmys for playing Frasier Crane on three different sitcoms (the third being a guest appearance on Wings). He has also worked as a producer, director, and writer. He is currently starring in Back to You.

Early life

Grammer was born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to Sally Cranmer, a housewife and vocalist,^[1] and Frank Allen Grammer, Jr., a bar owner and musician.^[2] His parents' marriage ended when he was very young; his mother took him to live with her, and he was partly raised in New Jersey by his grandparents, Evangeline Dimmock and Gordon Cranmer. Grammer's family life has been marked by repeated tragedies. In 1968, when Grammer was thirteen, his father, whom he had only seen twice since his parents' divorce, was murdered on the front lawn of his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands;^[2] in 1975, his sister was raped and murdered after being abducted outside a Red Lobster restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colorado where her boyfriend worked.^[3] Grammer has sworn to prevent the murderer from being paroled. ^[4] Grammer, who was 20 at the time and enrolled in the Juilliard School acting program, stopped attending classes and was asked to leave, citing a lack of focus.^[5]Template:Failed verification In 1980, his twin half-brothers were killed in a SCUBA diving accident.^[6]

Career

Early career

After leaving Juilliard, he had a three-year internship with the Old Globe Theater 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. In 1982 he appeared with Christine Baranski in the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine production Sunday in the Park with George with Mandy Patinkin, and then a featured role of Cassio in a Broadway revival of Othello with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer.

Rise to fame

Grammer's television career began in 1983 when he portrayed Stephen Smith in the NBC mini-series Kennedy. Grammer came to broader public attention as Dr. Frasier Crane in the TV sitcom Cheers. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate and Broadway co-star Patinkin suggested Grammer to the New York casting director, and he got the job.^[7] The character became the center of the successful spin off Frasier.

Grammer won a number of Emmys and Golden Globes for his work on Frasier. He was the first American actor ever to be nominated for multiple Emmy awards for portraying the same character on three different television shows (Cheers, Frasier, and Wings). His US$1.6 million per episode salary for Frasier was the highest in the history of American television at the time, and his 20-year run playing Dr. Frasier Crane ties a length set by James Arness in playing Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1975.^[8]

Voice work

Grammer's smooth, deep voice makes him popular for voiceover work. He has provided the voice of Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, winning an Emmy for his work in the episode "The Italian Bob",^[9] He has appeared in nine episodes in all since the show's inception in 1989. He also supplied the voices for "Stinky Pete the Prospector" in Toy Story 2, Vladimir in the Fox animated movie Anastasia, Zozi the Bear in the subsequently-produced prequel Bartok the Magnificent, and the title character in the short-lived animated series Gary the Rat. He also provided the opening speech and piano in The Vandals song "Phone Machine" from the album Fear of a Punk Planet. Down Periscope is a 1996 comedy movie starring Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a rust-bucket submarine (called the USS Stingray) who is fighting for his career.

Return to television

He returned to series television on Fox's The Sketch Show. He also produces the CW sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game. Prior to that he guest starred as The Angel of Death on Medium, which he also produces. In film, his recent work includes the role of Dr. Hank McCoy (a.k.a. Beast) in X-Men: The Last Stand. Grammer provided the voice for television commercials advertising the Hyundai Sonata and the Hyundai Azera.

Premiering 19 September, 2007, Grammer currently co-stars in the FOX sit-com Back to You with Patricia Heaton. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.

Personal life

Relationships

Grammer has been married three times. His first marriage, to dance instructor Doreen Alderman, lasted from 1982 to 1990 and produced one daughter, Spencer, an actress on the American soap opera As the World Turns and the ABC Family show Greek. His second marriage, to stripper Leigh-Anne Csuhany in 1992, lasted one year. Grammer claims she was abusive and that, after talk of divorce, she attempted suicide, which resulted in the miscarriage of their child.^[10] He referred to her in his autobiography, saying:^[11]

Template:Cquote

Also in 1992, Grammer had a daughter, Greer, with hair and makeup stylist Barrie Buckner.^[6] His engagement to Tammi Alexander broke up due to rape allegations and her leaks to the tabloid press. Since August 1997 Grammer has been married to Camille Donatacci, a former Playboy model. They have a son, Jude Gordon, and a daughter, Mason Olivia, together via a surrogate mother.^[6] Grammer and Donatacci have homes in Malibu, Colorado, and New York, and a holiday home in Maui.

Substance abuse

In 1988, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for drunk driving and cocaine possession, and an additional 10 days of community service with the California Department of Transportation.^[12]Template:Failed verification He was again arrested for cocaine possession in August 1990 and sentenced to three years' probation, fined $500 and given 300 hours' community service.^[12]Template:Failed verification In January 1991 he was given an additional two years' probation for violating his original probation through additional cocaine use.^[12]Template:Failed verification In September 1996, he overturned his Dodge Viper while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and subsequently checked in to the Betty Ford Clinic for 30 days. Grammer said of the incident:

"I was at a point in my life where I just wasn't focused. Sometimes I was doing drugs, sometimes it was booze. There was no question that I shouldn't have been driving that car at that moment." ^[6]

Other notable incidents

After publishing his autobiography, So Far... in 1995, he was sued by a former girlfriend Cerlette Lamme for defamation of character and invasion of privacy.^[7] In 1998, Grammer filed a lawsuit against Internet Entertainment Group, which Grammer claimed had stolen from his home a videotape of him having sex with former girlfriend Cerlette Lamme. IEG counter-sued Grammer, denying they were in possession of such a tape, and Grammer's suit was eventually dropped. He eventually paid Lamme $1 million for the tape.^[13]

Reflections on his life

In 1999, Kelsey Grammer made the following observation on his own life:^[11]

Template:Cquote

Political activism

On September 21, 2003, during an appearance on Hannity & Colmes on Fox News, Grammer expressed an interest in running for United States Congress as a Republican.^[14] He indicated that it was something he would consider when his children were older. During an interview on the The Today Show, he told Matt Lauer that he wouldn't enter politics until he felt he was more knowledgeable on the subject.^{[citation needed]}

He was a celebrity guest at President George W. Bush's first inauguration. He also has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president in 2008.

Quote

• "I think it's your duty to overcome what you inherit in life. It's the David Copperfield line: 'Am I going to be master of my fate, or its victim?' I'm not gonna be its victim, though I've felt victimized — a lot." ^[15]

Selected film and television work

• Cheers (1984-1993) (TV series), as Frasier Crane
• The Simpsons (1990-present) (TV series), as Sideshow Bob (voice)
• Frasier (1993-2004) (TV series), as Frasier Crane
• Down Periscope (1996), as Commander Dodge
• Animal Farm (1999), as Snowball (voice)
• Toy Story 2 (1999), as Stinky Pete
• Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor (2003) (TV), as George Washington
• The Big Empty (2003), as Agent Banks
• Gary the Rat (2003) (TV series), as Gary 'The Rat' Andrews (voice)
• Teacher's Pet (2004), as Dr. Ivan Krank (voice)
• A Christmas Carol (2004) (TV), as Ebenezer Scrooge
• Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show (2005), as various characters
• The Good Humor Man (2005), as Mr. Skibness
• Even Money (2006), as Detective Brunner
• Medium (2006), as Angel of Death
• X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Dr. Hank Mccoy / The Beast
• Significant Others (2006), as Francis
• Back to You (2007-present), as Chuck Darling
• The Simpsons Movie (2007), as Sideshow Bob (voice) However, this part was cut from the final product.