Image Credit: Chuck Hodes/Starz; Everett Collection
Since Kelsey Grammer walked into our favorite Boston watering hole in 1984, as Diane Chambers’ pompous new paramour, there has seldom been a time that he hasn’t been a constant presence in our television lives. He originally signed on to play Dr. Frasier Crane for just six episodes, but he ended up sipping drinks — booze in Boston, coffee in Seattle — for the next 20 years (a television record matched only by James Arness, who famously played Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke). America adored Grammer’s portrayal of the egghead shrink; he even was nominated for an Emmy when his character made a single guest appearance on Wings. Throw in his work as the high-brow arch-criminal Sideshow Bob over two decades of The Simpsons (itself a derivation of Grammer’s Frasier character) and you can make the argument that Grammer is the greatest sitcom performer of the last quarter century — even with more recent misfires like Back to You and Hank on his ledger. I think this clip sums it all up: READ FULL STORY »
