American actor Kelsey Grammer, most famous for portraying Dr. Frasier
Crane in the long-running series Frasier, has lived a life full of ups and downs.
We're here to give you a look at some of the most tragic events from the actor's life.
Kelsey Grammer was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where his father owned a bar and grill
called Greer's Place. When Grammer was around two years old, his parents decided to separate,
and he moved with his mom and sister to New Jersey, and then Florida. Meanwhile,
his father stayed on the islands. He married someone else and fathered more children.
Grammer was deeply attached to his grandfather, who raised him with the actor's mom. Sadly,
Grammer lost him when he was just 11 years old -- which of course turned out to be a huge blow to
him since he didn't have a normal relationship with his actual father. What he didn't know
back then was that he would have to endure a lot more tragedy over the next few years.
Tragedy struck again in 1968 when Kelsey Grammer's father, Frank, was killed. The future actor was
just 13 at the time -- and his father’s passing happened not long after his grandfather's.
A taxi driver named Arthur B. Niles set Frank's car on fire and then shot him as he ran outside.
Niles was described by the local news as "militantly anti-white",
believed to be mentally ill and was kept in a psychiatric ward for many years.
In 1994, he was set free, but ended up in jail in 2003 when he threatened a judge.
Grammer didn't know about Niles being released until he read about it in a tabloid.
He later became vocal about the rights of individuals who've been subjected to heinous
crimes. Grammer's father was a rather vocal magazine publisher and was controversial on
the islands for his outspoken nature. His murder led to a rise in racial tensions
between the islands' white and Black residents at the time. As for Grammer,
losing his grandfather and dad in such a short period of time was a lot to take in.
Grammer and his family went through more heartbreak when the actor was 20 years old.
In July 1975, Grammer's sister, Karen, was kidnapped, assaulted,
and murdered. She was 18. Grammer was the one who had to identify her body.
"My granddad on my father's side,
when I called and told him about Karen, he said 'This family is cursed'..."
Karen's attackers were two men named Freddie Glenn and Michael Corbett.
They were found guilty and initially put on death row, a decision that was later
overturned. Corbett died in prison in 2019. Glenn tried to seek parole several times,
but Grammer has blocked his attempts. He told BBC Radio 4:
"I have learnt to forgive. I have even told the guy I forgive him,
although I don't advocate his freedom. I don't think that is reasonable. [...] The punishment
shouldn't be worse for the family than it is for the guy that killed the person."
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Grammer reflected on this horrific experience.
He revealed that he told the parole board in 2009 that he misses Karen immensely and that
as her big brother, he felt he was supposed to protect her. When he couldn't, he was gutted.
Kelsey Grammer had to live through more trauma when he lost two of his half-brothers Steven
and Billy in a scuba diving accident five years after his sister’s passing.
When Billy didn't come back to the surface after the dive, Steven went looking for him. Sadly,
he passed away from an embolism, probably due to an ascent gone wrong. Billy was never found.
Grammer has acknowledged in interviews that
tragedy has been an integral part of his life. He told Vanity Fair:
"Every one of us is going to experience some terrible loss.
I just got a big dose. For every story you hear that's tragic,
there's another that's equally tragic or more so. I think you come to look at it as part of life."
Kelsey Grammer got into drinking and drugs in a bid to cope with the pain
he felt from the numerous tragedies that plagued his early life. His drinking ended
up landing him in prison in 1990 for drunk driving. In regards to this, he told Parade:
"I've been through my share of tough times. I'm a very different guy now."
Grammer's vices weren't limited to alcohol and drugs. Promiscuity, extreme experiences,
and general recklessness were all a part of it. He has stated that he considers himself
"an addictive personality" and that he was on a self-destructive path. He continued:
"I got in too deep. I probably would've died if I hadn't stopped."
Luckily for Grammer, his Frasier co-stars knew he needed help and did everything
they could to support him. They even organized an intervention for their
friend three years into the series. While it was hard for the rest of the show's cast
because they weren't sure what would happen, the intervention worked. He voluntarily checked into
the Betty Ford Center in 1996 to overcome his addiction and find a life of sobriety.
When it comes to his personal relationships, drama is seemingly unavoidable for Kelsey
Grammer. He's been married three times and endured plenty of heartbreak until
he found peace with his fourth wife, Kayte Walsh, whom he married in 2011.
"Are you happy? Yeah...Yeah."
Grammer revealed to interviewer Graham Bensinger that his third marriage,
with actor Camille Grammer, was exhausting. When he was asked to describe any point in
a past relationship when he knew things wouldn't work out, he said:
"My previous marriage, honestly, I don't really talk about her [Camille]
very much because so much of her life is spent talking about me."
Grammer said that after his mother passed away, his ex-wife threw a tantrum at the
funeral and started asking him to divorce her. He said that the couple had been
involved in the same conversation for eight long years, and he was tired. He continued,
"I realized at that moment that I was done with her... that I was not going to end
up in this relationship for much longer and somewhere under a year, I was done."
On top of that, Grammer's second wife, an exotic dancer named Leigh-Anne Csuhany, was abusive.
She would insult him in public and say hurtful things to him. Toward the end of their marriage,
she told one of Grammer's friends that she planned to shoot him and burn down
their house, after which the actor got a restraining order and ended the marriage.
Kelsey Grammer and his wife, Kayte,
had more than one miscarriage before their kids were born. Grammer told The I newspaper:
"Kayte and I had a couple of miscarriages before we
had our first child. That was devastating. These things are hard. But when it's good,
it's magnificent. [...] I survived my previous relationships just in time to
land in a place where I could be in a relationship with a terrific person."
When Grammer was with Leigh-Anne Csuhany in 1993, things were rather difficult. The couple
were expecting their first child when things took a turn for the worse. Grammer had filed
a restraining order against Csuhany, and sent her a notice demanding an annulment.
Csuhany, who was three months pregnant at the time, didn't take the news well
and attempted to take her own life. Fortunately, she was rushed to a hospital and treated.
However, the pregnancy was aborted a few days afterward. Grammer remarked in a statement:
"I am deeply saddened by the events leading to the loss of the unborn
child. [...] I had dreamed of raising the baby in a stable and loving environment."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.
In 2008, Kelsey Grammer went through a health scare when he suffered a heart
attack. His publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said at the time:
"Grammer experienced symptoms Saturday morning
after paddle boarding with his wife Camille at their Hawaiian home."
He added that the actor was rushed to a hospital,
where doctors concluded that he'd had a mild heart attack.
In 2012, when the actor looked back at the incident,
he said that he was grateful for the experience, telling Oprah:
"It was a good thing in my life. [...] It was the physical manifestation of whatever
lesson was being taught to me, which was you better fix it (your life) now."
Kelsey Grammer's troubles have been numerous, to say the least, and that includes legal troubles.
In 1995, a babysitter accused him of assault, a charge for which a grand jury declined to
indict Grammer. The jury ruled that the young woman's year-plus delay in speaking
out about the incident and the lack of physical evidence made it difficult to back her claims.
After the grand jury's decision, Grammer made a statement that he was ready to move on:
"I have said from the outset that there was no basis for
the allegations. I look forward to putting this all behind me."