Kelsey Grammer

Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his 20-year portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier.

Biography

Grammer was classically trained at Juilliard School for two years, but after his personal tragedies and being asked to leave Julliard, decided to throw himself into his work. He performed a three year internship with the Old Globe Theater in San Diego in the late 1970's before a stint in 1980 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. 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. Grammer's televison career began in 1983 when he portrayed Stephen Smith in the NBC mini-series Kennedy.

Grammer came to public attention in the classic TV sitcom Cheers, was able to successfully spin off his character, Dr. Frasier Crane, into a television series in its own right, named Frasier. The show's creators originally wanted John Lithgow for the brief, recurring role, but the actor was unavailable. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate Mandy Patinkin suggested Grammer to the New York casting director and he got the job. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020246/bio

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 record set by James Arness in playing Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1975. http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=160338&sourcetype=C&tvobjectid=160338

Grammer's trademark smooth, deep voice makes him popular for voiceover work. He has provided the voices of Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, "Stinky Pete the Prospector" in Toy Story 2, and the title character in the short-lived animated series Gary the Rat. He was also the voice of Vlad in the Fox animated movie, Anastasia.

His most recent work is on Fox's The Sketch Show. While he does appear in some sketches, his role is similar to that of a host. He also produces the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. In 2006 he appeared on film as Dr. Hank McCoy {a.k.a. Beast) in The Last Stand and the mysterious Marvin in The Fairly OddParents Movie (a role resembling one of Mom's henchmen in Futurama). Prior to that he guest starred as The Angel of Death on Medium, which he also produces.

Personal life

Grammer’s parents met at a music school in New York, where his father, Allen, fell for Sally Cranmer who was training to be a singer. After leaving college and the army, Allen Grammer started a dance band with his girlfriend as the chanteuse. The couple moved to St Thomas, where Allen opened a bar, played in a band, taught music to the islanders’ children and later went on to present his own radio show. Kelsey Grammer was born in the small house behind the bar, and after the marriage failed Sally fled back to her family home in New Jersey where she gave birth to her baby daughter.

Then began a series of tragedies in Grammer's life. In 1968, when Kelsey was 13, his father, whom he had only met twice, was murdered on the front lawn of his home in the U.S. Virgin Islands;http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/ in 1975, his sister was raped and murdered after being abducted outside the Red Lobster restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colorado where her boyfriend worked. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/karen_grammer/index.html Kelsey, who was 20 at the time and enrolled in the Juilliard acting program, stopped attending classes and was asked to leave, citing a lack of focus. http://www.tvland.com/shows/cheers/actors/act7.jhtml In 1980, his twin half-brothers were killed in a freak accident while SCUBA diving. http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/kelseygrammer/

Relationships

Grammer has been married three times. His first marriage to dance instructor Doreen Alderman spanned eight years, from 1982 to 1990, and produced one child, a daughter named Spencer. 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 by overdosing on Tylenol and wine, which resulted in the miscarriage of their child. http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/ Also in 1992, Grammer had a daughter, Greer, with hair and makeup stylist Barrie Buckner. http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/kelseygrammer/ After his engagement to Tammi Alexander broke up due to rape allegations and her leaks to the tabloid press, since August of 1997, Grammer has been married to Camille Donatacci, a former Playboy model. They have a son and a daughter together via a surrogate mother. http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/kelseygrammer/ Grammer and Donatacci have homes in Los Angeles and New York, and a holiday home in Maui.

Drink and drugs

Grammer began drinking at age 9 and became a frequent abuser of alcohol. In 1988 he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for drunk driving and cocaine possession, and an additional 10 days Community Service with CalTrans. http://www.dui.com/drunk_driving_research/grammer_dui.html He was again arrested for cocaine possession in August 1990 and sentenced to three years probation, fined $500 and given 300 hours community service. http://www.dui.com/drunk_driving_research/grammer_dui.html In January 1991 he was given an additional two years probation for violating his original probation through additional cocaine use. http://www.dui.com/drunk_driving_research/grammer_dui.html In September 1996 he flipped his car 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."

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. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020246/bio
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 countersued 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. http://www.nndb.com/people/043/000022974/
In the mid-'90s Grammer was accused of statutory rape by the parents of his child’s 15-year-old babysitter, but a New Jersey grand jury declined to indict due to lack of physical evidence. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1621340/posts
In 2005, Grammer fell off a stage while presenting a speech at Disneyland. http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2670087?htv=12

Politics

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 Republicanhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98169,00.html. He indicated that it was something he would consider when his children are older as a second career. 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. Grammer has also appeared on Sean Hannity's syndicated conservative radio program.

He declared in 2004 that he was the "only person in Los Angeles" to support President George W. Bush. He was a celebrity guest at the first inauguration ceremony of President George W. Bush.

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." http://www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=3430

Selected filmography

Significant Others (2006), as Francis
The Last Stand (2006), as Dr. Hank McCoy AKA Beast
Medium (2006), as Angel of Death
Even Money (2006), as Detective Brunner
The Good Humor Man (2005), as Mr. Skibness
The Sketch Show (2005), as various characters
A Christmas Carol (2004) (TV), as Ebenezer Scrooge
Teacher's Pet (2004), as Dr. Ivan Krank (voice)
Gary the Rat (2003) (TV series), as Gary 'The Rat' Andrews (voice)
The Big Empty (2003), as Agent Banks
A Question of Honor (2003) (TV), as George Washington
Frasier (1993-2004) (TV series), as Frasier Crane
The Simpsons (1990-present) (TV series), as Sideshow Bob (voice)
Cheers (1982-1993) (TV series), as Frasier Crane

References

External links

Grammer's official site

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Kelsey Grammer