Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer | |
|---|---|
 Grammer during Fleet Week, New York 2006. | |
| Born | February 21, 1955 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, television director, writer |
| Website | KelseyLive.com |
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an Emmy-winning American actor best known for his 20-year portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier. He has also worked as a producer, director, and writer.
Biography
Grammer was classically trained at Juilliard School for two years, but after personal tragedies he was asked to leave. 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.
Grammer's televison 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; the show's creators originally wanted John Lithgow for the brief, recurring role, but Lithgow was unavailable[citation needed]. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate and Broadway co-star Patinkin suggested Grammer to the New York casting director and he got the job.[1] 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 record set by James Arness in playing Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke from 1955 to 1975. [2]
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"[3] He also supplied the voice for "Stinky Pete the Prospector" in Toy Story 2, Vlad in the Fox animated movie, Anastasia, and the title character in the short-lived animated series Gary the Rat.
His most recent television work is on Fox's The Sketch Show. While appearing in some sketches, his role is closer to that of a host.[citation needed] He also produces the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. 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 the third X-Men movie and the mysterious Marvin in The Fairly OddParents Movie).
Personal life
Grammer was born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. 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.[citation needed] 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.
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;[4] in 1975, his sister was raped and murdered after being abducted outside the Red Lobster restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colorado where her boyfriend worked. [5] 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. [6] In 1980, his twin half-brothers were killed in a freak accident while SCUBA diving. [7]
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. [8] Also in 1992, Grammer had a daughter, Greer, with hair and makeup stylist Barrie Buckner.[7] His engagement to Tammi Alexander broke up due to rape allegations and her leaks to the tabloid press, and 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.[7] Grammer and Donatacci have homes in Los Angeles and New York, and a holiday home in Maui.
Substance abuse
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. [9] He was again arrested for cocaine possession in August 1990 and sentenced to three years probation, fined $500 and given 300 hours community service.[9] In January 1991 he was given an additional two years probation for violating his original probation through additional cocaine use.[9]
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. [1]
- 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. [10]
- 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. [11]
- In 2003 the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) comedy series Little Britain contained a school named Kelsey Grammer in several of its sketches, a clear reference to the actor.
- In 2005, Grammer fell off a stage while presenting a speech at Disneyland. [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 Republican[13]. He indicated that it was something he would consider when his children are older. During an interview on the The Today Show[citation needed], he told Matt Lauer that he wouldn't enter politics until he felt he was more knowledgeable on the subject.
He declared[citation needed] 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." [14]
Selected film and television work
- The Simpsons Movie (2007), as Sideshow Bob (voice)
- Significant Others (2006), as Francis
- X-Men: 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
- Kelsey Grammer Presents: 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
- Benedict Arnold: 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
- Animal Farm(1999), as Snowball (voice)
- Down Periscope(1996), as Commander Dodge
References
- ^ a b http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020246/bio
- ^ http://online.tvguide.com/newsearch/detail.aspx?id=160338&sourcetype=C&tvobjectid=160338
- ^ Grammer wins Emmy for Simpsons, a July 2006 Reuters article via CNN
- ^ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/
- ^ http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/karen_grammer/index.html
- ^ http://www.tvland.com/shows/cheers/actors/act7.jhtml
- ^ a b c http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/kelseygrammer/
- ^ http://www.ginnydougary.co.uk/2005/11/12/a-suitable-case-for-treatment/
- ^ a b c http://www.dui.com/drunk_driving_research/grammer_dui.html
- ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/043/000022974/
- ^ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1621340/posts
- ^ http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2670087?htv=12
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,98169,00.html
- ^ http://www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=3430
External links
- American television actors
- American film actors
- American voice actors
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Emmy Award winners
- Cheers actors
- Frasier actors
- Roman Catholic entertainers
- Star Trek: The Next Generation actors
- X-Men film actors
- Simpsons cast members
- Incarcerated celebrities
- People treated for drug addiction
- Film actors
- Hollywood Supporters of the Republican Party
- Actor-politicians