Kelsey Grammer became a renowned comedic actor when he was cast on
Frasier as Dr. Frasier Crane. Initially, his character was introduced on the television series Cheers as a psychiatrist love interest for barmaid Diane Chambers, played by actress Shelley Long. But because of fans’ positive reception of his character, he eventually starred on his own show in 1993 entitled Frasier. Born to psychiatrist Hester Rose Crane and police detective Martin Crane, he was the older brother of Dr. Niles Crane. Having been educated at Harvard and Oxford, he was extremely confident and was often perceived as an uptight intellect with a large ego. He worked as a radio psychiatrist at KACL radio, offering counseling and giving advise that usually meddles in the affairs and relationships of others.
After
Frasier ended on May 13, 2004, Grammer landed a role in the tele-film
A Christmas Carol as the cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge. He starred on his own comedy program,
Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show, and provided the voice of Sideshow Bob on the animated series
The Simpsons until 2005. He also became visible in the movie world, being cast in the romantic drama
The Good Humor Man as Mr. Skibness and in the crime-drama
Even Money as the character Detective Brunner. In 2006, he guest starred as the Angel of Death in an episode of
Medium entitled “Death Takes a Policy.” Later, he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy, also known as Beast, in
X-Men: The Last Stand.
This coming July, Grammer has reprised his role as Sideshow Bob in the highly anticipated
The Simpsons Movie. Based on the cult classic animated series
The Simpsons, the film also features the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer. In addition, he also stars in the comedy pilot entitled
Back To You as Chuck Darling. Scheduled for Fox’s fall lineup, the series also includes Patricia Heaton.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Photo Courtesy of E! Online)