It was on this day in 1993 that Frasier, a spin-off from the immensely popular sitcom Cheers, premiered on NBC… ultimately airing for 11 seasons and receiving numerous Emmy Awards.
In Frasier, Kelsey Grammer portrayed the cultured and pretentious Dr. Frasier Crane, a radio psychiatrist who moves back to his Seattle hometown after his marriage ends. The key figures in Frasier’s life include his father Martin (John Mahoney), a practical retired police officer; his younger brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce), also a psychiatrist with a taste for luxury; his father’s eccentric caretaker, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves); his producer at the radio station, Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin); and his father’s dog, Eddie.
Born on February 21, 1955, Kelsey Grammer trained in drama at Juilliard in New York City and initiated his professional acting journey in theater. He first appeared on Cheers in 1984 as Diane’s (Shelley Long) fiancé. Initially intended for just a handful of episodes, the character of Frasier Crane became a beloved permanent fixture. Set in a Boston bar named Cheers, the show premiered on September 30, 1982. Dr. Frasier Crane, alongside Norm Peterson (George Wendt) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), frequented Cheers, run by Sam Malone (Ted Danson). When Cheers aired its final episode on May 20, 1993, over 80 million viewers watched, marking one of the most-watched series finales in television history.
From September 1993 to May 13, 2004, Grammer starred in Frasier. He became the first actor in TV history to receive Emmy nominations for portraying the same character across three different shows after making a guest appearance as Crane on the sitcom Wings in the 1990s.
Grammer’s additional acting roles include regularly voicing Sideshow Bob on Fox’s acclaimed animated series The Simpsons. More recently, he and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) played news anchors at a Pittsburgh television station in the short-lived sitcom Back to You, which aired from 2007 to 2008 and was overseen by Cheers co-creator James Burrows.
