Pro tip: always keep your head up when walking onto a studio lot.
I learned this the hard way when I attended a taping of the “Frasier” revival on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles over the summer. Looking down to consult my map, I almost walked directly into the path of a cyclist whipping between the soundstages. When I jumped out of the way, I realized it was none other Kelsey Grammer. What better way to get the blood flowing than biking around in full costume an hour before reporting to work?
Walking out of the taping, all I could say was that the biking is paying off. At 69 years old, Grammer is as full of life as ever. Even if reactions to the first season of the reboot were mixed , everyone seemed to agree that Grammer hasn’t lost a step when it comes to playing Dr. Frasier Crane. Watching him shift between farcical snobbery and overly dramatic proclamations of victimhood made it feel like we never said goodbye to our favorite radio psychiatrist in the first place. As Grammer tells it, slipping back into the character after a two decade hiatus was as easy as catching up with an old friend over lunch.