The Tragic Yet Triumphant Life and Career of 'Frasier' TV Icon Kelsey Grammer

Photo bywallofcelebrities.com

Kelsey Grammer is one of the most talented and successful television actors in the history of the medium. His long-running sitcom Frasier was a spin-off of Cheers, on which he first was introduced to the media mainstream. A classically-trained, Emmy-winning actor, Grammer is now starring in a rebooted adaptation of his orginal show that made him a star. Into this mix, however, he has suffered great persronal tragedies in his life. Yet, Grammar has not only survived but thrived and risen above the dismal days. This is his story.

A Closer Look

In 1968, when Kelsey Grammer was just 13 years old, his estranged father was fatally shot by a cab driver. As he once observed, "A man who was proven to be, at least in court, of questionable sanity, I suppose, lit a ring of fire around his house and as my father came down to investigate what was going on, he shot him...several times and, uh, dad died."

And Then His Sister Died

In 1975, Kelsey Grammer's 18-year-old sister, Karen, was abducted, raped, and fatally stabbed 42 times by "spree killer" Freddie Glenn and two accomplices. The actor identified her body. In 2009, Glenn was up for parole—which Grammer successfully opposed. "I miss her in my bones," he told the parole board. "I was her big brother. I was supposed to protect her—I could not... It very nearly destroyed me."

In the twenty years following his sister's horrific demise, Grammer turned to drugs and alcohol to help alleviate the emotional turmoil, and then was confronted by legal issues.

Mounting Issues

As the TV icon once noted, Kelsey Grammer's substance abuse was made worse by his initial enormouse success via Cheers. "I was drinking too much, I was doing too much cocaine. That was mostly it. Pretty much I was just having fun," he said. "I was in my early 30s. I was making enough money to do pretty much anything I really wanted to do and I did that."

In 1980, Grammer's half brothers, Stephen and Billy, died in a scuba accident off St. Thomas. When Billy failed to surface, Stephen leaped into the way and attempted to locate him but "suffered a fatal embolism during an improper ascent. Billy's body was never recovered." His mother believed "he was eaten by sharks."

Seven Years Later

In 1987, Kelsey Grammer was arrested for DUI. The following year, he was arrested again, this time for cocaine possession. The actor described his subsequent stint behind bars as "the best, most restful 11 days I've had in years."

Lasting Impression

Kelsey Grammer has experienced great tragedies but remarkable triumphs.