Cannot believe that it has taken me this long to write one of these on Kelsey Grammer. The guy is a genius, one of my favorite performers, and arguably the most successful actor to come out of Cheers, though Woody Harrelson might have words with me for that one. Grammer got his start on the stage, performing all over the country before moving into television. A few short years later and he landed the recurring role of Dr Frasier Crane on Cheers. Originally he was only contracted for the one season, but so popular was he with the audience that the producers brought him back for the rest of the shows run. After Cheers ended he landed himself a spin off, playing the same character in a new format. If anything Frasier was the better of the two shows, and it lasted for eleven seasons. He is well known for his voice, playing a recurring role on The Simpsons, and as an accomplished singer. His film career started pretty late, 1992, and since then has been fairly consistent.
So let’s take a long look through Kelsey Grammer’s life, see the highs and the lows, where he’s made the money and what he’s going to be doing in the future.
Kelsey Grammer Net Worth 2018 – $60 Million
How Did Kelsey Grammer Make His Money & Wealth?
I wrote an extended piece on Kelsey Grammer’s life before last year, and it is not a happy tale. He was born on February 21st 1955 in Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. His family operated a bar and grill, until Grammer was 2, when his parent’s divorced. He was raised by his mother and grandfather, as was his younger sister, until his grandfather’s death. His father was murdered in 1968, two years after his grandfather, and his younger sister, Karen Grammer, was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1975, and event that greatly affect Kelsey.
Grammer studied acting at Julliard, studying for three years before interning at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego. He performed in a number of plays, including Shakespeare on Broadway, before moving into Television work. I highly recommend you read his 1995 Autobiography, So Far…, he even did the audio book of it, and hearing him retell the stories of his early life and career are both fascinating and heart wrenching, but I digress.
Television pays better than the stage, and in a few short years Kelsey had landed a major role in the then popular sitcom Cheers. He played Dr Frasier Crane, love interest and fiance of Shelley Long’s Diane Chambers. She leaves him at the later at the end of the season, and it was expected that Grammer would move on to other projects, as his contract was for the one season. He was such a hit with the fans that they brought him on as a star for all the subsequent seasons. By the end of the shows run he was pulling in six figures, though less than Ted Danson. Sitcom starts get a check every month so long as the show is still pulling in the cash, and Cheers is still a popular show today, in fact I am watching it on Netflix as I write this. Towards the end of Cheers‘ run fans were polled, asking who they would most like to see a spin off following, Frasier came last, at 2%. Bit of a surprise then that the spin off show Frasier starring Grammer as the title character, was one of the most successful on TV.
Frasier would run for as long as Cheers did, making it to season 11 before ending. That means that Grammer was playing the same character for more than 20 years across the two shows, he even showed up on Wings in a cameo. Frasier was one of the most popular shows of the nineties, and it pulled in big numbers for the stars. Grammer was at the top of the totem pole, and by the end of the shows run he was getting $1.6 million per episode, making him the highest paid TV actor of all time.
Kelsey Grammer is well known for his distinctive voice, which he has lent to a variety of animated shows, including The Simpsons and Toy Story 2. The only reason he is not sitting on the biggest pile of cash out of the old Cheers crew is due to his divorces, each taking a little chunk out of his net worth as they went. Even with those pitfalls i the past he is still sitting on a vast fortune. Going forward it can only rise, as he has a number of credits set for release later this year, and he has been a producer on a number of commercially successful shows in the past.
Kelsey Grammer Personal Life & FAQ
Is Kelsey Grammer Married?
Kelsey Grammer has been married four times, first from 1982 to 1990, with Doreen Alderman, then from 1992 to 1993 with Leigh-Anne Csuhany, then from 1997 to 2011 with Camille Grammer and currently to Kayte Walsh. the couple wed in 2011. he has seven children among the former wives.
Where is Kelsey Grammer from?
Kelsey Grammer is from Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
What happened to Kelsey Grammer’s Family?
Kelsey has had a terrible time of it. His parent’s divorced while he was very young, then his father was murdered and his sister was raped then murdered. He threw himself into his career, and a fair few narcotics, as a coping mechanism. he has given us some fantastic performances, but they have come at a great cost to the actor.
Did Kelsey Grammer have a substance abuse problem?
He did for a long time. He has sought treatment for cocaine addiction in the past. There was a time in the mid nineties where he was more cocaine than man. People who worked with him on Frasier said that they would see him slump onto set, looking like death warmed up, and upon hearing the words Action, he would spring to life, the consummate professional and erudite Frasier Crane would burst forth, he would nail it then slump of to his trailer again. Would have loved to see that to be honest.